Reading: Matthew 26.20-
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Last week when we were thinking about Jesus and the Samaritan woman, we noticed the
attitude of the Jews to other nations. They really came to believe that they must
have been very special – that was why the Lord had chosen them. But Moses said to
them, “The Lord did not love you and choose you because you outnumbered other peoples;
you were the smallest nation on earth. But the Lord loved you and wanted to keep
the promise that he made to your ancestors. That is why he saved you by his great
might and set you free from slavery to the king of Egypt” (Deut. 7.7-
We are not used to that idea, any more than they were. For us, love so often has strings attached. If someone makes an offer out of genuine selfless love, we are looking for the catch – quite sure that there is a catch somewhere!
It is fashionable these days to talk about “unconditional love”. It is an attempt
to understand – and to express in our own life-
Yet our talk of unconditional love can be a real “cop out”. It can so easily become
a “non-
It was Passover time. That was a special festival every year when the Jews remembered how God had delivered their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. Jews still celebrate it today. And Jesus longed to share this meal with his special friends – he knew it would be his last meal with them before his death. But there was an added sadness about the occasion – Jesus knew that his enemies would get him because of a traitor among his friends. He said, “I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
Betray Jesus? The disciples had been arguing which one of them would be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom. Yes, they had been looking forward to that. James and John had been confident that they were entitled to the best places at the left and right sides of Jesus when he came into his kingdom. Of course, they had no idea of the cross – or of the two criminals who would die at his left and right sides! Betray Jesus? Unthinkable! .
Disciple: He says one of us will betray him. But who? No one has taught as he has
taught – with perception, wisdom and authority! He’s amazing! And the miracles...!
I, for one, am convinced Peter was right in calling him the Messiah, the Son of God!
We are a close-
But as for me... yes, Lord, as for me... what can I say? I have loved you, Lord,
but... what will I do under pressure? I, too, was wanting that first place in your
Kingdom – but you said it wasn’t for me! Your teaching is wonderful, amazing, Lord,
but what are you calling me to do next? I’m not you, Lord! Don’t expect me to be!
I can’t stand it! And I can’t stand the foot-
Who is it, Lord? Why are you looking at us all... at me?
It became a moment of personal uncertainty for each of them. None of them knew anyone else it might be. Each one was very upset that it might be “me”. “Surely, Lord, you don’t mean me?”
The answer of Jesus doesn’t clarify their dilemma, “One who dips his bread in the dish with me will betray me.” Every one of them had dipped their bread in the dish. That was part of the meal, part of their friendship, fellowship. But one of them would betray him and “it would be better for that man if he had never been born!” Up to this point Judas hadn’t asked, but now he says, “Surely, Teacher, you don’t mean me?” to which Jesus replies, “So you say” (or “You have said [it]”) – an answer that was clear to Judas, but not to anyone else. There is no indication that the others understood from the words of Jesus that Judas would be the betrayer. John records that Judas left at this point, and the others assumed that he had gone to “buy what they needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor” (Jn 13.29).
After the meal was over they went to the Mount of Olives. Judas wasn’t with them. Now Jesus is saying, “This very night all of you will run away and leave me... But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
Here at least was a promise of resurrection and restoration, but they didn’t hear it. They would recall later that he had said it, but for the moment the prospect that all of them will desert him is overwhelming. What had been personal uncertainty about betrayal is now replaced with certainty about desertion.
Peter leads the protest. “I will never leave you, even if all the rest do!”
“I tell you that before the cock crows tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me.”
“I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!”
But this was not just Peter’s protest. All of the others individually were convinced that they would stay true to Jesus even to the point of death.
“Time will tell.” That’s one of those saying, isn’t it? So is “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
They did desert him. Peter tried to follow, but under the pressure of the actual situation denied three times that he belonged to Jesus. The words of Jesus proved to be all too true!
But the promise of Jesus was also true! “But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.” The betrayer would end up destroying himself. But for the eleven – in spite of their desertion and denial – there was hope and a future.
What about us? We believe in Jesus and seek to follow him in our lives day by day – but how do our lives reflect our faith and discipleship when we are under pressure?
It is easy to be a Christian when we are in the group of believers. But Jesus said,
“You are like salt for all mankind. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no
way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people
trample on it. You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot
be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead he puts it on the
lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light
must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise
your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5.13-
There is something that the disciples could not grasp – and it is too often our weak point too – the secret of the Christian life lies in what he has done for us rather than in what we manage to do for him.
Oh yes, he does have things for us to do – a whole life of them, in fact. But Jesus
himself is the light of the world (Jn 8.12) and, unless we allow his light to shine
in us and through us, we can never be the light of the world as he told us to be
in Matthew 5.14-
Jesus expressed this to them during this final meal in a very graphic way when he washed their feet. Peter voiced his protest: It seemed all wrong. Jesus shouldn’t be doing this for them. They had been arguing about who was going to be the greatest, but when it came to this point they knew one of them should have been in the servant role! Yet to Peter’s protests Jesus replies, “If I do not wash your feet, you will no longer be my disciple” (Jn 13.8).
We need to accept what he has done for us – that he has died for our sins – know that he still loves us and offers us forgiveness and restoration when we fail him, and live by his grace and in the power of his Spirit so that his life will become visible through us in our daily life.
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© Peter J Blackburn, Buderim Uniting Church, 21 March 1993
Except where otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Good News Bible, (c) American Bible Society, 1992.
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