I Will, I Will, I Will

During supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. Right after detailing the perfect, exhaustive, and endless love of Christ, here is the heart of Judas, the heart of Satan—murderous.

Scripture Focus: John 13:2-3; Isaiah 14:13-14

"During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God..."

According to Scripture, evil is embodied, and Satan is a real person, a figure. He's active, and he's full of pride.

That pride functions as the fitting contrast to the betrayer you're going to see in John 13.

In Isaiah 14:13-14, we read of Satan's fall from glory. Satan was the supreme worship leader of heaven. He was the most beautiful creature ever made by God. You potentially have this idea of Satan that he looks like a dark figure with horns. But no. It says that he is covered with diamonds and topaz and rubies (Eek. 28:13) and was created to lead the angelic choir in the anthems of praise to Yahweh.

And one day Satan said, "I'm done with this. I don't want to lead others in worship of God. I want others to worship me."

And we read his autobiography: "I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High (Isa. 14)."

I will. Five times. I will. I will. I will. I will. I will. I will be worshiped.

The Scripture calls Satan the god of this world, the ruler of this world, the prince of this world. And his autobiographical title is "me."

It's all about him, all about his own glory.

But look at what Jesus does next in John 13:3 after reading that the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray Him: "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God..."

Jesus knew He was going to be betrayed. It says Jesus "knowing"—He was fully conscious of His origin. Jesus is not powerless but loving, nor powerful but unloving. He is full of power and love.

And it says here, "knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands." All things? All authority. After the resurrection, Jesus is going to say, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me (Matt. 28)." How much authority is all authority? All of it.

This is majesty. This is the God that the angels declare to be thrice holy (Isa. 6). This is the God when He speaks the thresholds of the heavens shake.

Interestingly, throughout His ministry, He had been ridiculed, mocked, scorned, rejected. They attempted to stone Him multiple times, and within 24 hours, He's going to be nailed to a tree He created.

And with unrivaled power and status and majesty at His disposal, what does He do next? It's hard to fathom.

He gets up from supper. He lays aside His garments. He takes a towel. He girds Himself. He pours water into a basin. And He begins to wash the disciples' feet.

Satan says, "I will." Jesus says, "I will serve."

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