John 6:70

70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"

John 6:70 Meaning and Commentary

John 6:70

Jesus answered them
The disciples, taking Peter's answer to his question, as delivered in the name of them all, and as expressing their mind and sense:

have not I chosen you twelve;
not to grace and glory, to holiness and happiness; though this was true of eleven of them, but to be apostles:

and one of you is a devil?
or like to one, is a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer, as the devil is from the beginning; all which Judas was, and appeared to be, in the betraying of his master. The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, "is Satan"; which name, if given to Peter, as it once was on a certain occasion, ( Matthew 16:23 ) , might very well be given to Judas; who, notwithstanding his profession of faith in Christ, was in the hands and kingdom of Satan, and under his influence and power: and this our Lord said, partly that they might not too much presume upon their faith and love, and steady attachment, and be over confident of their standing; and partly, to prepare them for the apostasy of one from among them.

John 6:70 In-Context

68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;

69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"

71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.