And it was night.
To write his gospel account of Jesus’ life, John looks back on the three years of Jesus’ ministry on earth. This Passover meal made a big impression on him. The evening was poignant because Jesus kept talking about having to go away. There was something else, too. Jesus was acting differently. It was almost like he only had a few hours left to spend with them. He kept giving them what felt like last minute instructions.
Then there was this talk about betrayal. Who? What? It was unthinkable to eleven of the disciples that any one of them would betray Jesus. Jesus! The man they had come to know as God. The one who they had seen feed thousands of people with virtually nothing. Twice! The man who had healed the sick, given sight to the blind and had made the mute speak. The one who stood up to the Pharisees and had cleared the Temple grounds. Who could know Jesus like the disciples did and want to betray him?
Finally, Judas leaves, and even though he has been pointed out as the betrayer to John, no one understood what had just happened. Judas Iscariot (not the other Judas) knew, but that was it.
Maybe it seemed odd to Judas that he should be dismissed by the man he was going to betray. It was almost as if Jesus had said, “Judas, I know what you are going to do. Get busy and do it. Quickly.”
That night a lot of things seemed odd. John sums up the strangeness of the moment with the artistry of a good mystery writer:
“And it was night.”
Let’s Discuss: What does the fact that it was nighttime at this point in John’s gospel mean to you?
It is the transition from the unusual Passover meal to the night where everything when horribly wrong in the mind of the disciples.
Across from the temple mount among the olive trees, Jesus turns to preparing himself for what is coming.
You are right, Nathan. To the disciples it must have seemed as if the world had ended that night.
This was a dark time for the One who is the light of the world. If He had to go through darkness in this world, so will we. We need to remember in dark times that the light will dawn in the person of Jesus. The darkness on Thursday like the death on Friday was very real, but Sunday was coming.
Rich,
Thank you for the timely reminder. Sometimes dark times sneak up on us when we least expect it. The darkness is real, but our Lord Jesus is more real!