John 13:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

NIV: After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, 'Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.'

NASB: When Jesus had said these things, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, 'Truly, truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.'

CSB: When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in his spirit and testified, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me."

NLT: Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, 'I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!'

KJV: When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

NKJV: When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus commented about the difference between someone who was "bathed," and needed only minor washing, versus those who were unclean (John 13:10–12). He hinted that not all of those present were clean—an allusion to Judas, who has already planned to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14–16). That impending treachery was also mentioned in reference to Psalm 41:9 and the idea of someone sharing bread, but being traitorous (John 13:18). Jesus mentioned this so that the remaining disciples would not lose all hope when they saw what was to come (John 13:19). Here, Jesus makes that prediction explicit.

Jesus is described using similar terms to His reaction at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:33). The Greek root word translated as troubled in the ESV refers to something turbulent and disturbed. Speaking of what is about to happen causes Jesus emotional pain. Not only is Judas choosing treachery, he's opting for damnation (Mark 14:18–21). That's heartbreaking on many levels. Speaking these words also brings Jesus' human nature face-to-face with all the pain and misery about to come His way.

John 13:21–30 describes Jesus' awareness that Judas is a false believer. Rather than outing Judas as a traitor, Jesus simply mentions that one of the group will betray Him. That blunt statement confuses the disciples, who look at each other with suspicion. Jesus subtly identifies Judas in a comment made to John. This goes unrecognized until much later. Judas, however, knows exactly what the gesture means. At that moment, he is entirely under the control of Satan, and Jesus tells him to leave. The disciples assume Judas has been sent on a private errand.

Jesus meets with a smaller group, possibly only the twelve disciples, in a private setting. Before eating a meal, Jesus performs the work of a lowly servant, washing the feet of the disciples. He explains that this is an object lesson. Their Lord is willing to serve in humility, so they are obligated to do the same. Jesus also predicts His impending betrayal, subtly telling Judas to leave and complete His conspiracy. The disciples don't realize what's happened, however. Peter foolishly brags about his loyalty. Jesus responds with a cutting prediction: Peter will deny his relationship to Christ three times in the next few hours.

The first twelve chapters of the gospel of John describe the public ministry of Jesus. Starting in chapter 13, most of what John describes are the last private moments Jesus enjoys prior to His crucifixion. This begins with Jesus washing the disciples' feet, establishing both an example and a command for humble service. Jesus also predicts His impending betrayal and Peter's cowardly denials. Following chapters contain Jesus' last instructions to the disciples, including a rich collection of truths which are central to the Christian faith.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.