Today’s Gospel – Wednesday of Holy Week
21Ταῦτα εἰπὼν [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς ἐταράχθη τῷ πνεύματι καὶ ἐμαρτύρησεν καὶ
εἶπεν· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με.
22ἔβλεπον εἰς ἀλλήλους οἱ μαθηταὶ ἀπορούμενοι περὶ τίνος λέγει.
23ἦν ἀνακείμενος εἷς ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὃν
ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς.
24νεύει οὖν τούτῳ Σίμων Πέτρος πυθέσθαι τίς ἂν εἴη περὶ οὗ λέγει.
25ἀναπεσὼν οὖν ἐκεῖνος οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λέγει αὐτῷ·
κύριε, τίς ἐστιν;
26ἀποκρίνεται [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς· ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ᾧ ἐγὼ βάψω τὸ ψωμίον καὶ
δώσω αὐτῷ. βάψας οὖν τὸ ψωμίον [λαμβάνει καὶ] δίδωσιν Ἰούδᾳ Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου.
27καὶ μετὰ τὸ ψωμίον τότε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὁ σατανᾶς. λέγει οὖν
αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ὃ ποιεῖς ποίησον τάχιον.
28τοῦτο [δὲ] οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τῶν ἀνακειμένων πρὸς τί εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
29τινὲς γὰρ ἐδόκουν, ἐπεὶ τὸ γλωσσόκομον εἶχεν Ἰούδας, ὅτι λέγει
αὐτῷ [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς· ἀγόρασον ὧν χρείαν ἔχομεν εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν, ἢ τοῖς πτωχοῖς ἵνα
τι δῷ.
30λαβὼν οὖν τὸ ψωμίον ἐκεῖνος ἐξῆλθεν εὐθύς. ἦν δὲ νύξ.
31Ὅτε οὖν ἐξῆλθεν, λέγει Ἰησοῦς· νῦν ἐδοξάσθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν αὐτῷ·
32[εἰ ὁ θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν αὐτῷ], καὶ ὁ θεὸς δοξάσει αὐτὸν ἐν αὐτῷ,
καὶ εὐθὺς δοξάσει αὐτόν. [NA28]
Today’s Gospel continues
with the Gospel of John the 13th chapter. Curiously we associate the story of Judas
with the Seder meal on Thursday. Yet if
we think about it, it could not have occurred on Thursday because Judas would
have to make arrangements first. The 29th
verse tells us what the disciples were thinking.
In the 27th
verse we are told that Satan entered him (Judas). Now I’m not an advocate of magical thinking
here. Satan isn’t lurking around ready
to pounce into anyone he can, and dispose them to evil. I think rather that the statement that Satan
entered into Judas, is merely a way of speaking about Judas intent. Perhaps it
is saying that temporarily Judas lost his right mind and gave in to the more base
elements of his personality. But you are
free to see it otherwise if you so choose.
The rest of the passage is
strange, given that Judas was off to do evil.
We are told that the Son of Man, i.e. Jesus, has been glorified - νῦν
ἐδοξάσθη. Those of us now acquainted
with the story find it difficult to understand how ‘betrayal’ can be ‘glorification’. We think of Judas’ actions as reprehensible,
but Jesus tells us that he is glorified by Judas. And even more, that God is
glorified in Jesus and the betrayal of him (v. 31). Curious isn’t it? But it gets even more confusing when we look
at verse 32, where we are told that if God is glorified in Him, then God will
glorify him into himself and do so immediately. I wonder why John uses the preposition ἐν,
rather than ἐντος. Perhaps ἐντος is too emphatic. But that is what one would expect
from Jesus’ saying - some emphasis.
Perhaps we should look at
the root of the verb δοξάζω.
The word comes from the word δόξα, which simply means opinion. But in the New Testament it refers to esteem
and glory. So δοξάζω becomes to glorify. But that information doesn’t really help us understand
how Judas’ betrayal can be glorifying to Jesus.
Jesus tells Judas to do what you are about to do and do it quickly
(v.27). Is there some Calvinist/Predestination
thing going on here? Does Jesus have divine foreknowledge of Judas and what he
is about to do? It’s a curious thought. If
it is the case that Judas’ actions were predestined, then we can hardly blame
him for what he was destined to do. Can
we? Put that together with Jesus
statement that he is now glorified, and we come into a more elaborate
conundrum, because Judas’ doing what he was to do glorified Jesus and God along
with him. Maybe I’m looking at it too
closely? But I think that we in light of
this passage ought to rethink Judas role in all this. Perhaps we have got it all wrong, and then
again maybe not. Just something to think
about…
We might also think about Satan’s
role in this, now that we are in the midst of a virus infecting the world, we
might think that Satan has entered into our society and destroyed it. But that would be merely symbolic thinking,
not scientific thinking appropriate for the 21st century. I know some believers that would blame Satan
rather than Judas in the passage today, but a metaphoric manner of speaking is
not a direct form of speaking and we should abandon it.
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