standing if you are able, and turn to Psalm 41 for our Old Testament reading, but then also to John chapter 13. John chapter 13, we'll be reading verses 18 through 30 for our New Testament reading and our text for this morning. But first, Psalm 41, hear the word of the Lord. To the choir master, a psalm of David. Blessed is the one who considers the poor. On the day of trouble, the Lord delivers him. The Lord protects him and keeps him alive. He is called blessed in the land. And do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed. In his fullness you restore him to full health. As for me, I said, O Lord, be gracious to me, heal me, for I have sinned against you. My enemies say of me in malice, when will he die and his name perish? And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words while his heart gathers iniquity. When he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me. They imagine the worst for me. They say a deadly thing is poured out on him. He will not rise again from where he lies. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up that I may repay them. By this I know that you delight in me. My enemy will not shout in triumph over me, but you have upheld me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the God, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. And now our New Testament reading from John chapter 13. I'm gonna begin reading with verse 18 and read down through verse 30. So hear the word of the Lord beginning with verse 18. I'm not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I'm telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send, receives me. Whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me. After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. Disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, it is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, what are you, what you are doing, going to do, do quickly. Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, buy what we need for the feast or that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out and it was night. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for every word that proceeds from your mouth. You've inspired men of old to write it down, and you have preserved it for us, a sure testimony of the truth of all we need for faith and for life. Lord, bless the reading of this your word to the hearts and minds of your people here who hear it. And now, Lord, grant strength and the unction of the Holy Spirit to your servant and the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the gospel may be proclaimed with clarity and with power. and beatifying to your people here gathered. And perhaps if there's one who is not yet a believer, Lord, that you would use the gospel by your spirit to save a soul. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. I would remind you that, even though I was delayed in God's providence in beginning this series with you, I'm delighted to be here last time and this time, and as long as the Lord would give me opportunity to come, until such time as a minister is installed, perhaps, once a month to preach. But I told you last time, what do I preach? And I wrestled with it and I decided upon this particular section of scripture for the morning sermons from John's gospel, beginning with 13 and ending with 17, under the general title, The Night That He Was Betrayed. And what we see in John's gospel is a focus upon his private ministry to his disciples. over against an emphasis in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which shows much of his public ministry that took place during that final week. This all happened the night that he was betrayed. And we see an act of love, When Jesus washed his disciples' feet, we see him teaching those things that they're going to need to know immediately, because he's going to be crucified the next day. But then after his resurrection, and after his ascension, and after the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, those words that they're going to need as they carry out their mission to make disciples of the nations in chapters 14, 15, and 16. And then in 17, he prays for them. And by extension, he prays for us as well in chapter 17. And so that's the section that we're working our way through. Last time I was here, we looked at Jesus washing his disciples' feet, and we remember how the text begins, When we read, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end, or perhaps even loved them to the uttermost. And the washing of this disciple's feet was a demonstration of that love. Of course, that love culminates in his cross the next day on behalf of his disciples and on behalf of all of his people. We looked at that particular event last time. One of the things that we saw is that already there's something of a preoccupation with Judas. Three times, three times in the foot washing event, we see him referring to Judas. You can see in verse two, he said, during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. There, we find it there. Also in verse 17, he says, in verse 11, he says, for he knew who was to betray him, and that's why he said, not all of you are clean. You recall when he was washing his disciples' feet and he came to Peter, Peter recognized something's wrong. The Lord doesn't wash the servant's feet, the servants wash the Lord's feet. And so he protested and he said, you're gonna wash my feet? And Jesus says, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. And then Peter, the pendulum swings always back and forth, it seems, from one extreme to another. Then wash my head and my hands. Wash all of me. And Jesus says, you don't need your head and hands washed. You've already had a shower. Or they didn't have showers. You already had your bath. You just need your feet washed. But then immediately, Jesus makes the spiritual application. You are all clean, but not all of you. And he's speaking to the disciples. And the one who is not clean, of course, is Judas. We see it here in the text. And then in the text that I began to read today, we see in verse 18, he says, I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture might be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. And here he's talking again of Judah. So already we've seen this preoccupation with the one who would betray him. I did want to back up, because we looked down through verse 21 last time, but I want to back up because it didn't give much emphasis to that last paragraph, where he says, as we read this, I know whom I have chosen. We need to remember at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he chose his disciples, and he chose 12 of them, and Judas was one of them. Jesus already knew he was reprobate. I've chosen. 11 are elect of God. One is reprobate. But here when he says, I know who I have chosen, he's speaking of election. I know whom I've chosen. I know those who actually belong to me. I know those who are actually clean. And he's speaking there of the 11 specifically. And accepted from that is Judas, who was reprobate. Jesus knew going in what Judas was going to do. This is evident as we approach the text. Well, let's move down then to verse 21 through 30, where he moves from the foot washing then to talk specifically about this one that would betray him. And one of the things that I find interesting in the text here is there's a contrast drawn between two of his disciples, one who would betray him and one who is his beloved. That's the reason for the title of the sermon, the betrayer and the beloved. We know who would betray him. We already know that from the pretext or the text that comes before the text that we have today. That would be Judas. He's the one who would betray him. But who is the beloved disciple? And I think almost all commentators are in agreement that it's John himself who wrote this gospel. You can read this gospel from beginning to end, and the only time you see the name John is talking about John the Baptist. John doesn't use his own name in this gospel. I think partly out of humility. He was a humble man and a godly man. But I think also to emphasize what his identity actually is and how he sees it. When he refers to himself, he says, the disciple that Jesus loved. I'm beloved of Jesus. That's not only true of John. Jesus loved all of his disciples. Actually, in a sense, he loved Judas. We'll see that in this text as well. Jesus loves all of those that he's chosen, all of the elect. Can you say the same thing? I'm the disciple Jesus loved. No, I'm the disciple Jesus loves. What an identity that is. I am beloved by the second person that God had made flesh who demonstrated his love to me because he died on the cross in my place. I'm beloved of Jesus. We should think of ourselves that way. Because oftentimes, the devil will come and whisper in your ear, just like he came and whispered in Judas' ear. He put it in his head, this idea of betraying the Lord Jesus Christ. And later in the text, we see he entered him when he took the bread. The devil will whisper in your ear, are you sure Jesus loves you? after what you did? How could Jesus love you after what you thought? Surely Jesus doesn't love you. Jesus says, I love you. Go to see my love for you. Look at the cross. Our salvation is of grace and mercy. It issues forth from the love of God to us. He set his affection on us before the foundation of the world. In the fullness of time, Jesus came and he died in the place of sinners because he loves you. And hold on to that. He can't love you more than he loves you. He loves you to the fullest. He can't love you less than he loves you. John called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. And he rests in that truth, and so must we. It's interesting as you look forward, we're going to contrast these two men in John's Gospel. John is interesting among all of the disciples. They all scattered. Peter betrayed the Lord. Well, denied the Lord. It was a partial betrayal. He didn't fully fall away. He repented. He denied the Lord three times. But who was at the cross? The disciple Jesus loved. Already watching over, tenderly caring for Mary and her worst nightmare as she saw her son crucified on that cross. John was there. He was the only one that was there. And then even later, when the Lord restored Peter at the end of the Gospel of John, Peter, do you love me? Three times, Peter, Lord, you know I love you. Three times, feed my sheep, tend my lambs. This was his commissioning of Peter to be a shepherd to the people of God. John walks by, and Peter says, well, what about him? And you wonder, and I'm speculating here a bit now, but perhaps Peter knew that John was there. Peter knew that John did not deny the Lord the way he had, and now he's being restored. Well, what about him? And in essence, Jesus said, well, that's none of your business. And so many words. He says, if I will for him to live until I come again. then so be it. You don't worry about him. You tend my sheep. This is what I've called you to do." And so a rumor spread that John would not die until the Lord's return. It was a rumor. John died long ago, but John seems to have outlived all of the other apostles Is it because John is good and John is somehow better? No, it's because John realized, Jesus loves me. I'm beloved of Christ. And that's what constrains him. That's what holds him. That's what drove him to be at the cross with Jesus' mother as Jesus was being crucified. It's interesting in the text as well that John, or the disciple whom Jesus loves, occupies a place of privilege. and honor as they're reclined at the table. You have to kind of read between the lines to see this, but you have whoever officiated in the meal, and I'm convinced this is the Passover meal from the Synoptic Gospels. We don't see it as clearly in John's Gospel, but in harmonizing them and bringing them together, I'm convinced that this is the Passover meal. It's also the meal where Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, which we will eat together tonight. When we come back for evening worship, they didn't sit at a table in straight-backed chairs like da Vinci imagined in his painting. I'm not advocating images of Christ, but everybody's familiar with the painting, this historic painting. But rather, the tables were set low to the ground in a U-shape. Whoever was officiating was at the head, and then there were two places of honor. They would recline on their left elbow. It'd be hard for me, because I'm left-handed, not to recline, but to eat with my right hand. But they would recline on their left elbow with their bodies angled backwards, and whoever was to the right of the one who was officiating is in a place of honor, so that his head would be to the chest of the person who's officiating. And then the other place of honor would be to his left, whose his head would be to the chest of that individual. And as you read between the lines, you realize this is precisely how it was arranged. Jesus at the head, just to his right, with his head to Jesus' bosom or chest, was John. And just to his left, with his head to the bosom, her chest was Judas. Have you ever considered that? Judas was actually seated in a place of honor? And John? Now how do we know this? We know it because when Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me again. And the disciples said, is it me? Is it me? Can you imagine if you were there? Lord, tell me it's not me that's going to betray you. Who's gonna betray you? And Peter, and this is going on, says to John, so Peter was probably near enough to speak to John, ask Jesus who he's talking about. All John has to do is turn his head. And he's whispering in Jesus' ear. Who's it going to be? And Jesus takes John into his confidence. And he tells John, and only John is the one who dips the salt with me. It's the one to whom I give the bread. In fulfillment of the psalm that we read of David, one who has eaten my bread is lifted, is healed against me. Of course, David's talking about a betrayal by someone close to him. But it has fulfillment, a greater fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ and his betrayal. One that Jesus has fed bread, one that he's broken bread with, one that he's had fellowship with, one that he's loved, and he's loved to the end. He will betray me. And John hears this, but he doesn't tell Peter. Maybe he could tell by Jesus' tone of voice, this is meant for you to know. Because the others don't know. And then think about what happens now back to Judas. Remember we saw at the beginning of the text, Satan put it into his head to betray the Lord. Jesus knew it before he washed his feet. That's clear in the text. Now as we come to this crucial moment, after Jesus has told John, it's the one to whom I give the bread, the one who dips the sop with me, he is the one. And Jesus took bread and dipped it, and what did he have to do? He just had to do this to give it to Judas, because Judas is right here. Judas took the bread, and what does the text say? Satan entered him. I don't think this is talking about demon possession at this point. I think it's showing the progress of temptation. Satan first puts it in his head, the idea. He thought about the idea enough even to begin to make contact with and potential arrangements with those who wanted Jesus' life. We don't know his full motivation. One we're told is that he had the money bag and he had been taking money from the money bag. So he's a thief, we're told in scripture. So perhaps it was to some degree for financial gain. He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver in fulfillment of prophecy. But there could have been other motivations too. Perhaps he's troubled that Jesus hasn't taken up the sword. Troubled that Jesus hasn't ushered in the kingdom where he would be in an honored place. Perhaps he's trying to force Jesus' hand in this betrayal. We don't know everything that was going on. We know he's unregenerate. We know he's reprobate. But the temptation is put into his head by Satan. He begins to contemplate that. He even takes some action towards actually doing it. But this is like one last opportunity for Judas. In a place of honor, Jesus dips the sop. This is an act of intimacy. This is an act of fellowship. This is breaking bread with a man that Jesus has walked with for three years, and he's walked with him. And he turns and he hands him the bread. But instead of receiving it as the bread of fellowship, Satan entered him. Judas decided, I'm going to do it. And then Jesus said, do it. What you do, do quickly. He knew what Judas had decided. And Judas got up from the meal, took the money bag, and went out the door. And the other disciples wondered, where is Judas going? Maybe he's going to buy more supplies for the meal, because we're running low. Maybe he's going to give some money to the poor. John knew. The others didn't know. Judas knew. More importantly, Jesus knew. You need to recognize this. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not something that happened to him. He orchestrated it. Even from Caesarea Philippi, he set his face for Jerusalem. No one could turn him back. And he began to tell his disciples what was going to happen. He's going to be delivered over. He's going to be crucified. The third day, he's going to rise again from the dead. They never heard anything pass he's going to be crucified before they shut their ears. He is in sovereign control. And when he says to Judas, what you do, do quickly. Now is the time. Not for Satan's victory. Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified in the cross and our redemption. And that's what's taking place. Jesus is in complete control. Not Judas, not those that seek his life, not Satan who has tempted Judas and has now entered Judas in league with Judas and Judas with him. But the Lord Jesus Christ is in sovereign control. Why? Because you need a redeemer. And nothing would keep him from the cross. because he loved you to the end. And the end is not just washing his disciples' feet. The end is what happens the next day when he's crucified in the place of sinners. He's in control. Another way we see this is as we come to this text, beginning with verse 21, he says, John says, after these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified. What troubled his spirit? In everything that follows in the text that we've looked at already, what troubled his spirit? I think here he was troubled because he was losing Judas. I think his heart was breaking, even though he knew from before the foundation of the earth that this is what was gonna happen. Jesus can love Judas at the same time bring judgment upon him because he's a sinner. I don't understand fully how that can be, but it is. It's really the ground for the free offer of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think the free offer is made again to Judas when he gives him the bread. Judas could have rejected Satan. Yes, this was ordained before the foundation of the earth, but Judas is not coerced by the eternal decree of God. He is responsible for his own choice and his own action. That's the way God's sovereignty works. It doesn't violate our liberty as moral creatures. It is a mystery how it all works, but it is. I think he was troubled in spirit because his heart was broken just like David's heart was broken when one to whom he gave bread lifted up his heel against him. And that lament we saw in Psalm 41, the last Psalm of Book 1, just a little lesson for tonight as we're looking at the arrangement and flow of the Psalms. I think the same thing. I think Jesus' heart is broken at the betrayal of Judas, they called a friend. I think that's what troubles him here, because what we see as we move forward is Jesus is preoccupied not with the next day, not yet, but with them, with the disciples. That's why he goes on to teach them the things they desperately need to know, that they can recall after he's crucified. And then after he's raised, and they see him raised from the dead, and after he's ascended, and after he sent the Holy Spirit, and the Great Commission begins, those words that they need to hear, he is preoccupied with telling them those things. That's why we're going to focus on that narrative. And when he prays in John 17, he's praying for them. And for us. His preoccupation at this point, the night that he was betrayed, was upon his disciples. Yes, even Judas. And upon us. It's later that we see that the weight of what he's going to face comes upon him when we seem troubled in spirit again. And John doesn't record that prayer for us. We have to go to the synoptics. In Gethsemane, when he took Peter and James and John, yes, the beloved disciple. away from the others, when he went a stone throw away, and when he contemplated what he was going to face as the God-man. Yes, the one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, with a divine and human nature, but as the God-man the next day. When your sins would be imputed to him, and with the wrath of the Father he'd love. would be poured out upon him in your stead. And he was so troubled in spirit, we read he swept like great drops of blood in agony and perhaps could have even perished there had the angels not been there to strengthen him. Because he had a cross to bear upon his back the next day. On the Via Dolorosa, on the way to Golgotha, And there he would be crucified in the place of sinners. And there he would face the wrath of God as if he were the most unholy, unrighteous, wicked, and evil person who ever existed. Because all of your sins are imputed to him. Though he knew no sin, he became sin for you. That's what the scriptures say. And the wrath of God was poured out upon him. Why? Because Jesus loves you. Do you see? Because you're the beloved disciple to redeem you. Because had He not, you would be hopelessly lost. Your works can only condemn you. You've broken God's law. If there's to be any hope for you, it's got to be in a covenant of grace. It's all of grace. If God is going to be just and a justifier of sinners, someone has to pay. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And He paid the burden. He paid the debt in full. And the weight of that, as He anticipated it, the night later, after being troubled in spirit, and being preoccupied with preparing those that he loved, the most intimate ones with him, his disciples. The weight of it was crushing. But the next day, he was crushed. It was dark for three hours. Dark is night in the middle of the day because of what was happening to Christ on the cross. And when that darkness lifted and there was light, Jesus looked up and he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's what he cried to the father. because the Father's wrath was being poured out upon him in your stead. He loved you to the end, to the cross. And he paid for your sins. And all you have to do is say, have mercy upon me, a sinner. And you're washed clean. That's the sinner's prayer. Have mercy upon me, a sinner. Jesus loved them to the end. He loved them to the uttermost. He loves us to the end. He loves us to the uttermost. But I need to end with a warning. Twelve, but a visible church. There are 12 that are a symbol that he's called with the outward call. Who answered that outward call? Or so it seems. And yet among them is one who is reprobate. One who doesn't know Jesus. That's Judas. That most intimate expression of the physical church. We are the visible church. We've entered into covenant relationship with God through baptism. But there are in the visible church those who are elect of God, there are those in the visible church that are reprobate, there are those in the visible church that are elect of God who are yet unregenerate. Are you in Christ Jesus? Is he your only hope? Is your identity? I'm a disciple Jesus loves. You may have been going to church all your life. You may know all the answers. Do you know Christ? I trust you do, or the vast number of you do, but if there's someone here who doesn't, today is the day of salvation. Turn from your sin, cling to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word.