Jesus and the traitor.
I. A SEVERE TROUBLE.
1. The trouble of Jesus. He was troubled in spirit. This was no ordinary trouble, but it was unique in its circumstances, cause, and painfulness. He was troubled in the highest regions of his nature.
2. The trouble of the disciples. (John 13:22.) They were in doubt, perplexity, and bewilderment. In fact, they were in trouble similar to that of Jesus, only theirs was as a drop compared to the ocean.
II. AN AWFUL REVELATION. The personality of the betrayer was revealed.
1. This revelation was made in consequence of a request. (John 13:24, John 13:25.)
2. The revelation was made by a sign. "He it is to whom I shall give a sop when," etc. We can well imagine all the disciples, save one, looking at their Lord with bated breath, and watching every look and movement of his with beating hearts; but there was one there keeping his countenance better than any of the rest, and more himself than one of them, and amid the silent but stirring excitement Jesus gave the sop to Judas, the son of Simon, etc.
3. The revelation was wade directly and publicly to the betrayer. "What thou doest," etc., implies:
4. The relation of the traitor was not fully understood by the disciples.
III. A SAD DEPARTURE. (verse 30.)
1. The departure of an old disciple from the kindest of Masters and from his only Savior. He could have really no cause for this, the reason was entirely in himself. In Jesus he had every reason for continued attachment and love, but he went out immediately, and walked with feet newly washed by the hands of that Master he was now deserting, and with strength invigorated by his kindness.
2. It was the departure of an old disciple for the vilest purpose—to betray his Master, and sell him to his foes for the meanest consideration.
3. It was the departure of an old disciple, never to return again. It was his last farewell to a loving Savior. He came to him again, not as a disciple, but as a traitor. He was leaving for the last time, not to buy provisions for the feast, but to sell his Master to his enemies.
4. It was the speedy departure of an old disciple immediately. Judas was now ready for the deed; the command of Christ was timely, and it was echoed in Judas's soul. He was ripe for the dark deed. The presence of Jesus was now painful to him, and it was a relief to depart. Once Satan gets full control of the reins, he is a furious driver; once the rapids of the Niagara are reached, the velocity is increasingly swift, and the terrible falls are soon reached.
5. It was the departure of an old disciple for a terrible doom. "He went out." And whither? The answer is in the foul controlling spirit within; once that spirit had full possession of his soul, he would soon lead him to his own place. John significantly adds, "And it was night." Night seems to be in harmony with the dark deed. When it reached its climax on Calvary, the day was so out of sympathy with it that it turned into night. But it was now night. There could scarcely be any stars in the sky, as they had fled from the treacherous act, and if there were, they would have welcomed a cloud as a veil. But the darkest night was within and before the poor traitor's soul. He left the day, and the last ray of the Sun of Righteousness was extinguished before the entrance of the prince of darkness. And with regard to his dark deed, his sad condition, his precipitated departure, and his terrible doom, volumes could not say more than the incidental but significant sentence of the evangelist, "And it was night."
LESSONS.
1. The most terrible fall is a fall from Christ, and the saddest departure is the departure of an old disciple from the Savior.
2. This is a terrible possibility as instanced by Judas. Whatever he fell from, he fell from being a disciple to be a betrayer, from being a treasurer of the Christian society to be the traitor of his Lord.
3. The higher the position the greater is the danger and the greater is the responsibility. Only an apostle could fall so terribly as Judas.
4. This case is highly calculated to teach the professed followers of Jesus humility, watchfulness, and godly fear.—B.T.
The new commandment.
I. IN ITS IMPORT.
1. That the disciples of Christ should love one another. "That ye love one another."
2. That the disciples of Christ are to lore one another as Christ loved them. "As I have loved you." In order to know the full import of this command, we must know what Christ's love to his disciples was.
II. IN ITS IMPORTANCE AND OBLIGATION. It is important and obligatory:
1. As it is the natural law of spiritual life in, Christ. This is love. It naturally arises from their relationship to him and to each other. This relationship is the nearest, dearest, and most sacred and lasting, and from each of these considerations love is the essential law, and the essential law is specially binding and important. Not to observe it is a contradiction of our real relationship to Jesus and to each other. It is a universally acknowledged law—the higher and nearer our relationship, the greater is our obligation to love and succor each other. If so, how great is this obligation with regard to the disciples of Christ!
2. As the specially expressed will of Jesus. Expressed in a positive form and in a most solemn command, given at a most solemn hour, on the eve of his departure from them, under the shadow of death and the stroke of enmity, he gave the command of love, and his express will is in perfect harmony with the law of spiritual life in him, which is supreme love to one another. The voice of the law within is echoed by the voice of the lawgiver without, "That ye love one another."
3. As it is renewed and revived by the life and death of Christ. On this account it is properly called a new commandment.
4. As it is the outward sign of Christian discipleship. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG