Table Talk with Jesus: An Exploration of John's Account of The Last Supper

By Tony Hart

There has been much written lately about God's call to discipleship. At the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus gathered His disciples around the Passover feast and shared the motivation and the provision for following Jesus that are valuable for believers throughout the centuries. This book provides a seat at the table and an opportunity to reflect on the words of our Lord at the Last Supper.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098039479

Book preview

Chapter 1

Jesus Is Still Being Betrayed

John 13:12–20

As we examine the circumstances around the time when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, we find similar challenges for us to face today. None of us want to be called a Judas as it identifies us with one of the most hated characters in the Bible. The fact is that we all have a lot in common with Judas as Jesus is still being betrayed by many of us that are sitting in our churches some two thousand years later. Notice in the text the various ways that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and we will be able to see how He is still being betrayed by us today.

We become like Judas when there is a gap between our knowing and our doing. In verse 13:12, after washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus asks them, Do you know what I have done? Jesus says that He has done this to set an example and to show what it looks like to put others first. He continued, If I your Lord and master has washed your feet then wash one another’s feet. In 13:17, we read Jesus’s words, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Many of us understand much more than we are willing to do.

There is a gap between what we know and what we do.

Jesus understood that this gap exists between what we know and what we do. Judas sat there, heard what Jesus said, and saw the example that He set, and yet Judas chose to put His own financial interest ahead of Jesus. At this point, it is easy to criticize Judas until we honestly examine our own hearts and find that we also know that Jesus has called us follow His example. However, we are satisfied to live with a gap between what we know is right and what we choose to do. Some of us have heard the sermons, seen the examples, read all the stories, memorized the verses, and yet just like Judas, we betray Jesus by living with this gap between what we know and what we do. To make matters worse, we have become comfortable with this gap as the norm.

Mahatma Gandi wrote in his autobiography that during his student years, he considered Christianity and seriously read through the Gospels. He was disappointed with the caste system that was holding his people down and believed that the teachings of Jesus could lead his people out of the caste system. One Sunday, he decided to go to a church and learn more. He was met by an usher who rudely told him that he should go worship with his own class of people. (1) Needless to say, he decided that if there was such a gap between what Christians teach and what they do, then he might as well remain a Hindu.

To be a disciple and to follow Jesus means to close the gap between what we know and what we do and to seek to live what we learn. There is always a gap since we never arrive at the state of perfection in this life, but we should never be comfortable with the inconsistency between what we know is right and what we do. Unfortunately, in my own life and ministry, I have come to realize that too many of us excuse ourselves and have become complacent about the state of our lives. We compare ourselves to the worst examples around us and comfort our souls with the conclusion that we are not as bad as others. When we rebel against the example of Jesus and become content with this gap as Judas was, we betray Him in our role as a disciple.

There is a gap between our talk and our walk

We also become more like Judas when there is a gap between our talk and our walk. In verse 13, Jesus compliments their talk. These disciples knew all the right things to say. Isn’t that the case with many of us today? We know the language Christianese. We can talk a good talk. Sadly, our walk does not match our talk.

Jesus points out the gap between what they were saying and what Judas was about to do. They all verbally acknowledged Jesus as Teacher. Jesus complimented their talk and said, You say well. Judas was right there with the other disciples calling Jesus teacher and Lord. He gave verbal consent to following the example of Jesus with the sacrificial placing of the needs of others before their own desires. But in just a few minutes, Judas was about to take a much more selfish path than his Godly talk would indicate.

If you watch professional sports, it won’t take long to notice how much talking goes on between the players on the two teams. The problem is that often, the guy who does the most talking leaves the most to be desired in the game. Respect goes to the guy who lets his game do the talking. As disciples today, we have to make sure that we let our lives speak just as loudly as our mouths testify. It has been said that talk is cheap! What we do speaks so loudly that no one can hear what we are saying. The best combination is when we open our mouths for Jesus and then live lives that match our talk.

We also become like Judas when selfishness wins over love

The example that Jesus set was simply to put the needs of others ahead of His own. When he washed the disciples’ feet, he put the needs of others ahead of his own. When he laid down His life on the cross to take the punishment that we deserve for our sin, He put our needs ahead of His own. The essence of sin is selfishness. Many writers have talked about pride as the essence of the sin principle. Certainly, there is a close connection between pride and selfishness, but I believe that selfishness more accurately captures the concept of the sin principle that we have all inherited.

Many people struggle with trying to understand how you can consider a newborn baby to be a sinner. It seems harsh to agree with the Bible when it declares that we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. All you have to do is to ask any mother and she will tell you that her little baby is the most selfish person in the house. When they are born, they want the bottle in their mouth and they aren’t concerned about what is in your mouth. As toddlers, they want all the toys and have to be taught to share. The growing-up process involves learning to get our selfishness under control so that we can function in society. The fact is that we all have inherited this selfish virus from our parents and they inherited this virus from their parents. It goes all the way back to the first parents, Adam and Eve, as they committed that first act of selfishness in trying to be like God.

Love is the antidote to selfishness. Sin works in the opposite direction of love. When we come to Christ for salvation, we become new creatures by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. One of the significant things that the Holy Spirit does is to shed the love of God abroad in our hearts. Love then defeats selfishness and fulfills the law!

Love is giving for the welfare of the other person without requiring anything in return. Love is the cure for a bad heart. Love is the building block for a relationship with God. The blood of Jesus is the expression of the love that God has for us as He put our need ahead of His comfort. When you love God above all, you will have no idols, you will not take the name of the Lord in vain, you will observe his Sabbath. When you love other people, you will honor your parents, not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, not lie about anyone, not covet what others have. Jesus called love the great Commandment in Matt. 22 which fulfills the law and the prophets. Love conquers sin by working in the opposite direction than our selfishness.

The problem