21 "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testi- fied, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall be- tray me.
22 Tlien the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
23 Now there was leaning on Je- sus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
24 Simon Peter therefore beck- oned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
25 He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord who is it?
26 Jesus answered, he it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when 1
have dipped ii. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave il to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan en- tered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he sjjake this unto him.
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Je- sus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast ; or, that he should give something- to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
The subject of the verses before iis is a very painful one. They describe the last scene between our Lord Jesus Christ and the false Apostle Judas Iscariot. They contain the last words which passed between them before they parted forever in this Avorld. They never seem to have met again on earth, excepting in the gar- den when our Lord was taken prisoner. Within a short time both the holy Master and the treacherous servant were dead. They will never meet again in the body till the trumpet sounds, and the dead are raised, and the judgment is set, and the books are opened. What an awful meeting will that be !
Let us mark, firstly, in this passage, tohat ti'ouUe our
so EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Lord Jesus went through for the sake of our souls. We are told tliaf shortly after washing the disciples' feet, He " was troubled in spirit, and said, One of you shall betray Me."
The whole length and breadth and depth of our Master's troubles during His earthly ministry are far beyond the conception of most people. His death and suffering on the cross were only the heading up and completion of His sorrows. But all throughout His life, — partly from the general unbelief of the Jews, — partly from the special hatred of the Pharisees and bad- ducees, — partly from the weakness and infirmity of His few followers, — He must have been in a peculiar degree " a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isa. liii. 3.)
But the trouble before us was a singular and excep- tional one. It was the bitter sorrow of seeing a chosen Apostle deliberately becoming an apostate, a backslider, and an ungrateful traitor. That it was a foreseen sorrow from the beginning we need not doubt ; but sorrow is not less acute because long foreseen. That it was a peculiarly cutting sorrow is very evident. Nothing is found so hard for flesh and blood to bear as ingratitude. Even a poet of our own has said that it is " sharper than a serpent's tooth to have a thankless child." Absalom's rebellion seems to have been David's heaviest trouble, and Judas Iscariot's treachery seems to have been one of the heaviest trials of the Son of David. When He saw it drawing near He was "troubled in spirit."
Passages like these should make us see the amazing love of Christ to sinners. How many cups of sorrow He drained to the dregs in working out our salvation, beside the mighty cup of bearing our sins. They show us how little reason we have for complaining
JOHN, CHAP. xm. 31
when friends fail lis, and men disappoint us. If we share our Master's lot we have no cause to be surprised. Above all, they show us the perfect suitableness of Christ to be our Saviour. He can sympathize with us. He has suffered Himself, and can feel for those who are ill-used and forsaken.
Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, the poioer and malignity of our great enemy the devil. We are told in the beginning of the chapter that he " put it into the heart " of Judas to betray our Lord. We are told here that he " entered into" him. First he suofcrests : then he commands. First he knocks at the door and asks permission to come in : then, once admitted, he takes complete possession, and rules the whole inward man like a tyrant.
Let us take heed that we are not " ignorant of Satan's devices." He is still going to and fro in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. He is about our path, and about our bed, and spies out all our ways. Our only safety lies in resisting him at the first, and not listening to his first advances. For this we are all responsible. Strong as he is, he has no power to do us harm, if we cry to the stronger One in heaven, and use the means which He has appointed. It is a standing principle of Christianity, and will ever be found true. " Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James iv. 7.)
Once let a man begin tampering with the devil, and he never knows how far he may fall. Trifling with the first thoughts of sin, — making light of evil ideas when first offered to our hearts, — allowing Satan to talk to us, and flatter us, and put bad notions into our hearts, — all this may seem a small matter to many. It is precisely at this point that the road to ruin often begins. He that allows Satan to sow wicked thoughts will soon find