2025
Betrayal
Passage: John 13:18-30
“Those who do not injure themselves become stronger, even if they receive innumerable blows; but they who betray themselves, even if there is no one to harass them, fall of themselves, and collapse and perish.”
– John Chrysostom (4thC AD)
“When you see him dying to make you his treasure, that will make him yours.”
– Tim Keller
Sermon Outline:
- The Hurt of Betrayal
- The Heart of Betrayal
- The Hope of Betrayal
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
When you think of betrayal, what comes to your mind? Is there a scene from a movie or book or experience in your own life that captures betrayal for you?
Read John 13:18-30. What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
Jesus knew he was going to be betrayed. He was not surprised, but in verse 21 he was troubled in spirit, describing a sorrow and hurt he felt very deeply. None of us wants to be betrayed, there is an instinctive wrongness about betrayal. How does seeing Jesus’s experience and response help you understand the pain and hurt of betrayal? Why do you think Jesus was so troubled even though he wasn’t surprised?
When Jesus declared that one of his disciples was going to betray him, all the disciples responded in verse 22 by staring at each other, “at a loss to know which of them he meant.” It wasn’t obvious who was the betrayer. Hardship reveals the heart and Judas was with Jesus as long as it benefited him. Jesus was the means to an end for Judas. This can be challenging to discern in ourselves. Are we following Jesus because he is our only hope in life and death or because he makes our life a little bit better? Another way of asking this: Do we love the Giver and enjoy all his gifts or love the gifts regardless of the giver? It’s the question of idolatry – anything (even good things) standing in place of God – creates the heart of a betrayer. How have you wrestled with this in your faith? What practices help you to fix your eyes on Jesus as the author and perfecter of your faith? What helps you discern when good things are becoming ultimate things?
Jesus gave a piece of bread to Judas as a sign of hospitality and he recognized Judas with subtly that made it clear he saw Judas and yet did not attack, confront, or stop Judas. Jesus wanted Judas to repent; not to shatter him but to melt him in order to renew. What does Jesus’s response to Judas reveal of God’s character? How does the character and action of God we see in this passage help you to recognize and enjoy the beauty of God?
What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” John 13:17