John 13:21 When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me."
Jesus told them ahead of time what was to occur, just like He promised. This was to bolster their faith in Him, which was a good thing. However, John noted that Jesus was troubled when He told them. We aren’t told what troubled Jesus except the knowledge that Judas was going to betray Him, which was to reject the one who sent Him, namely His Father. I don’t think this is because Jesus was concerned about His or His Father’s feelings. It is never in the best interest of anyone to reject the Father or His Son. It is troubling in spirit to see anyone spurn the love of God because we know they are in darkness and in grave spiritual danger.
If it troubled Jesus when His Father was rejected, we may detect His troubled spirit also when others reject His love through us. Not for our sakes but for theirs. To reject us is to reject Jesus when we are loving in His name. If we are being selfish and they reject us, that’s understandable. When we live to love with Jesus, and that love is not received, let’s take care that we are not troubled by their rejection of us, but by the consequences that will befall the one who rejects Him. Although we don’t know this for sure, but it is most likely that Jesus washed Judas’ feet along with the others. He loved His enemies and was kind to Judas. As we know, He even greeted Judas with a kiss when he brought the soldiers to arrest Jesus. May we love like Jesus loved—and even love those who betray us.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
