I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, “He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.” Now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. (John 13:18-19)

Why Jesus Told The Twelve Who His Betrayer Was

The ministry of Jesus had lasted for nearly three years. From His disciples, Jesus had chosen twelve men to be His apostles. They had been with Jesus for a little over two years, listening to His teachings, witnessing and participating in His miracles, watching Him rebuke the religious leaders, and seeing His compassion for the human spirit. Near the end of His ministry, the Son of God told the apostles that He would go to Jerusalem, where He would suffer many things, be killed, and rise from the dead on the third day.

On one occasion, Jesus told His disciples He would die; they became very sorrowful. Their sorrow did not last long, and they soon forgot what Jesus said. Jesus knew when His last week was coming. On Thursday before His crucifixion, Jesus knew His hour had come. It was time for the fulfillment of God’s divine plan to be in motion for the execution of God’s Son to redeem sinful man. During the Feast of the Passover, Jesus took the supper with the twelve as a memorial feast to what the twelve did not know would happen. He knew what was about to happen. The apostles were completely unaware.

After washing the feet of the twelve men, Jesus impressed upon them a lesson on servitude. In the back of Jesus’ mind, He knew that Judas had arranged to betray his Lord for thirty pieces of silver and was waiting for an opportunity to make good his offer. The Holy Spirit is silent about the interaction of Jesus and Judas as the Son of God washed the feet of the one who would betray Him. Did Jesus take an extra moment to wash the feet of Judas? As the Lord gazed upon the rugged feet of Judas, did He reflect on what those feet would shortly be doing and why? Jesus washed the feet of Judas.

During the Feast of the Passover, Jesus tells the twelve men in the upper room that one of them is going to betray Him. The disciples were perplexed as to what Jesus meant. For them, everything was fine, and they enjoyed a memorable and meaningful time with Jesus, singing the Hallel psalms and commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt. To eleven of the disciples, all was well. Judas was anxious as he plotted to carry out his plan. As the thirteen men reclined around the table, Jesus proclaimed the one who dipped bread with Him would betray Him.

Quoting from a psalm of David writing about suffering from his enemies, Jesus speaks about the one who eats bread with Him as a man who will lift up his heel against Him. It is a direct quote about what happened between Jesus and Judas. Jesus dips His bread and hands it to Judas. Judas goes out immediately to the chief priests and elders without eating the bread. In a short time, Jesus is arrested, tried, and crucified. The lesson imprinted on the hearts of the eleven after the resurrection is that Jesus said that Judas would betray Him. Jesus tells the eleven of the betrayal of Judas to prove that He was the Son of God and that His death was the divine plan. It proved Him to be the Son of God. No man could have shown the prophecy of Psalm 41 with such clarity of action as did Jesus Christ the night He was betrayed.

Judas acted on his own will, but it was the plan of God that Jesus be betrayed by one of His own and that He suffered death on the cross. The eleven were shocked at the actions of Judas and disheartened when he killed himself, but Jesus had proven He was the Son of God by demonstrating without a shadow of a doubt He knew what Judas planned. He told His disciples what would happen so they could believe He was God’s Son. There was no doubt. The eleven took the command from Jesus after His resurrection and shared the story of Jesus with the whole world. They believed Jesus was the Son of God with many proofs; none so powerful as that night when He told them about Judas.