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Tension At The Evening Meal

John 13:21

New International Version

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

For Meditation

It all started around the evening meal in the Upper Room. I have never seen such humility before—that my Lord Himself would bend down on His knees to wash my feet.

When He “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist,” I wondered what He was doing. Then I saw Him pour water into a basin and begin washing the feet of my colleagues. The shock of it got me thinking to myself, “No way! He will not wash mine!” So, I protested when He got to me,

“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand,” He said. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:6-8).

“Then, Lord… not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (9).

Ignorance is such a severe illness no one should ever court in their life. His response humiliated me (10), but as I wrestled with the lesson in servant leadership (12-17), the Master dropped the bombshell after passing the cup around the table.

“Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me” (21).

Can you feel the tensed atmosphere—the hush that fell around the table? It was so intense one could slice it with a knife. All we could do was look quizzically at one another. Who could that be?

You know me for my impetuousness. I would have been the first to ask the Master which of us dare conceive such treachery. I could break his neck. But stunned beyond measure, my tongue got stuck in my mouth, so I deferred to John this time.

“Lord, who is it?”

I knew it was going to be him! That scoundrel!

We all knew his heart was not with the Master from the beginning and had wondered why Jesus called him to be with us and to make him our treasurer. But who could question His choice? He had done everything well. How then could He get it wrong with Judas Iscariot? But there he sat, with BETRAYER written all over his face.

As the Lord had said earlier, He took a piece of bread, dipped it in the cup, and gave it to Judas. His face tightened, and his body convulsed, soon as he took the bread (37). Before I could reach him, the BETRAYER had stepped into the night and melted into the deep darkness (38).

I was steaming, but the Master kept staring at the door Judas went through and began addressing us. His tender eyes surveyed our faces around the table. One after the other, heads dropped as postures shifted. His eyes caught mine, and for eternity, gazed into my heart. And everybody looked at me.

Now, what have I done?