“But the Scripture will be fulfilled,” He said, referring to Psalm 41:9 as He broke the bread at their private Feast of the Passover. “He who ate My bread has lifted his heel against Me.”
Jesus
continued to look at the bread as He broke it, unable to bear the eyes of His
most trusted friends when He accused one of them of treachery.
“I
am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does
take place, you may believe that I am He.” The Rabbi looked around the low
table briefly, and those sitting closest to their Lord saw the sadness in His
eyes, a rare and troubling sight in the Man they had come to depend on for
their own self-confidence and security. “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of
you will betray me.”
The
word “troubling” was now replaced by “confused and anxious” in the disciples’
hearts, and Simon Peter motioned to young John to inquire further. He leaned
towards the Master and quietly asked, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus’
answer, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped
it,” confounded His followers even more, for the initial choice morsel was always handed to the most honored
of the guests, not the most treacherous. So when Christ turned towards
long-favored Judas Iscariot, seated at His left, it was hard not to presume
this as the traditional gesture of friendship it appeared to be, despite His
words.
But
with this subtle gesture, the Final Game was afoot.
For
as Jesus handed Judas the bread, the doubt and conflict in the disciple’s heart
at that exact moment allowed the Prince of the Earth to enter it, even as
Christ said quietly to Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” The
influx of the overwhelming darkness, the power of Satan, was too much for the
disciple, and Judas virtually leapt from his seat and fled into the night,
without a word of explanation.
†
Once
He had forced Satan into that first move, Jesus knew that the countdown clock
had started. His true mission on earth was now irrevocably underway.
The
Pharisees thought He was here to simply be a pain in the rear for them.
His
mass of followers thought He was a prophet here to spread the Word of the
Father, and perform holy miracles in His Name.
His
apostles hoped He was here to overthrow the Roman government and set up an
earthly kingdom for His people, the Jewish people who had not had their own
country for several centuries now.
But
His Father had sent Him for one all-important and seemingly impossible purpose:
to bear all of the sins of the Human
Race, accept the physical punishment for them, carry those sins to Hell,
deposit them there, and escape to return unscathed by the third day.
Nothing
to it.
True,
He had defeated Satan in the wilderness three years earlier, immediately
following His baptism. But this battle would be different. Then, He was in full
possession of Himself, free of burden, with the Holy Spirit to support Him when
Satan threw his metaphorical punches at Him. This time, He would be on
Lucifer’s home turf, carrying an unimaginable burden with Him.
He who knew no sin was about to be
given ownership of every sin.
And
Jesus knew that even He wouldn’t be able to hold on to that burden very long
before it crushed Him – even Him.
So
the timing was going to be critical. Now, right now, while Judas was off
getting the Pharisees to come arrest Him, was going to be the only chance to
take possession of the burden before He was captured. Then, if He played the
situation correctly, He should be able to goad the zealous rabbis into His
torture and death within 36, perhaps even 24 hours, depending on how the Roman
governor reacted. It was Thursday evening now, so – Friday night, Saturday
morning? He wanted it to be done with by tomorrow – partly so that the third
day would fall on a Sunday, as the Father wanted, but also because He wanted it
done with as soon as possible.
Just
because a person needs to do a thing doesn’t mean that the person wants
to do the thing.
Not
even when that person is Jesus Christ.
