[0:00] So a couple of things. First, if you're using the notes this morning, you'll notice they're! a little bit in the wrong order, but the page is numbered one, two, three, three, three, three, four. So just follow page one to four, and then you'll be able to keep up and follow along.
[0:38] Last week, we started into chapter 13, which is really the beginning of one whole section that ends at the end of chapter 17, covers roughly 24 hours just before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. And Jesus is spending time with his disciples, teaching them and preparing them for his going back to be with the Father. And today, we're going to read from chapter 13, verse 18, down to verse 30.
[1:15] John's Gospel, chapter 13, verse 18, down to verse 30. Jesus is speaking. I am not referring to all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of scripture. He who shared my bread has turned against me. I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly, I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.
[2:05] After he said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, very truly, I tell you, one of you is going to betray me. His disciples stared at one another at a loss to know which of them he meant.
[2:26] One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ask him which one he means. Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, Lord, who is it?
[2:45] Jesus answered, it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish. Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
[2:59] As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, what you are about to do, do quickly. But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out and it was night.
[3:38] Well, let's keep our Bibles open there at that section and we'll pray and ask for the Lord's help. Father, we are weak and we are helpless. And therefore, we come and ask that you would pour out your spirit upon each one of us, that we may focus our minds upon you and your word, and that it may change our hearts and cause us to wonder and worship at our victorious champion, Jesus Christ.
[4:27] Help us now, we pray. Amen. So two words can sum up what we're going to be looking at this morning. Warning and worship.
[4:44] Warning and worship. Warning, Satan's opposition to Jesus and his church. And worship, Jesus' defeat of Satan for the church. So first, warning, Satan's opposition to Jesus and his church.
[5:06] As Jesus loved and served his disciples, so the sinister forces of darkness were at work. Go back to verse 2. The evening meal was in progress. The devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
[5:29] And then it gets even darker. The disciples want to know, who could it possibly be? Who would betray Jesus? Jesus. Verse 26.
[5:41] Jesus answered, It's the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish. Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
[5:58] As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. You see, Satan is opposed to Jesus.
[6:09] He wants rid of Jesus. He wants the mission of Jesus to fail. And it seems to be working. Verse 30.
[6:20] As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. The dark night reflected Satan's dark schemes.
[6:34] And Judas' dark soul. Within a few hours, Jesus would be arrested, betrayed, beaten, mocked, crucified.
[6:47] The forces of darkness are real. Now there's two things that we can learn from this warning. The first one is this.
[7:00] The reality of Satan. The reality of Satan. Satan or the devil is not make-believe. He's not a cartoon character dressed in a red cape with two horns and a pitchfork.
[7:16] He's real. Jesus spoke about him in chapter 8, verse 44. Where he describes Satan as the father of lies.
[7:28] That when he speaks lies, he's speaking the language of lies. There's no truth in him. He is the father of lies. In chapter 12, verse 31.
[7:40] Satan is described as the prince of this world. Or the ruler of this world. From the beginning of time, he has sought to oppose Jesus and his church.
[7:54] And one of the ways he does this is by working through betrayal. We expect most of the time for opposition to come from the outside, but never from the inside.
[8:07] Friends don't betray friends. Well, it seems sometimes they do. Sadly, this sinister work of Satan is all too common.
[8:19] Almost on a weekly basis now, I hear or read about influential church leaders across the world who have betrayed Jesus and his church. It might be an affair.
[8:32] It could be stealing funds. It could be telling lies. It could be false teaching. But it's not just confined to leaders. It's there in the whole church.
[8:43] People can slander one another. Spread lies and stir up trouble. Betrayal can come in many forms. And when it does, it's devastating.
[8:56] It brings disorder, division and disruption. You see, Satan is not a joke. He is in opposition to Jesus. And he is in opposition to the church.
[9:12] So first, we learn there's the reality of Satan. But second, we can learn the responsibility of man.
[9:22] You see, as we read this text, we might be feeling a little bit of sympathy for Judas. It seems he didn't have a chance. Satan had prompted Judas in verse 2.
[9:36] And then Satan entered Judas, verse 27. We can think that, well, poor Judas didn't have a chance. The devil made me do it.
[9:49] Oh, no, he didn't. Judas is responsible for his actions and his choices. You see, when it says in verse 27 that Satan entered Judas, it's not like he was put into a spellbound trance or that he's under some kind of robotic control.
[10:11] No, the phrase means he was influenced by Satan. Through his life, one step at a time, he began to listen to the father of lies and began to follow the prince of this world.
[10:29] Look back with me to chapter 12, verse 4. Chapter 12, verse 4. Here we're introduced to a woman called Mary who had poured a very expensive bottle of perfume on Jesus' feet.
[10:50] We're told in the text that it cost a year's wage. So, well, whatever your wage is, let's say 30,000 euro on a bottle of perfume.
[11:01] That's a lot, isn't it? It was an act of devotion and love towards Jesus. But not everyone was happy, verse 4. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Jesus, objected.
[11:22] Why wasn't this perfume sold in the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.
[11:36] As a keeper of the money bag, the treasurer, he used to help himself to what was in it. Go back to chapter 13.
[11:48] You see, it implies that Judas had been tempted. Judas, you work so hard. And you get so little for it.
[11:59] Why don't you just take some cash? You deserve it. And so it can be with us. We stop listening to the word of God and we begin to listen to the lies of Satan.
[12:14] We engage with his prompts. We come under his influence. You see, we need to be very careful that we don't end up like a Judas.
[12:27] As one writer put it like this, Judas had spent three years with Jesus. Judas saw the clearest evidence. Judas heard the finest teaching.
[12:40] Judas followed the greatest example. But Judas still betrayed Jesus. Well, we can come to church.
[12:52] We can hear the word being taught. It mightn't be the finest, but it's still God's word. We can serve in ministries. But at the same time, we can ignore those sinful habits and patterns.
[13:07] No one else knows what they are deep inside. But you do. And I know what's in my heart. And we need to be so very careful because we have an enemy who opposes Jesus and will use people to cause division and disorder and upset.
[13:29] You see, we can never say, the devil made me do it. I choose to do it. So first, let's hear the warning of this message.
[13:47] Satan is opposed to Jesus and his church. And he will use people to bring destruction to the church.
[13:57] So warning. Second, worship. Jesus' defeat of Satan for the church.
[14:11] You see, despite Satan's opposition to Jesus, Jesus is the one who defeats Satan. You see, Jesus and Satan are not equal and opposite forces.
[14:24] This is not yin and yang. No, God's word is telling us that Jesus has absolute power and supreme authority over Satan and all his schemes.
[14:36] Again, there's two things we can learn from this. First, Jesus' sovereignty over Satan. His sovereignty over Satan.
[14:48] Satan's attack was not a surprise. Go back to verse 10. Jesus had been washing the disciples' feet, a sign of a deeper spiritual cleansing that he would do.
[15:04] Look at the middle of verse 10. And Jesus says, And you are clean, though not every one of you. For Jesus knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.
[15:21] You see, it wasn't a surprise. Jesus knew. In fact, it was all part of God's bigger and wider plan. Look at verse 18.
[15:33] Jesus says, I am not referring to all of you, to all of those who I said were clean. I know those who I have chosen. But this is to fulfill, this betrayal is to fulfill this passage of Scripture.
[15:49] He who shared my bread has turned against me. Now, the quote Jesus has here from Psalm 41 is a psalm from David lamenting how in his struggle people turned against him.
[16:08] And here's the full quote. You can read it there on the screen. Even my close friend, someone who I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.
[16:25] You see, Jesus is taking this psalm and he's showing us this was my experience. A close friend, someone who I trusted, someone who I shared my meals with, has turned against me.
[16:41] But it's not just showing us Jesus' experience. He's also showing us that what David had written a thousand years before was ultimately about Jesus and his betrayal to come.
[16:58] Verse 18, this is to fulfill the passage of Scripture. He who shared my bread has turned against me. You see, the betrayal is not just known by Jesus.
[17:12] It was all part of God's bigger and wider plan. He knew what was going to take place. He planned it. In fact, it's all under the control of Jesus.
[17:23] Verse 21, 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.
[17:36] Verse 27, As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, What you are about to do, do quickly.
[17:50] You see, Jesus is the one who actually sends Judas out and tells Judas, Go and do what you're meant to do. He gives him permission to carry out the betrayal.
[18:02] You see, Jesus uses the schemes of Satan to achieve his ultimate purpose. Satan wanted rid of Jesus.
[18:14] His plan was to use Jesus to have him arrested and ultimately killed. And Jesus was crucified. But it was no defeat. The death of Jesus was the defeat of Satan.
[18:29] Jesus shows us this if you go back to chapter 12, verse 31. Again, he knew what was going to happen.
[18:40] Chapter 12, verse 31. He'd been speaking about his coming death. He says, Now is the time for judgment on this world.
[18:51] Now the prince of this world, that is Satan, will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
[19:04] He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. Jesus' death would secure the defeat of Satan.
[19:19] He would drive the prince of this world out. Jesus is sovereign over Satan and all his schemes.
[19:34] But there's something else we can learn. And that is Jesus' victory over Satan. Not just his sovereignty, ruling over everything, but his victory.
[19:47] Listen to what he says, verse 19. I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.
[20:03] He's making it clear that he's in control of all that's going to happen. Even though the disciples don't understand now, he says, when it does happen, when the betrayal does take place, when my death takes place, then you will understand.
[20:21] He puts it like this, verse 19. When it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am. Now, doesn't that seem a very strange way to refer to himself?
[20:34] I am who I am. Who are you? I am who I am. But Jesus' words are intentional. And they're full of victorious power.
[20:49] Keep your finger in John chapter 13 and go all the way back to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3. Here God appears to Moses from the burning bush and he speaks to Moses.
[21:21] And he's calling Moses to go and to save God's people who are in slavery under the cruel tyrant Pharaoh. We're going to pick it up in verse 7.
[21:37] The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and I am concerned for their suffering.
[21:49] So I have come down to rescue. Verse 10. So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
[22:03] Verse 13. Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me, What is his name?
[22:19] Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. That is what you are to say to the Israelites.
[22:31] I am has sent me to you. Let's go back to John 13. The self-existing, self-sustaining God, the one who has no beginning and no end, the one who is eternal, I am who I am, will release and free God's people from slavery.
[22:57] Now Jesus comes on the scene and he declares to be, I am who I am. Jesus is the eternal, self-existing God who has come to free people from a greater slavery, slavery to sin and to death and to Satan.
[23:18] through my death, Jesus is saying, I will break the chains that enslave you to the prince of this world. I will drive him out and I will free all those who come to me.
[23:35] As Jesus said in John 8, so if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. You see, on the cross, Jesus died for our sins.
[23:51] He took the judgment that we deserve. He suffered hell for us. He went into that battle and died on our place. He is the victorious champion.
[24:04] Here is how the Bible puts it. you can follow on the screen there. Jesus has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
[24:27] Or here in Colossians, Jesus cancelled the charge of our indebtedness which stood against us and condemned us. He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities that is Satan and his demons, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross.
[24:52] Or Hebrews, Jesus by his death breaks the power of him who holds the power of death, that is the devil, and frees those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
[25:12] Rescued from darkness to light, cancelling the charge that stood against us, setting us free from our slavery to death, Satan, the ancient serpent, has been crushed and defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
[25:36] Now this has massive implications for us because Jesus' victory directs and shapes the purpose of the church today.
[25:50] Look at verse 20, chapter 13, verse 20. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.
[26:07] You see, Jesus comes as the victorious champion, and he is sending his church with a triumphant message, the good news of a decisive victory.
[26:21] You see, if you are a Christian today, if you are in the church, you are a true freedom fighter. Our weapons are not guns and bullets, but the gospel and prayer.
[26:37] As we declare Jesus, as we call people to repent of their sins and to trust Jesus, as we pray for that message to take effect, so people by God's power are setting people free to live a new way, a life not of lies and darkness, but a life full of truth and light.
[27:01] Jesus is the great I am who has won an eternal victory for us, and he sends us now with the power of the Holy Spirit as new people, a new creation, where we can now say no to sin and yes to Christ, and we go into a world that is opposed to him, and we bring this liberating free message of Jesus and show how people can be delivered from the prince of this world and from the father of lies.
[27:35] We have a glorious truth, a truth that sets people free and changes their life now and for all eternity.
[27:49] So what do we learn? well, I hope we hear the warning. Don't be like a Judas. Don't be sitting here today knowing what's going in your heart and never ever dealing with it.
[28:07] Run to the victorious king who has defeated your sin and offers forgiveness today. instead, may we all come and worship that we would bow before Jesus the great I am, our victorious champion who has secured a victory for us and sends us out with a triumphant message.
[28:33] worship him who has rescued us for life eternal. Let's pray together.
[28:45] Father, help us to take the warning of your words seriously.
[29:07] Help us to run to the Savior, to experience light and life. the truth and the hope of eternal life to come.
[29:24] Help us that we would bow in worship and live lives of worship this week as we declare the victory of Christ to those who remain enslaved in sin and death.
[29:39] May they come to know the hope of Christ and the glory to come. in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand together as we sing.
[29:59] Come behold