You Are Not All Clean

Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean" (John 13:10-11).

These words were said in the company of the disciples; they all heard Jesus say, you are clean, but not all of you . . . you are not all clean. They heard Him explain to Peter what it meant to have their feet washed, that it was not just a hygienic courtesy of the host, but rather was a symbol of spiritual purification. They heard Him say that not all of them had experienced that purification.

But the text does not indicate that any one of the disciples questioned Jesus on this issue - “Who among us is not clean?” When Jesus stated that one among them would betray Him, all of the disciples were upset and questioning Jesus as to who would do such a thing, even to the point of questioning themselves of being guilty of such treason. (Matthew 26:20-22) When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” Judas spoke not a word.

The question is asked. “Could Judas Iscariot have repented before he carried out his betrayal of Jesus?” Some say no, he was destined (predestined?) to betray Jesus, and that any appeal of Jesus for Judas to repent and turn from his evil plan fell on deaf ears and a hardened heart. I may be wrong, but I have never believed that. All my life I have believed no one is beyond our Lord’s saving grace. Several times during this last Passover Jesus celebrated with the disciples, Jesus gave Judas opportunity to repent. John MacArthur wrote, “The Lord’s words were also a last appeal and warning to Judas who was on the brink of executing his wicked scheme. But Judas would not be deterred.” I agree that the appeal was given to Judas in good faith that he could repent, but he would not.

What I see in Judas, and many like him, is the same heart-breaking condition I see in Pharaoh when Moses demanded the release of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. In the beginning, Pharaoh hardened his own heart, for multiple reasons (arrogance, economic, political, etc.). After hardening his own heart for a time, God ‘hardened his heart’ - He backed off and allowed the consequences of Pharaoh’s hardened heart run their course. In the end it destroyed him and all of Egypt. The same is true with Judas. He hardened his heart against Jesus to the point that God backed off and Satan took full control of him. (John 13:27,30) Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." . . . Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night. The last sentence is a devastating statement. It is not only a reference to the physical night that had fallen, but also the total spiritual darkness that had overtaken Judas’ soul and spirit. Amen.

Pastor