God's Word Fulfilled

When Jesus prayed audibly to the Father before the tomb of Lazarus, He acknowledged God always heard Him.  Jesus did not speak aloud so He would be heard but for the benefit of everyone who stood by as He said in John 11:42:  "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  He made a clear correlation between what He said and accomplished because of who He was, is and will always be:  the Son of God sent to seek and save the lost, the promised Messiah.  Raising Lazarus from death to life was powerful evidence that affirmed who Jesus was and is.

A similar thing occurred as Jesus enjoyed the Passover feast with His disciples.  All these men had been called personally by Jesus and served Him for several years.  Jesus surprised them by revealing one of His apostles would betray Him in fulfillment of scripture.  To show the emphasis of what Jesus said, here is the passage without italicising John 13:18-19 as it appears in the NKJV:  "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.' ¹⁹ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He."  The first italics are a quote from Psalm 41:9 that would literally come to pass in a matter of hours.  Under the cover of darkness Judas would leave the Passover feast, go to the chief priests to betray Jesus, and then lead them to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where He would be arrested.

Jesus told His disciples about His soon and unthinkable betrayal by one of His disciples beforehand so they would "believe that I am He."  Note that when italicised words are written in some Bible translations they indicate a word included by translators that does not appear in the original manuscripts to improve the translation.  In this case, removing the "He" helps us understand who Jesus claimed to be:  the I AM, the almighty God who made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The NIV spells this out plainly in its rendering of John 13:19:  "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am."  In the presence of Judas and all His disciples, Jesus foretold His betrayal by a disciple--the one He literally handed a piece of bread to--so they would all know He was God in the flesh.  When Jesus was crucified the next day, it seems this fulfilled prophecy was forgotten in their grief.  Jesus again affirmed His authority to cleanse the temple, His divinity and power by His fulfilled prophecies, and His victory over sin and death by His resurrection.

God revealed His identity to His people in Exodus 3:14:  "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"   This name enshrined in the Hebrew scriptures was remembered well by the Jews to whom Jesus addressed in John 8:58:  "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  They picked up stones to kill Him because of what they believed to be blasphemy when Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Previously Jesus drew the ire of religious Jews because He referred to God as His Father in John 5:18:  "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."  Jesus was not a Sabbath breaker but the Sabbath Giver.  While they revered their Sabbath traditions, Jesus is the substance of our Sabbath rest that endures forever (Col. 2:16-17).

The fulfillment of Psalm 41:9 and Jesus' words to His disciples in the upper room have been recorded so all might know He is God.  The betrayal of Judas followed the plan and purpose God had from the beginning:  to provide atonement, forgiveness and salvation for all lost sinners who trust in Jesus.  All that Jesus has said will come to pass in God's time, and may our faith in Him grow every time His word is confirmed.  The words of Elisabeth spoken to Mary are true concerning all God's people in Luke 1:45:  "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."  Praise the LORD Jesus Christ!