12 Disciples of Jesus: Judas – Part 2

- Br. Nitish Patel
(Borivali Assembly, 10th July, 2024)

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Today we look at the second part of the life of Judas Iscariot the apostle. We're going to look at Judas in the upper room.

Jesus Washes Judas Feet

We're going to see firstly how Jesus washed Judas' feet. We're reading John chapter 13, verses 4 to 5. John chapter 13 verses 4 to 5 say these words: “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” John 13:4-5 (KJV). It's quite amazing when we think of how the Lord already knew Judas had agreed to betray him. Those very feet had walked to the house of the chief priests, had agreed for the money to be paid, to do the dastardly deed, to walk back. then to the upper room, and the Lord would still wash the feet of such a man and dry those feet as well. Judas allowed the Lord to wash his feet without any complaint, unlike Peter, who objected because he didn't understand what the Lord was doing. He could not feel he could ever allow the Lord to wash his feet.


The Lord made it clear that he was doing something that had a spiritual message for them concerning his ministry for them when he goes back to heaven. and it was also an example of humility. But Judas, we see in this chapter, allows the Lord to wash his feet, eats bread with him, and even takes a sock in his mouth from the Lord when offered to him. Then we see in the garden that he will even kiss the Lord to betray him. He was a most abominable and thoroughly wicked hypocrite. But this makes the Lord's love shine even brighter. For if this man was surely the most wicked man who ever lived, mainly because he had a privilege no other person had, apart from those apostles and the women and those disciples who followed the Lord, of living with the Lord, personally seeing him, seeing the miracles. and having such a closeness to the Lord, and experiencing a love divine, all loves excelling, as the hymn writer would say, and yet he would do this dastardly evil to the Lord. Surely, he must be the most thoroughly wicked, evil man when you think of other wicked men who never had the privilege he had. And yet he would betray the Lord, and yet when we see how wicked he is, yet it only makes the Lord's love and long suffering shine so brightly no human being could ever love like the Lord did or could show long suffering like the Lord did, tolerating such a wicked man in their midst.

A contrast is seen at the beginning of chapter 12 and the beginning of chapter 13 of John. In chapter 12, as we looked at last time, we read then, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” John 12:3 (KJV). At the end of his life on earth, the Lord's feet were anointed. for his fragrant walk always brought glory to his father. His feet did not need washing like the disciples spiritually. His feet were perfect. His walk was perfect. His words were perfect. Everything he did was perfect. And at the end of his life before his crucifixion, he would have that fragrance upon him that showed the fragrance of his life. The feet of the disciples, however, needed washing spiritually. For the whole action of the Lord was twofold.

Firstly, as I said, it's a spiritual lesson he was teaching them and also a lesson in humility. The spiritual lesson is this, of course, that we all need to be washed from our sins. But once we're washed, we're saved. We still sin as believers. And we need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to convict us and to correct us, to maintain fellowship with God, and to cleanse us from our sinful ways and our departure from God. Day by day, we need this. And so the disciples feet needed to be washed. And this is what the Lord, our great high priest in heaven, does for us. Using the Spirit of God and the Word of God, which is represented by that water, the Holy Spirit convicts us whenever we're wrong, whenever we're doing things that are not right, and we confess our sins, and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness as 1 John 1 reminds us, and so we maintain that fellowship walking with the Lord because what He did for the disciples in the upper room He does for us every believer day by day.

However the Lord made it clear, Judas wa...