Great, so we're back again in John's Gospel and following on from last Thursday, we're in the last 24 hours of Jesus' life, aren't we?
We're at the beginnings of what is known as the farewell discourse where Jesus prepares his disciples for his death and resurrection, for his departure.
Farewell.
And tonight is the night when the plan to betray Jesus and have him killed gets into full motion.
It is a dark, dark moment in the life of Jesus and in the Gospel.
Literally, isn't it, John tells us at the end that it was night time, meaning that it was a spiritually dark time as well as the time of the day.
This is the night when the greatest evil that has ever been committed on the face of this earth is about to transpire.
A dark, dark moment.
But, if you can see it, it is a passage full of encouraging light.
Evil done against Jesus and plotted against him and his people in its most concentrated form, we see here is under the control of Jesus himself.
You may have heard the story of a man called Glenn Chambers and he wanted to go and serve as a missionary overseas to South America in the 1940s.
He'd spent months preparing and eventually he was ready to leave.
It was likely that he wouldn't return home for a number of years.
And so just before boarding the plane, he scribbled a quick note to his parents, thanking them for their support and prayers and expressing his excitement at serving as a missionary abroad.
That night, though, the plane that Glenn Chambers was on got into difficulty.
Turbulent air currents caused the plane's engines to lose power and despite the pilot's best efforts, all of the passengers, including Glenn Chambers, were killed in a crash.
A few weeks later, after Chambers' funeral, the short, scribbled notes had amazingly survived and it was delivered to his parents.
They opened it.
And on the back of the magazine that he'd torn the corner off, happened to be printed one word in bold letters.
Why?
That is the question that the disciples would be asking in about 24 hours, wouldn't it?
In this night of darkness, when tragedy comes into our lives, into their lives, why?
That's the question we ask.
But we see here Jesus' approach to evil and why it's so different
and why it helps us to trust in him when we're faced with it.
I want us to see three things in the passage.
First of all, Jesus' own experience of evil.
Jesus' own experience of evil.
We see, don't we, that he is a God who doesn't simply know about evil in an analytical sense,
but in Christ, he has experienced evil.
And amongst the many things that Jesus did suffer, he suffered betrayal.
It's one thing for the religious leaders to hate Jesus, isn't it?
And we come to expect that in John.
But it's another for a close friend to plot his death.
And we're introduced to Judas, aren't we?
One of Jesus' inner circle.
At the beginning of the passage, Jesus quotes from Psalm 41.
He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.
The one that has shared bread with me is going to kick me.
And verse 21, Jesus was troubled in spirit.
And he testified, he said, one of you is going to betray me tonight.
You see, Jesus is not immune, is he, from the emotion and the experience and the distress of evil.
And in this case, of people letting him down.
Just think, Judas is someone who's enjoyed an intimate friendship with Jesus.
He's somebody who's eaten bread with him.
He was invited and included at this supper.
He's enjoyed it.
He's been part of Jesus' inner circle.
He's been an evangelist, hasn't he?
One who's shown outward signs of affection to Jesus.
And so this evil is particularly painful for him.
He is someone who Jesus has honoured.
Apparently, dipping bread and giving it to a guest is a sign of honour.
He is, presumably, somebody that has had their feet washed along with all the other disciples just moments ago.
In Christ, then, God doesn't just know about evil from afar.
He experiences it.
In his relationships, in his interactions with people.
And this is an evil of a particularly dark nature.
It is concentrated evil.
John tells us that it was to do with the direct involvement of Satan himself.
Verse 27.
Satan entered Judas.
Satan, not just a demonic possession, but Satan himself, came and entered in Judas in some way.
Just think about that for a second.
Because Satan is not omnipresent.
He is not everywhere.
Like God is.
He is not like God in any way.
He is a creature.
His forces are in different places, maybe.
But Satan can only ever be in one place at one time.
He is not God.
He is a creature.
And tonight, he chooses to concentrate his presence in this one place.
And in this betrayal.
He is present most especially at this moment.
This is the night of the power of darkness.
And Jesus then is experiencing an intense satanic activity.
Luke calls it the hour of the power of darkness.
And that's why John says that he was troubled in his spirit.
It is an intense awareness, not just of human betrayal, but of the power of Satan.
And so he experiences undiluted evil.
You might know the story of Julius Caesar.
Where no treachery is worse than that of a family member.
Caesar was murdered, wasn't he?
But among the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar was Marcus Julius Brutus.
Great name, isn't it?
And the thing with Brutus was that Caesar trusted him.
He treated him like a favoured son.
And Caesar managed to resist the first assassination attempts.
But the last straw was when his beloved friend Brutus approached with a dagger.
And at that point, Julius Caesar stopped struggling and famously asked,
You too, Brutus?
It's quite a pitiful image, isn't it, of Caesar.
And as Jesus is betrayed by his closest, we can think that it's like that story,
where he experiences this terrible evil, and he's able to sympathise with us,
but he's sort of caught off guard by it, isn't he?
Like Caesar was.
Like when things happen to us, and we're not expecting them.
And we can't see them coming.
That he was shocked that Judas was going to do this.
He experiences evil, though, but not exactly like we do.
Because we also see, secondly, Jesus' foreknowledge of evil.
Jesus' foreknowledge of evil.
If you look at verse 18,
Jesus speaks of betrayal, doesn't he, in that quote from the psalm.
He who ate bread has lifted his heel against me.
And here's the point in verse 19.
He says to the disciples,
I'm telling you this now, before it takes place.
That when it does, you will believe that I am he, your Messiah, your Saviour.
I want you to know, disciples, that this evil betrayal is not a Brutus moment.
In 24 hours, when you ask the question, why,
you will know that I knew.
I knew about it before it happened.
Evil events are not a surprise to me, even when they are to everybody else.
Notice how in the narrative, no one else had a clue what was about to happen.
Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me.
And they all look at each other, don't they?
Dumbfounded.
They haven't got a clue who the foggiest he is talking about.
None of them have seen it coming.
None of them are thinking, ah, Judas, I knew it.
I knew it all along.
There was something different about him, wasn't there?
They hadn't seen that.
But Jesus knew it.
The enemy was devising a plan, but Jesus knew the plan.
There's no sort of bunker, there's no secret cabinet war room,
there's no hidden code that Satan, that Jesus' enemies,
can use to hide their intentions from him.
God reads him like an open book.
And the dark enigmas that we face when evil things happen are as clear as day to God.
And when no one else understands what's being said,
they think Jesus is talking about Judas going and buying the meal, don't they?
They are totally unaware of the presence of evil in the room.
They're unaware of the threat that is posed to their king and themselves.
But the king knows.
Jesus knows, and he identifies the betrayer.
He dips bread and gives it to Judas.
And he makes John a witness to that identification, doesn't he?
It's worth mentioning the role that John himself has here.
There's this funny little exchange, isn't there, between Peter and John,
when Jesus says, someone is going to betray me.
Peter kind of looks at John and motions to him and says,
who's he talking about?
And John, he's close to Jesus,
and he's told the secrets of the Lord's mind, isn't he?
And this fills us in a little bit on John's role
in being made party to the deep, penetrating truths about Jesus.
It's part of his role later on in writing this gospel.
A deeply spiritual, a deeply penetrating gospel.
And that relationship between John and Jesus
is given airtime here to help build our confidence
in the words that we're reading here.
These are not just words of a biographer,
or even of an eyewitness,
but of a close friend and a confidant,
who was made witness to the inner workings
of Jesus' mind and character.
So we've seen with Jesus,
he is a God who suffers evil,
who feels it,
but he isn't ignorant of it like we are.
And there is this foreknowledge of it.
But lastly, and most encouragingly,
I think Jesus doesn't just know what is going to happen,
he controls what is going to happen.
He is master over it.
Thirdly, Jesus' sovereignty over evil.
This betrayal is not a surprise to Jesus,
but neither is it just blind fate.
Neither is it just destiny.
There's a Greek myth about a guy called Oedipus.
And he's the main character in a story
where an oracle predicts
that he will kill his father
and then marry his own mother in the future.
And Oedipus hates this idea.
He doesn't want that to happen,
so he tries to avoid that.
But all of his schemes to avoid that
simply end up hastening it.
The destined end is reached
despite his and everyone else's efforts around him
to avoid it,
because it's fate.
It's destiny for Oedipus.
And we can be a bit like that.
We can know something bad is going to happen,
but have no power to change it
and be drawn unavoidably towards it.
But again, that is not how Jesus experiences this evil.
That's not how he knows evil
or anything else evil
that is going to happen in the future for that matter.
Because John shows us
Jesus' absolute control
and his initiation of events.
Notice that the initiative
comes from Jesus himself.
Not Judas
or even Satan.
The cue
for Judas
to set things in motion
comes from Jesus
in the passage.
Did you see that?
Verse 27
Jesus gives Judas
the morsel of bread.
Then
Satan
enters him.
And then verse 13
After receiving
the morsel of bread
then
Judas went out.
Do you see?
It is Jesus
who gives the signal.
It is Jesus
who decides
when
Psalm 41
is going to be fulfilled.
It is Jesus
who gives the signal
for the betrayal.
The signal
for Satan
to enter in.
The signal
for Judas
to leave.
He says to Judas
now
go and do
what you're going to do.
And Judas
leaves.
And here's the irony
he's possessed
by Satan
and yet
Judas
still has to obey
Jesus
doesn't he?
Jesus
is the one
giving the orders.
He is the one
giving the cues
and the signals.
he is setting
the times
and the events
he is in control.
Jesus
identifies
his enemy
his betrayer
and Jesus
sends him away.
Jesus
tolerates
Judas
until the time
is right for Jesus.
Not before
and not after.
Jesus
sets the timetable
even for
Satan's activity.
Somebody once
said he may be
the devil
but he is
God's devil
and he's
on a leash.
And we see that
all over the Bible
don't we?
We see it
if you're familiar
with the book of Job
in the Old Testament.
Satan ruins
Job's life
for a time.
But it's all
under the limitation
and permission
and sovereignty
of God
to whom
Satan
has to give
an answer.
It was
the hour
of darkness
Luke says
but earlier
in John's
gospel
Jesus says
to Mary
at the wedding
in Cana
you can remember
all the way
back there
it is
my hour
has not yet
come.
So 24 hours
after
this supper
not only
will the disciples
remember that
Jesus knew
that it was
all going to
happen
but that he
was Lord
of all that
was going to
happen.
It is
my hour
it is
my time
it is
my betrayal
it's
my death
I lay
my life
down
no one
takes it
from me
I lay
it down
of my
own
accord
and so
can you
feel
there is
this
tension
isn't
there
the Lord
Jesus
who is
sinless
God
whose eyes
cannot bear
to look
upon
evil
controls
and initiates
evil
for his
purpose
Peter
who was
in the
room
that
night
he would
later
preach
in Acts
2
after the
resurrection
and he
says
this
Jesus
delivered
up
according
to the
definite
plan
and
foreknowledge
of God
you
crucified
and killed
by the
hands of
lawless
men
do you
feel the
tension
there
and who
was it
who sent
Jesus
to the
cross
who
was it
who
betrayed
who
arranged
the
betrayal
from
Judas
I suppose
you could
say
well
it might
have been
a little
bit of
God
but it
was mainly
man
wasn't it
it was mainly
people
that did
it
so
20%
God
80%
evil
men
or
you could
say
it was
50%
God
50%
evil
men
but
John
13
and
Acts
2
tell us
quite
clearly
even
though
it's
hard
to
grasp
that
actually
it was
100%
evil
man
and it
was
100%
God
there
were
lawless
personalities
like
Judas
and
Satan
who
were
responsible
for
his
betrayal
and
death
they
were
the
ones
who
actually
killed
him
yet
they
were
always
under
Jesus'
rule
without
removing
the
responsibility
they
had
for the
actions
since
Judas
and
the
killers
did
only
what
their
own
hearts
were
moved
to
do
what
they
wanted
to
do
it
wasn't
that
Judas
was
turned
into
a
puppet
that
night
kind
of
like
a
robot
he
was
moved
down
the
road
of
his
own
desire
to
betray
Jesus
and so
without
removing
responsibility
God
works
through
people's
own
desires
and
actions
however
evil
they
might
be
to
perform
his
good
purpose
it
wasn't
fate
as if
Judas
was like
that guy
in the
Greek
myth
and he
really
didn't
want
this
to
happen
and he
wanted
to
avoid
it
but he
couldn't
because
someone
made
him
do
it
God's
sovereignty
does not
work like
that
rather than
working
against
our
choices
and
despite
them
God
works
through
people's
choices
and
actions
to work
out
his
will
he
doesn't
just
know
what
people
are
going
to
do
he
kind
of
arrange
things
around
that
he
sovereignly
ordains
what
people
are
going
to
do
and
that
goes
for
this
betrayal
and
for
any
evil
thing
that
happens
in
the
world
it's
hard to
get our
heads
around
isn't
it
Jesus
Christ
was a
real
victim
of
real
evil
he
experienced
it
really
and
fully
as
any
one
of
us
would
feel
it
and
yet
he
knows
beforehand
it
is
going
to
happen
and
he
rules
when
it
does
happen
I just
want to
say
as we
close
that
I know
some
of you
are going
through
especially
hard
things
at the
moment
housing
issues
loss
heartbreak
and there
will be
plenty
of
things
that
nobody
else
knows
about
as well
in your
lives
and if
we look
at each
other's
lives
on a
Thursday
afternoon
there will
be plenty
of things
that none
of us
have got
a foggiest
clue
about
won't
there
and there
will even
be things
in our
own
lives
that we
haven't
got a
clue
about
that are
coming
up in
the
future
evil
things
or
threats
that might
happen
and lie
ahead
and when
they do
happen
the question
we ask
is why
well
Jesus
knows
and all
is open
to him
the dark
moments
as well
as the
light
moments
are as
clear as
day to
him
and things
are never
left to
chance
things are
never left
to fate
with him
and you
are in
the situation
you are
in
because
he is
in control
of it
and when
evil comes
and if
evil comes
and if
there is
an evil
hour
or many
evil hours
in your
life
Jesus
says
no
this
is
my
hour
if
you are
trusting
in
him
and all
things
are
worked
out
for the
good
of those
who
love
him
aren't
they
always
meticulously
timed
and controlled
and signalled
and motioned
by the
Lord Jesus
he is
Lord of
all
even of
the devil
he is
on a
leash
for his
perfect
and good
purposes
just as
they would
be on
that
dark
night
and in
that
dark
hour
for
think
about
the
good
that
would
come
from
his
betrayal
and the
killing
because
it was
according
to the
definite
plan
and the
full
knowledge
of
God
we
don't
know
the
reasons
why
often
do we
we
might not
be able
to think
of the
reasons
why
but that's
okay
it is
because it
doesn't mean
that there
isn't a
reason
and when
we're
struggling
with hard
things
we are
to look
to this
betrayal
to this
passage
and to
the cross
and see
right here
the God
who feels
it with
you in
Jesus
but not
just that
the God
who knows
it all
beforehand
and who
controls
it all
for good
and so
let us
trust in
him
let's pray
to him
now