When I Survey
H. Hoeksema
Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 3
Forcing the Issue

"That thou doest, do quickly." (John 13:27)

A very clear proof of the fact that Jesus suffered voluntarily, that no one took His life from Him, but that He laid it down of Himself, is found in His dismissal of Judas from the upper room in Jerusalem in the night in which He was betrayed, and of which Scripture significantly says that it was night. John 13:30. For to one who studies the narrative of that dismissal as it is told us in the gospel according to John, 13:21-30, and who considers this dismissal in the light of the circumstances and of the events that were fast taking shape, it must become evident that the Lord took matters in His own hand, that He forced the issue, that He not only voluntarily laid down His life for His sheep, but that He also controlled both the hour and the way of His suffering. We are all acquainted with the narrative. Jesus was gathered with His disciples in some upper room in Jerusalem, perhaps in the house of John Mark, in order that He might celebrate the very last possible passover with the apostles. Over everything the Lord does in that upper room heavily lies the gloom and shadow of His approaching suffering and death. Prophetic of the services He was to perform for His own on the cross was the foot washing that had just been accomplished, before the traitor was dismissed. Portentously He had declared that even though all were included in this service of the foot washing, yet they were not all clean: was not one of them a devil? And now they are reclining at table, ready to celebrate the last passover. And we read that the Lord became troubled in spirit. A few days ago His soul had been troubled. Now the trouble is of a higher, spiritual character. Then His troubled soul expressed itself in prayer. This time the troubled spirit must unburden itself in action. Ominously His words sound through the now painfully still room: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." And after the disciples had inquired, and looked upon one another in sad amazement, wondering who this traitor could be; and after the Lord had clearly pointed out, at least to John, who would commit this foul deed by giving Judas the sop, He speaks the words of dismissal to the latter: "That thou doest, do quickly." And immediately the traitor went out into the dark night to accomplish his satanic mission. The Lord had forced the issue!

In order to understand the import of this dismissal, we must bring before our mind the circumstances and try to visualize the entire situation at that time with relation to the suffering and death of the Savior. The leaders of the Jews had definitely plotted to bring Jesus to death as soon as opportunity offered itself. But we must remember that their plans were quite different from the determined counsel of God regarding Jesus' suffering and death. For, first of all, they had no intention to bring Jesus to death by way of a public trial. To pass an official death sentence upon the Savior, either by the Sanhedrin or through the Roman governor, constituted no part of their plot. Nor had they decided that Jesus should die the death of the cross. If a public trial and official verdict of death had been in their minds, it is difficult to see what need they would have had for a traitor. But now it was their intention to take Him by subtilty, secretly. They intended to come upon Him unawares, perhaps while He was sleeping the sleep of the righteous, in order then to stab Him to death and remove His body under cover of darkness, so that no one of the people might have knowledge of their evil deed. For we read, that the chief priests and the scribes and the elders had assembled together and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill Him. Matt. 26:4. How this was to be accomplished they had not definitely settled. But kill Him they would, and this had to be done in secret, for the Rabbi of Nazareth was still very popular. And, secondly, and in intimate connection with this first part of their plan there was the second element of their conspiracy, namely, that it should not be done on the feast day, lest after all it should become known and there would be an uproar among the people. Matt. 26:5. And in the realization of those plans Judas could, indeed, play an important part. And we can readily understand that a devilish joy filled their hearts, when one of the most intimate followers of Jesus offered his wicked services, and covenanted with them for thirty pieces of silver to betray Him and deliver Him unto them. But even so they made him promise that he would watch his steps and abide his time, so that he might deliver Him in the absence of the people. Lu. 22:6. Thus the plans were laid. Jesus was to be put out of the way secretly, without any legal procedure and they were to wait till the feast of the passover was past, lest there be an uproar among the people. And Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray his Lord.

In that program we can give to Judas a reasonable and important place. As the history of Jesus' suffering and death actually unfolded itself, it appears as if the leaders of the Jews might just as well have done without him. For why could they not have obtained a band of soldiers and discovered where Jesus was and captured Him without the aid of the traitor? But now it was different. Judas' part in the drama was to watch for a proper opportunity. He was to sneak away from the company of the disciples, in the hollow of the night preferably, when the Master was asleep, so that he might inform the enemies and these might kill the Lord before He could even defend Himself. In the light of this difference between their plans and the actual sequence of events, we can also understand the evident confusion in the Jewish council after they actually captured Jesus. They were not at all prepared for any definite action. They captured Jesus, but knew not how to proceed to kill Him! They had no definite accusation. Nor were there proper witnesses. And after they themselves had condemned Him to death, they still had to deliberate upon the question, whether they should bring Him before the Roman governor or execute the death sentence themselves.

For their program was not in accord with the determinate counsel of the Most High. It was the will of the Father, not that Jesus should be put to death secretly and without any form of trial. Nor might He be stoned to death or cast from some height into the ravine. No, it was the Father's will that all the world should be placed before the question: what think ye of the Christ? For the cross was to be the judgment of the world. The thoughts of many hearts had to be revealed. And for this reason He, the Christ of God, had to stand before the highest court of His own people, of the Church, as well as before the Roman governor, the tribunal of the world. And it was the Father's will that He should be made a public spectacle and die the accursed death of the cross. And, quite contrary to the expressed will of the Jewish leaders, the hour was fixed by divine decree on the feast of the passover. And, of course, the counsel of the Lord must stand. Jesus is to suffer and die, not according to the program of the powers of darkness, but according to the will of the Father. And in the Father's way and at the Father's hour the Son of God is crucified and slain by wicked hands.

Several factors contributed to this frustration of the plans of the enemies, of which the raising of Lazarus was not the least important. A careful reading of that wonderful twelfth chapter of the gospel according to John will show that this mighty miracle had a tremendous influence upon the rapid succession of events in that last week of Jesus' life. It hastened matters considerably. It brought the leaders to a state of excitement in which they were liable to put Jesus to death at any price. For that last miracle had filled the people with enthusiasm for Jesus. The people that had been witness of this marvellous work met Jesus as He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem together with crowds of others that had heard about it, and they shouted: "Hosanna. Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord." John 12:15, 17, 18. Many had come to Bethany, not only to see Jesus, but also Lazarus. John 12:9. And the priests had already consulted to put Lazarus to death also. John 12:10. But when the multitude went to meet Jesus, enthusiastically hailing Him as the King of Israel, the Pharisees had gone mad with envy and said among themselves, "Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after Him." John 12:19. It is evident that the raising of Lazarus and the resultant enthusiasm among the people had raised the mad hatred of the enemies to such a pitch that they were ready to do anything to put Jesus to death. It was an important factor in bringing about the "hour" at the Father's time.

But now let us return to the upper room, where the Savior is gathered with His disciples. Judas also is among them. In his heart is hid the dark plot to betray Jesus, for already he offered his services to the chief priests and elders, as the traitor's reward is in his pocket. But just what is in his mind at this moment? Does he contemplate to carry out his evil deed that very night? Is it his intention presently to leave the company of the disciples in order to betray the Lord? It will now have become evident that no such idea is in Judas' mind as he sits with the Master at the table of the last passover. Had not the leaders of the Jews definitely told him that it should not be done on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people? There is plenty of time, therefore. But the Lord takes matters in His own hands. He knows the way the Father would have Him travel, the way of the cross; and He knows too, that on the morrow it is the Father's hour. And, therefore, He forces the issue. He makes it impossible for Judas to tarry any longer. For clearly He reveals that He is thoroughly acquainted with the wicked plot against His life and with the part Judas promised to play in it. And so, when He has plainly indicated that He knows who would betray Him, He sends the traitor out into the dark night with the commission: "That thou doest, do quickly." From now on Judas understands that he must act now or never!

How evident it is from this dismissal of the traitor that the Savior voluntarily travelled His way to the cross. Indeed, He is the Good Shepherd that lays down His life for the sheep, that He might take it again and give unto them the abundant life of the resurrection! No one took His life from Him. He laid it down of Himself in perfect obedience to the Father, a sacrifice for sin. He might easily have kept silent and let matters run their own course. He might even have exposed the traitor and made it impossible for him to commit his foul deed. Then He would not have been publicly tried and condemned. He would not have died the death of the cross. But he knew "the hour," both as to the time and as to its contents, the awful shame and suffering it implied. And He knew that "the hour" was the will of the Father. Only by His travelling the way of the cross, He knew, could the world be condemned, could His people be redeemed, could the justice of God be satisfied, could the righteousness of God be set forth, could the Father be glorified. And so He forces the issue, sends the traitor away, and virtually says to him: Judas, now or never; for I must travel the way of my Father!

No one who reads the narrative of the dismissal of Judas in the night of Jesus' betrayal, can fail to marvel at the method the Lord employs to accomplish His purpose. That purpose was not to expose the traitor. This, indeed, was done by others more than once on similar occasions. How easily the Lord might have exposed Judas! And would not the disciples have cast themselves upon him and torn him to pieces? But that might not be, for such was not the will of the Father. In this hour force was not to be opposed to force, nor was the strategy to be matched with strategy. The question that was to be answered was not who was the strongest. It was the question of the righteousness of God that was to be decided once and for all. And this meant that the Savior must walk all the way of obedience, of suffering unto the death of the cross, that the world might be condemned and His own might be redeemed. And, therefore, the traitor must not be exposed. But he must be dismissed, for he must not tarry, but finish his evil work that very night. And this dismissal must be accomplished in such a way, that, on the one hand, all the disciples are witnesses of it, yet on the other hand so that at the moment they do not understand what was taking place. They must be witnesses, in order that after the resurrection they may remember the scene and understand that the Lord travelled the way of the cross voluntarily; yet they must not understand, lest they would rise to prevent so foul an act. And it is evident from the narrative that both these purposes are reached. The disciples learn enough about the matter in the upper room to understand that the Lord knew all about the traitor's plot, and that He voluntarily walked the way of suffering. Yet, at the moment they fail to grasp the situation, for when Judas sallies forth into the dark night, they think that he is sent to buy some things for the feast, or to give alms to the poor. Judas is dismissed without being publicly exposed!

How is this accomplished? On the one hand, by the general announcement of the Lord: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." This general statement is sufficiently clear to make them all recall later that the Lord was not deceived by Judas' treachery. Yet, on the other hand, it did not point out the traitor in person. General consternation follows the announcement. On every side the question is asked: "Lord, is it I?" And even Judas attempts to seek cover by asking the same question. But in the meantime there is a private transaction by which the traitor is dismissed, while the rest of the disciples, with the exception of John, fail to understand what is taking place. To comprehend how this was possible, we must try to visualize the assembly around the table in the upper room. Imagine, then, a table in the shape of a horseshoe, or of a rectangle open at one end. Around this table, that is, on the outside, the divans or couches were placed on which the Lord and His disciples reclined. The open end of the table was used by him that served at the table. Now, if in your imagination you take your position at that open end of the horseshoe or rectangle, so that you face the table, then the place of the host, in this case of the Lord, was the second divan on your left. We know from Scripture definitely, that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining in Jesus' bosom, and as the reclining guests rested on their left arm, this indicates that John occupied the very last divan at your left. And as Jesus gave the sop, after He dipped it, to Judas first, and as it was customary to give the sop first to the guest of honor, we may conclude that Judas was reclining on the other side of Jesus, the third from the end on your left, which was the place of honor. Hence, on your left, as you face the open end of the table, reclined in order John, Jesus, Judas. From the conversation that took place between the two disciples, we surmise that at the other end of the table, the last place to your right, and, there, directly opposite from John, sat Peter. This was the lowest place at the table, and it is not impossible that Peter had occupied it, after their favorite dispute as to who would be the greatest among them, which they seem to have carried on even in the upper room and for which Jesus rebuked them. Lu. 22:24ff. Now, during the general consternation and confusion wrought by Jesus' sudden announcement, Peter whispered across the table to John, that he should ask the Lord who it was that should betray Him. John 13:24. And Jesus, being privately asked by John regarding the person of the traitor, gives John a sign by which he may learn to know who it is, while the sign would arouse no suspicion in the hearts of the other disciples: "He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it." It was a common custom to give the sop first to him that sat on the place of honor, so that this sign could be given without drawing the attention of the rest of the disciples. And thus it came about that only John and Judas knew the meaning of the sign, and that Judas was dismissed without being exposed to the entire assembly.

This, then, in our opinion, is the true answer to the question: why did Jesus choose the sign of the sop to dismiss Judas in that night of His betrayal. It is explained often, that this sop was meant as a final offer of grace, a last attempt on the part of Jesus to bring Judas to repentance. But how contrary to the entire narrative and how impossible is such an interpretation! Not one of the gospel narratives contains even the slightest suggestion that the Lord intended to bring Judas to repentance. There is not even a warning, although the Lord does express that it were better for that man, that was to betray Him, that he had never been born. Nor is there any mention of the Lord's prayer for Judas, such as He speaks of when He announces Peter's impending denial. And how could there be? Judas was the son of perdition, and the Lord knew it. Judas was thoroughly hardened under the same influence and instruction the other disciples had enjoyed. And the Lord could not possibly have intended to prevent Judas from committing his evil deed, for He knew that the traitor belonged to the way of the Father. That way Jesus must travel to the end in willing obedience. And it is an expression of that perfect obedience that He hastens the traitor on his way into the dark night by the words: "That thou doest, do quickly."

In this light, how well we can understand the Savior's own commentary on this event in the words: "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him." John 13:31. A few days ago His soul had been troubled in apprehension of the deep way of suffering that lay before Him, but He had prayed: "Father, glorify Thy name." Now the Father had strengthened Him to force the issue, to send Judas on his way, and deliberately and obediently choose the way of the cross. Through that cross the Father would be glorified, for on it atonement would be made for sin, and atonement is the satisfaction of the justice of God, and satisfaction required the descension into lowest hell by the Son of man as an act of voluntary obedience in the love of God. This way the Son of man had now definitely begun to travel. God would be glorified in Him. And He the Son of man, too, would be glorified. For the way of the cross was the way to the glorious resurrection, and to the exaltation of the Son of man at the right hand of God. Already Jesus looks forward to that resurrection and glorification. Glorified He will be, not only in Himself, but as the Good Shepherd, that lays down His life for the sheep in order that He might take it again. And when He has laid it down perfect obedience to the glory of the Father, and taken it again in immortality and incorruptibility, He will draw all His own unto Himself, impart unto them His own perfect righteousness and abundant life, and take them with Himself in the Father's house forever. Then will the Son of man be glorified in the Church, and the Father will be glorified in all!