“18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I
have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has
lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it
takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.”
Jesus is identifying the betrayer, Judas. Judas, one of the twelve disciples chosen by
the Lord is going to act in traitorous treachery. According to the words of our Savior, He says
to the disciples that the betrayal is taking place that “the Scripture will be
fulfilled”. Quite clearly in the text we
assume that the reason Jesus chose Judas to betray him was to fulfill
Scripture. Literally the Greek text reads:
“But so that the scripture may
be fulfilled.”[1]
“The psalm
Jesus quoted was attributed to David, who lamented the defection of a trusted
confidant (Ps 41:9). A parallel occurs in Psalm 55:12-14. Quite probably it referred
originally to Ahithophel, who had been David's counselor and diplomatic advisor
but deserted him in Absalom's rebellion (2Sam 15:12; 16:15-23; 17:4, 14, 23).”[2]
Normally we read the word “fulfilled” to indicate a direct
prophetic accomplishment. An example
would be that in approximately 700 BC, the prophet Micah named the tiny village
of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Israel's Messiah. In Micah 5:2 (ESV) we read:
“2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too
little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who
is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
The quotation cited by our Savior in John 13 is clearly not
written in a way that the reader of the Psalm would think this was written to
foretell a betrayal of the Messiah. So,
we are left with the question, what does “fulfill” mean in this text. When Jesus says that an event “fulfills” Psalm
41:9 it does not necessary mean that the event was predicted. As a modern reader we don’t quickly
understand this.
This type of assertion was a form of Bible interpretation
called “midrash” that helped Jews interpret a current happening by linking it
to Scripture. A midrash is
like a parable or an allegory. One might also see it as an elevated
illustration. It includes elements of
commentary. I prefer to view it in terms
of type and antitype. In the case of
Jesus and Judas, David and Ahithophel
are the types and Jesus and Judas are the antitypes. One is a foreshadowing of the other.
Interestingly, the Apostle Peter employed the same
interpretative method in the process of selecting Judas’ replacement. We read in Acts 1:16–20 (ESV)
16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas,
who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus . . . 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become
desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take
his office.’”
A more
familiar example is found in Matthew chapter 2 where we read: “Now when they had departed, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child
and his mother, and flee to Egypt.”[3]
Then we read: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the
prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” [4] The citation from Hosea 11:1 refers to
Israel—not to Jesus. However, we recognize this as midrash rather than
predicted prophecy. Some refer to it as prophecy
by parallelism.
What was appropriate for Matthew, for John, for Paul and
other inspired writers is not appropriate for modern scholars, preachers, and
authors. Too often creative (overly
creative) preachers and teachers will assert a certain doctrine or principle
and reach back into the Old Testament and claim that this fulfills a particular
Old Testament story of verse. I recall
one preacher attempting to show that the rescuing of Rahab in Joshua 2 anticipated the secret rapture of the Church.
The Midrashian interpretation of Scripture, that is inspired
and recorded in the Bible is one thing.
For pastors and teachers to employ the same method of interpretation is tantamount
to claiming for themselves infallibility and inspiration. It is an attractive method for the lazy and
dishonest preacher for they soon succeed in providing their congregations with
ever new and creative interpretations of the Bible. It both denies the sufficiency of Scripture
and the perpetuity of Scripture.
So from John 13 we learn two things: One, is that the word “fulfilled” does not
always mean predictive prophecy realized; and Secondly, the art of Midrashian
interpretation is only trustworthy when it is evidenced within the text of
Scripture by inspired authors. We have
no liberty to turn any text from type to anti-type on our own whim and
authority.
[1] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First
Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical
Studies Press.
[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/III. The Private Ministry of the Word (13:1-17:26)/A.
The Last Supper (13:1-30)/1. The washing of feet (13:1-20), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 2:13). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[4] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 2:15). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
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