Jesus Identifies His Betrayer

According to Isaiah 53:3, the Messiah would be “a man of sorrows.” Jesus certainly experienced great joy during His earthly ministry, but He also experienced deep sorrow. His betrayal by Judas Iscariot must have constituted one of Jesus’ most sorrowful experiences. Chosen from among many followers to be one of the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:4), Judas was trusted by his fellow apostles so much so that he had been entrusted with the financial responsibilities for the apostolic band (John 13:29). Like the rest of the apostles, Judas would have witnessed Jesus’ miracles, listened to His teachings, and participated in ministry assignments. Unlike the others, Judas never had a true transformation of the heart. Judas seems to have been the primary objector to Mary’s extravagant act of honor on Jesus’ behalf (John 12:4-6). He bargained with the religious leaders in his design to betray Jesus, agreeing to a sum of thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). He would eventually betray Jesus with a kiss, turning Him over to the authorities (Matthew 26:47-50). His remorse and suicide ended a tragic life (Matthew 27:3-5). So tragic was Judas’ life that Jesus said of him, “It would be better for him if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24). John 13:21-30 records Jesus’ subtle identification of Judas as His betrayer. From this passage we discover that Jesus knows all things. He knows human hearts. He knows the power of evil. He knows our need for redemption. Jesus willingly underwent a painful betrayal in order to win our redemption.