It was night
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night (John 13:30).
Read John 13:21–32
There’s not much worse than the darkness of the soul. Can you be honest with yourself and acknowledge a time when you did or said something that you would do anything to take back, but it’s done? You lie awake at night and wrestle with what you’ve done. The darkness isn’t just that of the night – it’s the darkness of your soul.
See how Jesus deals with Judas. He is gentle but reaches into Judas’ soul and puts his finger directly on what is lingering there. He doesn’t exclude Judas from the shared meal; in fact, he directly includes him. He doesn’t expose Judas to the rest of the disciples but deals with him one-on-one. It’s no wonder that after betraying Jesus for a handful of coins, Judas can see no worthwhile future. He has betrayed the one who did nothing but love him all the way through. ‘And it was night.’
Verse 27 says that as soon as Judas took the bread, ‘Satan entered into him’. Judas was not just a pawn in some big God-plan. In the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4, Cain is upset with his brother. And God warns him, ‘Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it’. The desire to harm his brother was already there. It didn’t need to lead to what turned out to be the murder of his brother. So, Judas already had the desire, for whatever reason, to hand Jesus over. If that desire was planted by Satan (John 13:2), he didn’t need to act on it. That was an act of the will for which Judas was entirely responsible.
One thing we know. With Jesus, there is always the possibility for light. In the darkest moment, he is willing to reach in and take you out of that darkness into his light. He would have done that for Judas as he did later for Simon Peter. At this moment in the Passion story, Jesus’ eyes are firmly fixed on the cross where, when he is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself, even those in the midst of the darkest night.
Lord Jesus, in my darkest moment, come in and shine your light so it’s not hopeless for me, but I can start over. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor who lives with his wife, Ruth, on the north side of Brisbane. He is a proud and not very humble Brisbane Lions supporter. Jim likes to read, listen to music and play golf. He and Ruth love being with their young grandchildren and watching them grow. For Jim, grace is everything, and he will share that however and whenever possible.
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