There is a moment in John 13 that most people read right past. I always have, until someone recently made it clear to me, and I can’t help but share that clarity with you. It is one of those places where if you slow down and actually look at what is happening, the divinity of Jesus opens up in a way that is impossible to miss.
If you know the Gospel, you know the scene. If you are unfamiliar, it’s the Last Supper. But even if you know the scene, you may not realize what you are witnessing as you read it. I grew up in church, celebrating the Christian Easter, all my life, but I didn’t realize it – not fully – until a just few weeks ago.
Jesus tells his disciples that one of them is going to betray him. Peter nudges the disciple closest to Jesus and asks him to find out who it is. That disciple leans in and asks:
Lord, who is it? (John 13:25)
Jesus answers that it is the one to whom he gives a piece of bread after he dips it. Then he dips it and hands it to Judas. And then this:
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. (John 13:27)
What Many Miss
Most teaching this passage focus on the betrayal itself, or on Judas, or on the fulfillment of prophecy. Rightly so, as those are all worth talking about. But there is something else sitting right there in that last sentence that does not get nearly enough attention.
After Satan entered Judas, Jesus looked at him and said: do it quickly.
That was not Jesus resigning himself to what was about to happen. That was not Jesus giving Judas a nudge. Jesus wasn’t even speaking to Judas. Judas did not need Jesus’s permission to betray him. Judas had already betrayed him. The deal was made, the agreement was sealed, the money was set. What had not happened yet was Satan acting it out the betrayal in the flesh. It was Satan who was waiting for permission.
In that moment, Jesus was speaking directly to Satan – and, despite the disciples love for Jesus and their intimate relationship with and knowledge of Him, Jesus and Satan were the only ones in the room who knew it.
What We’re Really Witnessing
Go back to Job. In the very first chapter, before Satan can touch a single thing that belongs to Job, he has to stand before God and ask. God sets the terms. God draws the line.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. (Job 1:12)
And again in chapter two, before Satan can touch Job’s body:
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. (Job 2:6)
Satan does not operate outside of God’s permission. He never has. He can’t – he isn’t allowed to. Every time Satan moves, he moves within a boundary that God has set.
Now come back to the upper room. Satan has just entered Judas, and Jesus, sitting across the table, says: “what you are doing, do quickly.”
That was Jesus, as God in the flesh, giving Satan the same kind of permission that Yahweh gave him in the book of Job. The same authority. The same voice. The same God. The crucifixion was not something that happened to Jesus. It was something he authorized.
And if you think the people around Jesus did not recognize this kind of authority, look at what the crowds said when they watched Jesus cast out demons:
And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. (Mark 1:27)
Even the demons were subject to his will. The crowd saw it with their own eyes and could not explain it. Because you cannot explain it unless you understand who he actually is.
Closing Thoughts
Jesus did not go to the cross because Judas handed him over. He went because God said so. He went because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
The enemy thought he was winning, but he was only ever doing what he was told. That changes everything about how you read the cross… and if this hits you the way it hits me, it morphs your love, your respect, and the whole depth of your devotion to Him to levels you never imagined existed, and changes everything about how you praise Him.
Twin Tree Project 