This is Maundy Thursday, the day we celebrate Jesus commemorating the Last Supper, giving us communion, the Holy Eucharist. This was the Passover Feast that Jesus ate with His disciples, except in the gospel reading for today…
John 13:1-17,31-35 starts with “Now before the festival of the Passover,” So the Passover is yet to happen, actually this is the day before in John. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb in John, and therefore He can not be celebrating Passover, as He is the sacrifice. But here in John we get another passage that is associated with this day, the washing of the feet…
And the interesting part to this I have pondered for a while, and heard Max Lucado speak about yesterday on the radio. John tells us that Jesus got up from the table, took off His outer robe, and tied a towel around His waist then proceeded to do what the servants should do, wash the feet of His disciples. He washed all of their feet, including Judas. John does not say, “Jesus washed their feet until He got to Judas, then He said, I won’t wash your feet, because you are going to hand me over.” Jesus washed His feet. Makes me wonder if Judas had stuck around would he have gotten the grace that Peter did? Peter denied Jesus three times, but Jesus restored Peter on the beach the morning of His resurrection. Peter Rollins speaks of this in his book The Fidelity of Betrayal.
Notice above I did not say betrayed when speaking of Jesus speaking to Judas. I agree on some level with Peter Rollins and Andrew Loyd Weber portrayal of Judas. Maybe Judas was in on the plan, and the original language of the Gospels tell us that Judas betrayed Jesus, but that word betrayed can also mean handed over. To me it is a question of who has the power. A betrayal happens when the person betrayed has no knowledge of the betrayal, and no power to change it. And my understanding of God is that He has the ultimate power and knows everything. Therefore Jesus could not have been betrayed, but was doing what needed to be done. Judas had no power over Jesus except that Jesus gave him. Judas handed Jesus over, because Jesus had the power to control the events that were to unfold. Another place this word for betray/hand over comes up in tomorrow’s passage, when Jesus breathes His last and “gives up” His spirit. Jesus hands over His spirit when He dies on the cross…
So Jesus washes Judas’ feet along with the other eleven – then Jesus sends Judas to do what he must, and He send us to go and love the world…
aSacredRebel 