John 6:70
“Jesus answered them, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?””
What does John 6:70 mean?
Jesus had just performed the miracle of multiplying loaves and fish, and many of his followers were excited, but not for the right reasons. They wanted him to be a political messiah who would feed them and overthrow Rome. When he tried to redirect them toward deeper spiritual truth, most abandoned him. Even among the twelve closest disciples he'd hand-picked, Jesus knew that one would betray him, and he's naming that painful reality here. The word "devil" doesn't mean demon-possessed, but rather someone who opposes God's purposes and acts against them. Jesus is being honest with his remaining followers: even intimate proximity to him, even being chosen and trained by him directly, doesn't guarantee faithfulness. This was a hard truth then, and it speaks to our own hearts now. Sometimes people close to us disappoint us deeply, and sometimes we ourselves struggle with competing loyalties. Jesus was walking into his passion knowing full well that betrayal was coming.