Wednesday in Jerusalem
Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night (John 13:27b-30).
This gospel reading, which continues the lection we will use on Maundy Thursday, tells the story of Jesus' singling out Judas as the betrayer. Coming right after the intimate moment of the footwashing, this statement of Jesus startled the disciples. No one had any idea who he was talking about. Judas was simply one of them and it is important to remember that Jesus had washed his feet too.
After being identified by Jesus when he gave Judas a morsel of bread, we are told that "Satan entered into him" (27). We should not read this to mean that Judas became "possessed" in the same way as other individuals we meet in the synoptic gospels. The word 'satan' in Hebrew means 'accuser' and is used as a legal term for someone who brings a charge or accusation against someone else. What we do see is Judas becoming an instrument of darkness to bring a charge against Jesus, the true light. The end of verse 30 offers a powerful image as the door opens on to a dark night and Judas disappears into it.
I've always been fascinated by the fact that just 8 verses later, Jesus says to Peter, "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times." Not only Judas, but Peter will betray Jesus, in fact all the disciples will abandon him in the end. Though Judas' betrayal is the most egregious perhaps, he is not qualitatively different from the other disciples, nor is he qualitatively different from you and from me.
To enter into deep friendship is also to know the wounds that only friends can give. Love and betrayal are possibilities for each of us. In this story, we learn that even the darkest wound is held ultimately in the greater design of God's purposes of love and redemption. The light will go on shining in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.
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