He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me

 

 Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it."

 

- Matthew 26:17-25 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus had finished His entire discourse on the end times (covered in our readings over the past week, beginning with last Thursday), He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

 

 Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.   My study Bible comments that the Passover commemorates God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the Land of Promise.  It prefigures the Passion of Christ, which is the new Passover (in Greek, Pascha), which is God's redemption of all humanity from sin and death, and entrance into the promised Kingdom.  Whether the first day of the Feast was Passover, or the day before Passover, is debated in patristic literature (the synoptic gospels date the Crucifixion on the first day of Passover, while John dates it on the Preparation Day, the day before Passover).   But what is certain is that Jesus regarded this meal with the disciples to be the Passover meal.

When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it."  My study Bible notes that the phrase "it is written of Him" does not cancel Judas' responsibility.  It says that God foresees but does not cause the evil actions of humans, who always have free will.  Luke 22:3 tells us that "Satan entered Judas," but my study Bible comments there that this would not have been possible had there not been a place for Satan in his heart, as opposed to the other disciples.  Jesus allows Judas to accuse himself, yet even upon hearing that Christ knows of his deception, Judas does not repent.

In our recent readings and commentary, we have noted that the positive actions which will be favored in Christ's judgment (see the readings of Wednesday and also the gesture of the anointing of Christ in yesterday's reading, above) are those acts of compassion which are distinguished in part by their personal nature.  It is a place in the heart that prompts the "sheep" (in Christ's parable of judgment) and gives them this characteristic He distinguishes from the goats.  It seems to go back to that which my study Bible comments upon regarding the state of the heart of Judas; there was "room" there for the influence of Satan.  As opposed to the compassionate nature of the gestures Jesus mentions at the judgment that characterize the sheep ("I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me"), Judas' actions -- including in the light of his conversation here with Jesus -- imply a coldness, a hardness of heart.  There is no empathy here.  This is emphasized in the nature of the communal action that takes place during the reading.  It is noteworthy that they eat the Passover meal together, which is not simply a meal that Jesus eats with His disciples, but also a communal meal of the people of Israel, a commemoration of perhaps the most significant event in defining a people.  In all forms of worship, from ancient pagans to today's traditions, there are communal meals that distinguish a people together with the object of worship.  In the Christian tradition, we eat the communal meal with Christ in the Eucharist as the central act of worship, our bond in communion with Christ, which will be instituted at this final meal with the disciples.  So the fact that Jesus specifically states, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me" is a profound statement about betrayal.  It indicates the depth of communal inclusion that Judas has with Him, and so the depth of betrayal as well.  In Scripture, to eat with others is to commune with them, to engage in community.  Of course, with Christ and His disciples this indicates a level of communion that includes the most profound spiritual realities, and this we should consider.  It is again indicative of the mindset of Judas.  There is no longer that depth of communion that indicates the personal, a person-to-person communion with Christ and the others as well (for he will also betray them in betraying Christ).  Rather, Christ has somehow become an object, a means to some sort of end.  As my study Bible indicated in the commentary on yesterday's reading, Judas' motives have been debated, with John indicating his love of money as motivation.  But even with other suggested theoretical motives (for example, that he believed Jesus would institute a rebellion against the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom, or that the seizure of Christ would be an instigation toward this end), Jesus is still an object to Judas; he seeks to use Jesus for his own ends.  Hence it remains betrayal, especially of the Lord who has made clear that He goes willingly to the Cross, having warned the disciples three times already.   We might also sense a possible link between Judas' failure to understand the communion of the Kingdom, this reality of the kingdom of heaven he was once sent out to preach (see Matthew 10, especially verse 7), and what is lacking in his heart.  It is also possible that Judas is responding to Christ's rebuke regarding the woman's gesture of anointing, which John's Gospel seems to indicate was directed at Judas, for he is named specifically as the one who criticized the woman named as Mary the sister of Lazarus (see John 12:1-8).  In any case, it might be instructive to understand Judas acting from resentment or anger or pride -- so that we understand that in ourselves these are feelings that can hold danger, cutting us off from communion and compassion; hence the historic cultivation of dispassion in the Church.  Any way that we look at this betrayal, it holds for us powerful instruction for ourselves and our own weaknesses and vulnerability.  Judas does not return to the disciples or Christ in repentance after this act, although Jesus seems to try to save him at every possible encounter and remind him of their bond, including here in today's reading with these words (He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me) and also His grave warning about the consequences of such an act (woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born).  Ultimately, it is a lack of love that is at work here, just as in the failure of compassion in the judgment parable of the sheep and the goats.   So, for today, let us consider what constitutes community and communion.  With what or whom do we keep company?  With what or whom do we commune?  Remember that in worship, we engage in the deepest possible communion with Christ in the Eucharist, and it is from this that we take our cue that we wish to become more "like Him."  With whom shall we partake?  Who offers us His body and blood?  Who teaches us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34)?