Cutting out the Cancer

Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24                          Romans 9:6-8                         John 13:18-30

Cutting out the Cancer

Of all the dreaded diseases in the world, I think I can safely say that cancer is feared the most. The worst thing about it is that it can be living and thriving inside you without you even knowing that it is there. It can be with you for a long time, slowly stealing your life away, while you remain oblivious to its presence.

However, if it is discovered in time, it can often be safely removed from the body putting an end to its destructive design. If it is operable, it must be discovered, exposed, isolated, and removed with the least amount of disturbance to the immediate surrounding areas. This is not to say that the rest of the body doesn’t suffer from this procedure…indeed the stress on the entire body is immense, especially if some kind of radiation or chemotherapy is involved…but this procedure ultimately does protect the rest of the body from being adversely affected in the future. To ensure future health and vitality, the body must suffer temporarily to remove the immediate threat to its continued well-being.

This procedure could be compared with how Jesus dealt with Judas in the closing hours of his earthly ministry. If you recall we discussed how in the foot-washing incident Jesus commissioned his disciples to a sacrificial, servanthood-based ministry of disciple-making. In a sense, he shod their feet with the Gospel of Peace. Judas too had had his feet washed, but his feet would carry him in a very different direction. 

In this passage, Jesus revealed that while all were called to fulfil a purpose, not all were clean. Just like the reprobate King Saul had been called to be Israel’s first king, chosen by God himself, and as the pagan king Cyrus had been commissioned by God to be the instrument by which the exiles would be released from bondage in Babylon, so Judas seems to have been specifically chosen by Jesus to be his betrayer. 

In John 6:64, we are told that Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray him. The Lord reinforced this statement in John 6:70 when he said, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” (ESV)

In one sense this is very comforting and reassuring. Scripture tells us that our Lord knows those who are his own…he knows his sheep…but here we are told that he also knows those who are not his, indeed, even those who will betray him. Jesus chose Judas knowing full well that he would be the instrument through which he would be delivered up to be murdered. Yet in no way was Judas coerced to betray his master. Indeed, he was given more than ample time to repent, but he steadfastly refused even when he was finally exposed at the table. Never make the mistake of placing man’s responsibility over and against God’s sovereignty. Scripture knows of no such contradiction. Instead, the Word repeatedly presents the two as complimentary. An antinomy if you will. Two apparent contradictions working together. 

A New Testament example of this would be Peter’s statement in Acts 2:23. “This Jesus,” Peter said, “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (ESV) Who delivered him up? Judas? Who took his life? The Jews? In John 10:18 Jesus said about his death on the cross: “No one takes (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

Although the crucifixion of the Lamb of God was predestined before the foundation of the world, those who were responsible for putting this decree into motion were held accountable by God and were required to repent. 

However, the exposure of the nature and calling of Judas at this point in the Gospel serves not only to make his act of betrayal more unjustifiable but it also serves to protect the other disciples…that they might not be shaken by his actions and that they might persevere all the more despite his apparent fall. And, indeed, it serves as a warning to all believers – we ought to frequently examine our own hearts to see if any wickedness lurks beneath the surface. 

This exposure can be likened to that first cancer diagnosis where a patient and their family are told about the presence and existence of this sinister killer. How long had Judas not been with them as a friend? 

However, the knowledge that Jesus knows those he has chosen and for what purpose, should also encourage us when we are confronted with “cancer” in the Church. It teaches us that despite our frailty, despite our faults and our failures, our Lord knows us and upholds us. It teaches us that all the schemes of the evil one and his minions cannot prevent us from persevering to the end. The primary difference between believers and unbelievers is that the former are drawn to salvation by the Spirit of adoption, whereas the latter are drawn away by their own rebellion. Indeed, the disciples and believers down through the ages differ from Judas solely by God’s grace and not by our own goodness or merit. 

Furthermore, our Lord reveals that Judas’ betrayal was a fulfilment of Scripture, in this case, Psalm 41:9. “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” (ESV) The quotation serves to heighten the tragedy behind this action. Judas was no stranger. This was a friend who walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and shared life with Jesus and the disciples …for three years. As such his behaviour is all the more reprehensible. 

The metaphor of lifting the heel comes from Genesis 3:15 where the seed of the serpent is said to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman as his heel simultaneously bruises its head. That this image was used of Judas indicates that through him Satan once again attempted to usurp Jesus’ authority with a view to universal control, but even as all the powers of hell rallied against Jesus – acting through Judas, the Sanhedrin, the soldiers, and the Roman government – all of them served merely as instruments that would contribute to the accomplishment of God’s plan for salvation through the death of Jesus.

However, there is a lesson for us in this and that is that if Jesus suffered at the hands of an intimate friend, we too may need to be prepared to face a similar agony. History teaches us that all too often our worst enemies are those within our own hallowed halls. Like the cancer cells that are often undetectably present in the body, wolves in sheep’s clothing or in clerical clothing, for that matter, lurk in our midst waiting for the opportune moment to attack. They will be known by their fruit. 

As painful as this betrayal must have been for Jesus, it did serve in promoting the cause of God in the fulfilment of prophecy, the ultimate demonstration of his love for the world, as well as the final revelation of Jesus as the great I AM. Jesus is not just the author of our faith and salvation. He is the finisher of it too. He directs our steps. As the one who was sent, he is the sender of all and therefore all who receive those whom Jesus sends out into the world, receive him. I don’t know about you, but this encourages me no end when I think about evangelism. Every one of us has been chosen to perform a specific task…to play a specific role. So, pray and ask him to show you the task he has given to you to complete in this life…pursue it, embrace it, and do it wholeheartedly to his glory and his glory alone.

Now, as I said before, knowing the plan and heart of Judas did not make the reality any less painful for Jesus. The idea of an intimate friend, one who outwardly showed all the signs of true “regeneracy”, one who purposefully maintained an aura of respectability in order the further his own goals, one who seemed to be a follower of Jesus…the idea of such a one now turning and unashamedly revealing his true colours, troubled our Lord deeply despite its inevitability. True, Judas did not hesitate to criticize Jesus even publicly on occasion, but those were only the outward symptoms of a far greater disease…a far more serious inner condition which was now uncovered and laid bare. 

The exposure of a cancerous growth is not to be taken lightly…it is painful and potentially fatal and needs to be dealt with decisively and immediately. Procrastination due to the fear of the painful procedure only serves to prolong the danger and the agony. And so, as Jesus confesses here, that agony was very real…at least it was to him.

The disciples seemed to be oblivious to their master’s pain. All they were concerned about was their own reputation…in other words, am I the bad guy? I don’t want to be the bad guy. Is it me? It can’t be me…it must be you! 

So, the Lord’s needs and his pain were blocked from view by their own preoccupation with wanting to look good. Even here, before the trial, before the crucifixion, our Lord stood alone in the strain and in the fight with the enemy.

But neither did Jesus’ distress bother Judas in any way. Peter’s motioning, rather than speaking, requesting John to ask Jesus who the betrayer might be, seems to indicate noise of some kind. Possibly an argument or vehement denials or accusations…so it is possible that Judas did not hear much of what was said, but if one examines his character…one who habitually stole from the communal purse…one who could feign interest in Jesus’ teaching…who could feign friendship with the group despite his apparent agenda…if one examines his character then one sees a man determined to hear nothing except what furthered his own goals. Indeed, there was no remorse until after the grisly deed was completed, but then, because time is linear, it was too late, and he could not undo what he had done. 

How often haven’t I wished to turn back the hands of time? If only I hadn’t done this or if only I hadn’t said that. And the worst of it all is that I never seem to learn from my mistakes.

In answer to John’s enquiry about who the betrayer might be, Jesus exposed Judas by handing him a piece of his own bread dipped in his own bowl. To appreciate the full impact of this action, you need to realise that this is possibly the same bread that Jesus would use later in the institution of the Lord’s Supper…or, at least it was bread that came from the same Passover Table broken and given by the same Lord Jesus. Either way, it is a sign of fellowship…of an understood connectedness…of a friendship, the reality of which is rejected by Judas. In his heart, Judas knew that he was not part of the fellowship and by accepting the symbol of such a connectedness he portrayed an amazing insensitivity and a total inability to discern the unity of the Lord’s body…as such, he ate the morsel of bread to his own damnation.

It is at this point of callous indifference that Satan was permitted to enter Judas and to harden his heart beyond any possible repentance, because, by his own resistance, Judas had chosen to make his own state incurable. This final act of friendship…this final act of love…this offer of a chance to repent…this final reaching out became the decisive instant of judgment. This is Judas’ final capitulation to the forces of darkness.

It is a terrible, terrible tragedy and not one to pass over too quickly. We ought to pause here and ask our all-knowing Lord to examine our hearts to see if there is any wicked way in us. All too often, like the disciples, we too look around us at others, when we ought to be looking within – at ourselves. 

As Paul tells us in Romans, not all are Israel, which are of Israel…just because they are the seed of Abraham, does not mean that are they all children…children of the flesh are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. So, not all who claim to believe are believers. Many are born in the church, live in the church, and participate in the Church for years, but are never one with the Church. 

As Jesus did not wish to prolong the agony, he made a clean and permanent cut to effectively remove the cancer from their midst. With the deftness of an expert vinedresser, he clipped off the fruitless branch and cast it outside. His instruction to Judas was plain and simple: “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

There comes a time when pretence becomes an insult and the inevitable becomes the imperative. Judas’ internal character is brought out to the exterior as Jesus asked him to leave the fellowship he was never part of. Without repentance, without any protestation, without an attempt at reconciliation, there was only one thing left to do. 

The fact that the other disciples remained unaware of his unmasking shows the remarkable depth of his deception. He managed to live his life in such a way that he fooled even those who were closest to him. Every Judas throughout history has had this uncanny ability to cloak his real nature with the wool of the Lord’s sheep.

The conclusion of this tragedy is the removal of the cancerous growth, a shutting out and a closing of the door. Judas, under cover of the darkness that is symbolic of his life, left the fellowship to set in motion the forces that would lead to the arrest, trial, torture, and crucifixion of Jesus. As such, Judas became the prime example of someone who walks with the Lord yet never walks in step with the Holy Spirit…ever living in obedience to all that is contrary to life in the Spirit.

To us, this passage serves as both a warning and a comfort. Like all true believers, we ought to regularly examine ourselves to ensure that we do not take the Lord’s goodness for granted. As Paul warns us, even the smallest piece of yeast will eventually permeate the whole dough. Healthy introspection reveals a spiritually sensitive soul…something that was apparently absolutely absent in Judas. He was so senseless in his malice that he remained untouched by Jesus’ words.

Cancer in any form is an awful thing and, once discovered, its presence ought not to be tolerated. Indeed, even a moment of indecision may very well be the difference between life and death. Likewise, cancer in the Body of Christ must be dealt with decisively and speedily. Delay only serves to aggravate the situation or worse…delay can lead to a deadly form of forbearance, an unhealthy toleration of what the Scripture calls ‘evil’, and eventually to a spiritually lethal compromise. A fruitless branch must be removed for the good of the vine. Cancer must be irradiated for the health of the body. And what must be done, must be done quickly.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024