Holy Wednesday – John 13:21-32
The Lutheran Diaconal Association – Valparaiso, IN

Saint Judas. Is that an odd phrase? Do we ever name churches after Judas? Or name our children after Judas? Though we do call people “Judas”, when they betray us. The name “Judas” has a strong association, and I think our gospel writer would be pleased. John’s portrayal of Judas is the harshest of any gospel. Jesus introduces him when he tells his disciples, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” (6:71) Awkward! We barely know Judas’ name, and already we know that he’s a devil. And John adds, “The one who would betray.” Judas is stamped from the beginning.

The next time we meet him is when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. (12:1-8) John has Judas pitch a fit. The perfume could have been sold and money given to the poor. Again, John emphasizes, “the one who was about to betray Jesus”. But then John unloads. He didn’t care about the poor. He was a thief. He was an embezzler. I think that pales in comparison to betrayal, but clearly John wants us to know that Judas is a bad man. Except, it’s strange to bring up all this background dirt. Because when we get to the last supper, John says that the devil had already put it into Judas’ heart to betray Jesus. So what’s really going on here? Is it some silver coins that move Judas, or is Satan just pulling his strings? It’s ambiguous. After all, Jesus could exorcise a legion of demons, but not help his possessed friend? It invites re-interpretation.

Perhaps you’ve seen The Last Temptation of Christ. Martin Scorsese’s Judas believes Jesus is the Messiah, and convinces him to raise an insurrection against Rome. But when Jesus asks God for a confirmation sign, his hands start bleeding. Jesus sees this as a sign that he must die on the cross. God’s prophecy that must be fulfilled. Which Judas wants no part of. So, Jesus has to convince Judas to betray him to the Romans.

The writer Dorothy Sayers offers another take, in her play titled “The Man Born to Be King.” Her Judas is deeply moved by Jesus’ teachings, but grows deeply disturbed by Jesus’ wild popularity. Judas becomes terrified that Jesus can’t help but become corrupted by fame. So in desperation, he sees the cross as the only solution, albeit a sledgehammer. When Dorothy Sayers was asked why she portrayed Judas this way, she said that to choose an obvious crook just to let him damn himself would be the act of a devil.

I think John judges Judas a little too quickly, and so do we. Isn’t it a little too obvious for the least likable disciple to be the most culpable villian? Jesus had countless enemies from the temple to the state, watching closely for any chance to put him on trial. If not Judas, then someone else. And are we like God, that we see the depths of another person’s heart? We barely know our own. But, consider Jesus, who knew Judas better than he could ever know himself. Yet, Jesus loved Judas. Jesus washed Judas’ feet and Judas did not protest. Jesus was troubled in spirit that his friend would betray him, yet at the table he dips the bread and gives it to Judas. Of course, John doesn’t grant much grace to Judas, “for after receiving the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.” Yet, Jesus sends him in perfect grace. “Do quickly what you are going to do.”

Maybe that’s the real point of the story. Not so much about Judas, but about such a gracious Lord who gives himself over to us, even his own life. The One who would insist that we let him wash our feet. The One who beckons us to his same table and reclines with us. The One who knows the deepest crevices of our hearts, yet dips his bread and gives it to us. And the one who sends us into the world in perfect grace, who waits for our return with his all-forgiving word, just to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” (18:9)