“There’s a Judas among us!”  In Hebrew Baby Names the meaning of the name Judas is: Praise. The praised one. However, this name became synonymous with traitor, as the apostle (disciple) Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver.  When Judas delivered the “kiss of death” to Jesus that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, his name no longer meant “the praised one” but “one who betrays under the guise of friendship.”

In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Judas is: The apostle, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver. As a result, the name Judas is used as a synonym for ‘traitor’ and is not often used as a first name.

Jesus knew what was in the heart of Judas.  Jesus knew what Judas was thinking that night when he would betray Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man who knew the troubled man behind the pretentious mask of feigned love and friendship that revealed a lost soul.  The act of betrayal didn’t happen overnight. The evil who resided in one of The Twelve had been plotting all along to use Judas in an attempt to bring down his rival—Jesus!  But Jesus has no rival!

You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, God, You reign
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the Glory
Yours is the Name above all names

What a powerful Name it is, what a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is, nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is, the Name of Jesus

Judas was no match for Jesus!  Jesus loved him and came to earth to save him along with everyone else in the world of all our sins.  But Judas declined to return Jesus’ love to him.

Mark 14, The Message

Traitor to the Son of Man

¹² On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the day they prepare the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?”

^13-15 He directed two of his disciples, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house he enters, ‘The Teacher wants to know, Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare for us there.”

¹⁶ The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.

^17-18 After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”

¹⁹ Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”

^20-21 He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl. In one sense, it turns out that the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Don’t be a Judas is my first thought!  Betrayal doesn’t end well.

But, friends, we cannot grasp the full meaning of what is happening until we read all the details of what occurred that night.  John supplies us with even more meaning through His more detailed recollection. As we read John 13, we come to realize that Judas was treated with the same love that Jesus extended to all His disciples.  This kind of love goes beyond our thinking.  If we knew a betrayer was in our home, how would be treat him or her?  Would we even serve them?

According to John, Jesus added an element of surprise to the Passover Meal when he stepped away from the Head Seat of the Passover Table, laid aside His robe, and then wrapped a towel around his waist.  Jesus then picked up a basin of water, meant for the lowliest of the household to wash the feet of those who enter as a sign of hospitality.  Washing the sandaled feet of those who daily walked dry, dusty roads was a custom that none of the other disciples thought to carry out that night.  But Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, the Son of God, did.  In this act of service, Jesus showed them the full extent of His love for each one of them—even Judas!  Read on…

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

Then Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

“I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah.I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”

The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table.Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”

Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. So Judas left at once, going out into the night.” John 13:1-30, NIV

Jesus taught AND demonstrated the love of God for His disciples to hear and see. Jesus not only taught us to love those who love us back but to love even our enemies.  Now, in the last meal with The Twelve, Jesus bends down to show them the FULL EXTENT of this love God has for each one of His created and washes ALL those dirty, dusty feet—even the feet of Judas, his betrayer. 

“Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” –Jesus

You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now, revealed in You our Christ

What a beautiful Name it is, what a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is, nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is, the Name of Jesus

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now?

What a wonderful Name it is, what a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is, nothing compares to this…

Judas had a choice.  He chose to betray His Teacher who would become the Savior of the world.  Judas was later full of regret that night, but not enough to ask for forgiveness.  Instead, he hung himself.  The “kiss” Judas gave to Jesus for the soldiers to see as a sign indicating “this is the one” was delivered the same night Jesus washed his feet and served him the Passover meal.  (Mind blown, right?)  This kiss became Judas’ own “kiss of death” forever. 

Jesus, “deeply troubled,” knew what Judas would choose. 

Jesus continued the mission God sent Him to complete until the sacrifice was finished on earth for the sins of the world.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16  But as we know, this was only the beginning…

Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast of sin and grave
The Heavens are roaring the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again

You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, God, You reign
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the Glory
Yours is the Name above all names

What a powerful Name it is, what a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is, nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is, the Name of Jesus

(Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Brooke Ligertwood, “What A Beautiful Name”)

Lord,

Thank you for your love that cannot be measured in human terms but yet you relentlessly love us still.  Thank you for this love that leads to forgiveness of all our sins. Thank you for dying in my place for the punishment I deserve.  And most of all thank you for demonstrating the full of extent of your love so that we could have an example to follow that is above all other loves.  May we take this passage to heart as you fill us with your love today.  Then, by your power within us, may we demonstrate your love to others.

In Jesus Name, Amen

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39