JOHN 13:18-23
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
John 13:18 (Holman) AI=m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: The one who eats My bread has raised his heel against Me.@
The treachery of Judas made a deep impression on the beloved disciple, for it is mentioned often in the Gospel. This one who loved Jesus so deeply could not understand how anyone could be cruel to the Master.
When Jesus spoke of betrayal, the words must have pierced John=s tender heart like a dagger, for even decades later he could recall them with exacting accuracy.
Jesus here told His followers that a friend (He that eats bread with Me) was lifting up his heel against Jesus. The metaphor is derived from the lifting up of a horses hoof to kick. It refers to brute violence. A friend was doing violence to Jesus.
Judas= action was unnatural. He was betraying an intimate acquaintance. For a long time the leaders had sought ways to take Jesus. The crowds had thwarted them; the guards had not been successful. The leaders needed an accomplice.
However, these persecutors would never have dreamed of asking one of the apostles B who would? But suddenly