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John 13:18-30
Within the last couple of years there have been some discussions regarding Jesus Christ as a victim. And I have wondered myself if we could actually use that word when speaking of our Lord and Savior. Christ suffered much mental anguish and physical beatings on our behalf. He pays the price for the sin of humanity, but was He a victim? Then it got me to thinking, wow do we define victim?
Merriam Webster define victim as follows:
“one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent; one that is injured, destroyed, or sacrificed under any of various conditions; one that is subjected to oppression, hardship, or mistreatment; a living being sacrificed to a deity or in the performance of a religious rite”
Most of that definition we would agree with. But it seems to me that most of what we just heard carries the thought that the person suffering victimization has no control, not enough intelligence, or does not possess enough strength to stop what is happening to them. I’m not certain that we can say any of this about Jesus Christ.
John 13:18-30 (NIV) “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Look if you’re like me, you’re thinking – how could they not understand what Jesus just said. And then He turns to Judas and basically and says – Git ‘R’ Done! I’m not trying to make light of this, but at the same time when you read this you have to think – how come the disciples seem so clueless. And you also have to realize there are some things here that might bear fleshing out.
Once again I want to interject that as we ask ourselves if Jesus was a victim we need to remember that it was Jesus who set what we just read in motion. Jesus did not heal the lame, blind, sick, and raise the dead without knowing what it would lead to.
And here’s another thing to know, when people ate meals together back then it wasn’t like it is now. They didn’t sit around tables and pass the food to the left. They reclined on the floor around a table. And if you hosted the meal you were in the center and you chose where people sat.
It was customary to have the most honored guest to sit at your left, because you reclined to your left leaving your right hand to deal with food. So Jesus would have asked Judas to sit to His immediate left – in a place of honor. That would enable Jesus to speak to Judas where no one else heard, or even saw for that matter that they shared a bite of food between them.
And when you think about this for a moment, that means Judas was in a position of honor and trust all the while, as John wrote earlier he wasn’t a trustworthy person. Remember Judas dipped into and took funds out of the treasury – not so trustworthy. But also remember – Jesus chose Judas just like He chose the others.
And just as Jesus shares with Judas, there is a moment where I believe Judas had the ability to reject the bread and not betray Jesus. And the reason I say this is because it wasn’t until after he choses to take the bread from Jesus that the Bible tells us Satan entered into him. Jesus then responds and tells Satan to do what you are about to do quickly.
So when we look at just this small passage you can’t help but see Jesus is indeed in full control. I don’t believe that there is a way we could make an argument that Jesus fell victim to those who put Him to death.
And so to that I remind you of a past passage we recently studied from the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Disciple John. It’s where Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd.
John 10:17-18 (NIV) The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Isn’t it ironic that what was meant to destroy Jesus, what was about getting rid of Him to keep the peace between Israel and the Roman government, was actually the plan of salvation that created peace between God and humanity – there is no victim here. Jesus willingly gives Himself as a sacrifice.