CHALLENGE
Privilege Is No Guarantee Of Salvation
John 13:2-4 “During supper, when the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and, taking a towel, tied it around his waist.”
Have you ever been praying for God to convert someone? Maybe a friend or a family member? Have you given up praying for them and witnessing to them because you think they will never repent? John 13 reminds us of the love that Jesus had for his disciples. It was a love which John says lasted to the end. In John 17 we see Jesus praying to the Father, “I kept them [the disciples] in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction.” Jesus showed his love to these 12 men and he guarded them, even Judas.
John says that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, knowing that Judas was his betrayer. Let’s try to imagine the scene in the upper room where the disciples are gathered. There is no servant to wash their dirty feet, and none of the disciples are volunteering to do this needful task. They all see it as a job beneath them. Jesus gets up and starts to wash their feet! And then he washes Judas’ feet. How calloused a heart Judas must have had, looking down at Christ washing his feet, all the while plotting in his heart how to turn him over to be killed! Can’t you see Judas?! Don’t you understand that this man is the Son of God and has come to serve you and love you?
The evening progresses, and the tension is building until we reach verse 21: “Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’” No one suspected Judas was the betrayer. He was so like everyone else. He walked the walk and talked the talk, yet Jesus could see his heart.
Two challenges arise here for us. Firstly, privilege is no guarantee of salvation. You may have grown up in a Christian home, gone to Sabbath school and youth groups, led mission teams, or even preached in the name of Christ, but these things cannot save you. Judas was one of the most privileged men to ever walk this earth. He lived with Jesus for three years, yet what does John tell us? Verse 30 “…after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.” That has to be one of the most haunting verses I’ve ever read. He left the blazing glory of the presence of God and he walked out into the darkness, outer darkness. The darkness took hold of him. Satan entered into him. When we reject Christ, there is nothing left for us but outer darkness, which is how Hell is described. If you’re reading this and you are rejecting Christ and you’re trusting in yourself, I plead with you to turn from your sin, put your trust in Christ, begging that he save you from this fate. If you reject Jesus, you stand with Judas. There’s no middle ground.
Secondly, Jesus showed Judas his love right up until the end. Even when Judas was in the very act of betraying him, he asked, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” One last appeal to a man he knew was doomed. Herein lies a challenge for us. Since Jesus, knowing 100% that Judas would betray him and go to a lost eternity, still showed his love to him and gave him opportunity after opportunity to repent, how much more should we, who don’t know these things, love and pray for the unconverted!