John 13:18 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the discovery of Judas’s plot to betray his Master. Christ knew it from the beginning, but now he first made it known to his disciples. They had not expected Christ to be betrayed, though he had often told them he would be, and they much less suspected that one of their own number would do it.

First, Christ gives them a general hint of it (John 13:18). He says, “I am not speaking of all of you.” He could not expect all of them to do these things, because he knew whom he had chosen and whom he had passed by, but the Scripture would be fulfilled (Psalm 41:9), “He who ate bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.” He does not yet name the crime or the criminal. Instead, he prepares them for a fuller revelation.

He shows them that they were not all sincere. He had said before (John 13:10), “You are clean, but not all.” So here he says, “I am not speaking of all of you.” What is said of Christ’s true disciples cannot be said of everyone who bears the name. Christ’s word divides people and shows the difference between one and another. It will separate thousands into hell who had hoped they were on the way to heaven. Even among the best societies there is a mix of good and bad, a Judas among the apostles. It will be so until we come to that blessed society where nothing unclean or false will ever enter.

He also shows that he knew who were true and who were false: “I know whom I have chosen.” He knows the few who are chosen among the many who receive the outward call. Those who are chosen were chosen by Christ himself. He named the persons he would take for his own. And those whom he has chosen are known to him, for he never forgets anyone whom he has once held in his love (2 Timothy 2:19).

He also shows that Judas’s treachery fulfilled Scripture, which removes much of the surprise and offense from the event. Christ took into his own company one whom he foresaw would be a traitor, and he did not prevent it by effective grace, so that Scripture might be fulfilled. This should not become a stumbling block to anyone. It does not lessen Judas’s sin at all, but it may lessen our shock at it. The Scripture quoted is David’s complaint about the treachery of one of his enemies. Jewish writers, and usually ours after them, understand it of Ahithophel. Grotius thought it pointed to Judas’s death being like Ahithophel’s. But since that psalm speaks of David’s sickness, and we read nothing of that when Ahithophel left him, it may better be taken of some other false friend. Christ applies it to Judas.

Judas, as an apostle, had the highest privilege. He ate bread with Christ. He was close to him, favored by him, and part of his household. David said of his traitorous friend, “He ate my bread,” but Christ, being poor, had no bread he could truly call his own. So he says, “He ate bread with me,” meaning the bread his friends provided, which his disciples shared, Judas included. Wherever Christ went, Judas was welcome. He did not sit among servants, but at his Master’s table. He ate the same food and drank the same cup, and in every way lived as Christ lived. He ate miraculous bread with him when the loaves were multiplied, and he ate the Passover with him. All who eat bread with Christ are not true disciples (1 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Judas, as an apostate, was guilty of the basest treachery. He “lifted up the heel” against Christ. First, he forsook him, turned his back on him, and went out from the company of the disciples (John 13:30). Then he despised him, as if shaking off the dust from his feet in contempt of Christ and his gospel. Worse still, he became an enemy to him and kicked at him, as wrestlers do against their opponents when they try to overthrow them. It is no new thing for those who seemed to be Christ’s friends to become his real enemies. Those who pretend to honor him while exalting themselves against him show not only the basest ingratitude, but also the basest treachery and dishonesty.

Christ also tells them why he warned them ahead of time about Judas’s treachery (John 13:19). “I tell you before it happens,” he says, before Judas has begun to carry out his evil plan, “so that when it happens you may not stumble, but believe that I am he, the one who was to come.” By his clear and certain knowledge of things to come, which he proved in many ways, Christ proved himself to be the true God, before whom all things are open. He foretold Judas’s betrayal when there was no reason to suspect it, and so proved himself to be the eternal Word, who sees the thoughts and purposes of the heart. The New Testament prophecies about the falling away in later times, found in 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 Timothy 4, and Revelation, have been clearly fulfilled. That confirms that those writings were given by God and strengthens our trust in the whole Bible.

By applying the types and prophecies of the Old Testament to himself, Christ also proved himself to be the true Messiah, the one to whom all the prophets pointed. It was written this way, and so Christ had to suffer this way, exactly as the Scriptures said (Luke 24:25-26; John 8:28).

He then gives encouragement to his apostles, and to all the ministers he sends out in his service (John 13:20): “Whoever receives the one I send receives me.” This means much the same as other Scriptures, though its connection here is not easy to trace. Christ had told his disciples they must humble themselves. Now he says, in effect, that though some may despise them for their lowly service, others will honor them, and will be honored for doing so. Those who know they have Christ’s commission can bear being thought little of by the world.

Or he may have meant to calm the fears of those who might hesitate to receive any of the apostles because one of them was a traitor. If one proved false to his Master, would the others be trustworthy? But Christ did not think less of the rest because of Judas’s sin, and he would stand by them and own them. He would also raise up people who would receive them. Those who had received Judas when he preached, and who may even have been converted and helped by his preaching, had no reason to regret it, though he later proved a traitor. He was still one whom Christ had sent. We cannot fully know what people are, much less what they will become, but those who seem to be sent by Christ we must receive until the opposite is shown.

Though some people, while welcoming strangers, have unknowingly welcomed robbers, we must still be hospitable, because some have welcomed angels. When people misuse our kindness, even in ways we try hard to avoid, that does not excuse us from being unkind to others. It also does not take away the reward for our charity.

We are first encouraged to receive ministers as sent by Christ. “Whoever receives anyone I send,” even if that person is weak, poor, and subject to the same human failings as others, is still to be received if he truly delivers Christ’s message and is properly called to that work. If he gives himself to the word of God and prayer as an officer in Christ’s service, then the one who welcomes him is treating him as a friend of Christ. Christ was about to leave the world, but he would leave behind a body of men to act for him and speak his word. Those who receive that word in faith and love are receiving Christ himself.

We are also encouraged to receive Christ as the one sent by God. Whoever receives Christ in his ministers receives the Father too, since they also come on the Father’s mission, baptizing in the name of the Father as well as the Son. More broadly, whoever receives Christ as his King and Savior receives the one who sent him as his portion and happiness. Christ was sent by God, and to embrace his religion is to embrace the one true religion.

Christ then gives the disciples a more direct warning about the plot that one of them was already forming against him (John 13:21). After speaking in general to prepare them, he was troubled in spirit, and he showed that distress by some gesture or sign. He then solemnly declared, “One of you will betray me,” one of you who are my apostles and close followers. No one could betray him except someone he had trusted and who had shared his private life with him.

This did not force Judas into sin by some fixed necessity. The event happened as Christ predicted it, but not because the prediction caused it. Christ is not the author of sin. Still, concerning this terrible sin, Christ saw it ahead of time. What is hidden from all living people is open before his eyes. He knows what is in people better than they know themselves (2 Kings 8:12), and so he knows what they will do. He had said, “I knew that you would deal very treacherously” (Isaiah 48:8).

Christ also foretold the betrayal for the sake of the other disciples, and for Judas himself, so that he might take warning and escape the devil’s trap. Traitors usually press on with their plans when they think they will not be found out. Judas might have turned back when he saw that his Master knew his design. If he did not, then the warning only made his guilt worse.

Christ spoke of it with deep grief. He was troubled in spirit when he mentioned it. He had often spoken about his own suffering and death without showing this kind of distress. But the ingratitude and treachery of Judas touched him at a tender place. The falls and failures of Christ’s disciples deeply grieve their Master. The sins of Christians are a sorrow to Christ. “One of you will betray me,” one of you who has received such special kindness from me, one of you I had good reason to trust. “What wrongdoing have you found in me that one of you should betray me?” This pierced him, as the disobedience of children grieves those who have fed and raised them (Isaiah 1:2). See Psalm 95:10; Isaiah 63:10.

The disciples quickly felt the shock of this warning. They knew their Master would not deceive them or joke with them, so they looked at one another, troubled and wondering whom he meant. By looking at one another, they showed how shaken they were by his words. It hit them so hard that they hardly knew where to look or what to say. They saw their Master troubled, and so they were troubled too. This happened at a feast, where they had been pleasantly received, but even there we must learn to rejoice with trembling, and as though we did not fully rejoice.

When David wept over his son’s rebellion, all who followed him wept with him too (2 Samuel 15:30). So it was here with Christ’s disciples. What grieves Christ should grieve all who belong to him, especially the shameful failures of those who bear his name. “Who is offended, and I do not burn?” Their concern also made them try to find out who the traitor was. They searched one another’s faces to see whether guilt showed itself in a blush or some other sign of shame. But the faithful had clear consciences and could look up without fear. Judas, whose conscience was hardened, was not ashamed and could not blush, so this way of discovery failed.

Christ allowed his disciples to be unsettled for a time, so that he might humble them, test them, make them suspicious of themselves, and stir up their hatred for Judas’s meanness. It is good for us sometimes to be brought to a pause and made to think carefully.

The disciples then wanted Christ to explain himself and say plainly whom he meant, because only that could end their pain. Each one thought he had as much reason to suspect himself as any other. Of all the disciples, John was best placed to ask, because he was the one closest to Jesus (John 13:23). There was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of the disciples whom Jesus loved. This was John, as may be seen by comparing (John 21:20) and (John 21:24).

Notice the special kindness Jesus had for John. He was known in this way, as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Jesus loved them all (John 13:1), but John was especially dear to him. His name means gracious. Daniel, who received visions in the Old Testament as John did in the New, was also described as greatly beloved (Daniel 9:23). Among Christ’s disciples, some are dearer to him than others.

Notice also John’s place and posture at that moment. He was leaning on Jesus’ bosom. Some say it was the custom in those lands to eat while leaning, so that the next person lay against the first person’s bosom, and so on. That does not seem likely to me, because in such a posture they could not eat or drink conveniently. Whether or not that was the custom, John was now leaning on Christ’s bosom, and this seems to show a special expression of affection at that moment.

Some of Christ’s disciples enjoy a more close and intimate fellowship with him than others. The Father loved the Son and placed him in his bosom (John 1:18), and believers are also united with Christ in a similar way (John 17:21). Soon, all the saints will have this honor in Abraham’s bosom. Those who lay themselves at Christ’s feet, he will lay in his bosom.

John hides his own name here because he wrote the account himself. He uses this description instead, because he was pleased with it. It was his title of honor, that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, like one who was the king’s friend in David’s or Solomon’s court. Yet he does not write his name, so that he would not seem proud or boastful. Paul speaks in a similar way when he says, “I knew a man in Christ.”

Of all the disciples, Peter was the most eager to know who the betrayer was (John 13:24). Peter, sitting farther away, signaled to John to ask Jesus. Peter was usually the more forward one, quick to speak and quick to ask. When that boldness is governed by humility and wisdom, it can make a person very useful. God gives his gifts in different ways, but to keep bold people from thinking too highly of themselves, and to keep quiet people from losing heart, we should note that Peter was not the beloved disciple, John was.

Peter wanted to know not only so he could be sure it was not himself, but also so they could stay away from the traitor and, if possible, stop his plan. We might think it would be useful to know who in the church will deceive us. Yet this much is enough, Christ knows, even when we do not. Peter did not ask directly because John had a better chance, since he was closer to Jesus and could whisper the question and get a private answer. It is wise to make use of our access to those who are near to Christ, and to ask for their prayers. If we know any who seem to lie in Christ’s bosom, we should ask them to speak a good word for us.

John asked the question as Peter had urged, because he was lying close to Jesus’ breast and could whisper to him, “Lord, who is it?” Here John shows both care for his fellow disciple and respect for his Master. Even though Peter did not have the same honor at that moment, John did not refuse the hint he gave. Those who lie in Christ’s bosom may often learn useful things from those who lie at his feet, and be reminded of things they had not thought of themselves. John gladly helped Peter because he had such a good opportunity. Since each person has received a gift, each should use it to serve the common good (Romans 12:6).

John also shows reverence for Christ. Even in a whisper, he still called him Lord. The close friendship he was given did not lessen his respect. We should keep a reverent manner in our words, and observe proper respect even in private prayers where no one else sees us, just as we should in public worship. The more closely gracious souls commune with Christ, the more they feel his greatness and their own unworthiness, as Abraham did (Genesis 18:27).

Christ answered John quickly, though in a whisper, since the others still did not understand what was happening (John 13:29). He said, “It is the one to whom I will give a sop,” a dipped morsel of bread. After he dipped the morsel, John watched carefully, and Jesus gave it to Judas. Judas took it readily, not suspecting the meaning, and glad to get a tasty bite.

Christ identified the traitor by a sign. He could have told John plainly who it was, but he chose this way to sharpen John’s attention and show how much ministers need discernment. False brothers are not always made known by direct words. We must judge them by their fruit and their spirit, and that takes great care.

The sign itself, the morsel Christ gave Judas, fit the Scripture that said the traitor would be one who ate bread with him (John 13:18). It also carries a lesson. Christ sometimes gives sops to traitors. Worldly riches, honors, and pleasures can be like such morsels, which God’s providence sometimes puts into the hands of wicked people. Judas may have thought he was being favored, like Benjamin at Joseph’s table, because he got a special portion. In that way, the success of fools can work like a dazing morsel that leads to their ruin.

We also learn not to act harshly toward people who are clearly hostile to us. Christ served Judas as kindly as anyone else at the table, even though he knew Judas was plotting his death. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him,” and that is how Christ acted.

Judas, instead of being brought to repentance by this, was only hardened further. The warning became for him a taste of death leading to death. After the morsel, Satan entered into him (John 13:27). This does not mean Satan merely made him sad or drove him mad, as happened in some cases. It means Satan gained stronger control over him, filling him with hatred toward Christ and his teaching, and with greedy desire for the reward of evil. He was pushed toward doing whatever it would take to get that reward.

Was Satan not already in him? He was, for Judas had long been called a devil (John 6:70), a son of destruction. But now Satan took a fuller hold of him. His plan to betray his Master was ripening into a settled decision. So the devil returned with seven other spirits more wicked than himself (Luke 11:26). The devil is in every wicked person who does his work (Ephesians 2:2), but sometimes he enters more openly and powerfully, especially when he drives a person into some great sin that human nature and conscience normally resist. Betrayers of Christ have a great deal of the devil in them. Christ speaks of Judas’s sin as greater than the sin of any of his persecutors.

How did Satan come into Judas after the sop? Perhaps Judas realized at once that Jesus had exposed him, and that made him more determined in his sin. Many people are made worse by Christ’s gifts and kindness. What should lead them to repentance only hardens them further. The coals of fire piled on their heads, instead of softening them, make them even harder.

Then Christ let him go and handed him over to his own sinful desires: “What you are about to do, do quickly.” This does not mean Jesus was advising Judas to sin or approving it. It means either that Christ was giving Judas up to Satan’s control, because every warning had failed and Judas was fixed in his evil path, or that Jesus was calling his enemy to go ahead and do his worst. In either case, Jesus shows no fear and no delay in going forward with the work of our salvation. When evil spirits are willingly welcomed, God justly withdraws his gracious restraint.

The other guests at the table did not understand what Jesus meant, because they did not hear his private words to John (John 13:28, John 13:29). None of them, except John, knew why Jesus said this to him. They did not think Jesus was speaking to Judas as a traitor, because they had no reason to believe Judas was one. This is a kindly kind of blindness in Christ’s disciples, they were not quick to judge one another. Love does not quickly suspect evil.

So they assumed Jesus was speaking to Judas as the one who managed the household money, giving him an order about spending some of it. Their guess shows the kind of needs Christ usually met from that little fund, and it teaches us to honor the Lord with our wealth. They thought something was to be spent either on what was needed for worship, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or on charity, that he should give something to the poor. Even though Jesus borrowed the room for the Passover, he still provided the supplies for it. Money spent on what is needed to support God’s worship among us is well spent.

This also shows that Jesus, though he lived on gifts from others (Luke 8:3), still gave to the poor. He did this from a little, even though he could have excused himself. He was poor himself, and he also did many other works of mercy, healing so many people without charge. Yet he still gave, to set us an example, from what he had for the support of his household (Ephesians 4:28). It also shows that a religious feast was considered a fitting time for charity. When Jesus kept the Passover, he made provision for the poor as well. God’s goodness to us should make us generous to the poor.

Judas then pressed ahead with his plan against Jesus. He went out right away and left the house. He did this for several reasons. He feared being more clearly exposed to the others, and he expected they might seize him or at least stop his scheme. He also went out like someone tired of Christ’s company and the fellowship of the apostles. Christ did not need to force him out, Judas drove himself out. Pulling away from the fellowship of believers is often the first open step of someone turning back from the faith.

The time of his leaving is also noted, it was night. Even though it was an unfit time for business, Judas made no objection, because Satan had entered into him. This should put us to shame when we are lazy or afraid in Christ’s service, since the devil’s servants can be so eager and bold in his service. Because it was night, he also had the cover of darkness. He did not want to be seen making his deal with the chief priests, so he chose the dark, which suited his work of darkness. People whose deeds are evil love darkness rather than light (Job 24:13).