“I do not speak of you all, I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, he who eats my bread lifted up his heel against me.”
What He had done had brought home to Him something that only He knew, and that was that not all of them were ‘clean'. “I am not speaking of you all. I know those whom I have chosen, but it was in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me'.” He knew that there was one among them to whom His past words could have no meaning. For Jesus was well aware that besides choosing those who, though failing through weakness, would finally stand the test, He had chosen one who was basically weak and would now fail. One whose heart had not been cleansed, who was not in the end one of the chosen.
It is a reminder to us that all must be given a chance, even those who will fail, for who knows whether they will make a recovery? Judas had been given his chance, and had been received into the closest relationship, something to which he had outwardly fully responded. There is no reason to doubt that he had also performed miracles in the Name of Jesus. But he was to fail in the end (consider Matthew 7:22).
The phrase ‘to eat bread' signified an avowal of friendship. You did not eat bread with an enemy, for it would contravene the laws of hospitality. But there will always be those who betray those who trust them, and who can comprehend what thoughts must have been going through Judas' mind at this moment? His conscience must have been tearing at him, but he must have been deliberately holding it in check. (This is proved by his later remorse).
Nor can we fathom all his reasons for acting as he did. Greed for money? Disappointment with the kind of Messiah Jesus was proving to be? Anger at some imagined slight which injured his self-esteem? All possibly played a part in his reasoning. But none really excused him for an act of pure treachery. Just as the Psalmist (Psalms 41:9) had experienced betrayal by a close friend, so would Jesus. It was necessary, for how else could He be said to suffer temptation as we do? He knew that He must go through the experiences of all those who have suffered for God, and that their sufferings were a mirror of His own. Thus was it a fulfilment of the Scripture which portrayed humanity as they are. The ‘lifting up of the heel' may suggest a recalcitrant animal which kicks out at its owner and friend.
We should note the significance of the fact that Jesus performed the physical ‘cleansing' act on Judas also. He did not see an outward ceremony as having any automatic inward effect. He was well aware that it was symbolic and that it was only efficacious on those whose hearts had truly responded.
“From now on I am telling you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may continue to believe that I am he”.
Jesus knew that the betrayal which would result in His shameful death, would come as a crushing blow to His disciples. He knew that they might then be tempted to think, ‘if Jesus were really from God would He not have known?' and might finally lose hope. But God would not allow them to be tempted above what they were able. Jesus wanted them therefore to be aware that He knew beforehand about His coming betrayal. Thus could they be confident of Who He was.
‘From now on' suggests that up to this point Jesus had wanted Judas to realise that there was still an opportunity for him not to go ahead with his betrayal. He had offered him every opportunity. It was only now that He drew a veil over these attempts, and declared in a way that Judas would understand that for him there was now no hope. He had gone too far. His opportunity had gone. So He was aware of the struggle that was going on in Judas' head and had seen him finally determine, against every pleading of conscience, that he would go on with his plan. It was not, however, just something He accepted philosophically. It hurt Him deeply (John 13:21).