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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, when Jesus had
finished His full discourse on the end times and the judgment at His return (Matthew 24 - 25), 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 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 tells us that the Passover commemorates God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the Land of Promise. It prefigures the Passion of Christ, it notes, the new Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha), which is God's redemption of all humanity from sin and death, and entrance into the promised Kingdom. It states that whether the first day of the Feast was Passover or the day before Passover is debated among patristic opinion. But what is truly 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 here that the words "it is written of Him" do not cancel the responsibility of Judas. It comments that God foresees but does not cause the evil actions of human beings, who always have free will. Here Jesus allows Judas to accuse himself, but even though he hears that Christ knows of his deception, Judas does not repent.
It's quite stunning to read the responses of the disciples to Jesus announcement that one of them will betray Him. He says as they eat, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." Note that the text tells us that each of them began to say to
Him, "Lord, is it I?" Think of the humility this offers to Christ, and perhaps as example to us as well. It's a horrible thought, and yet each asks if it would be himself. It's an acknowledgement that each is capable of sin one might not even wish to consider, and that these disciples have the humility to understand they are fallible and to follow their Lord. Then Jesus says, ""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." It's possible that each of them has "dipped his hand" with Christ in the dish, as this is common to the Middle Eastern table to this day. It's another indication of betrayal of a particular depth, as they have truly shared this meal together. Jesus casts this dire warning, that regardless of what is written of Him, only woe lies ahead for the one by whom He is betrayed. So much so, that it would be good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas picks this moment to ask the same question himself that the others have asked in humility, "Rabbi, is
it I?" What was He thinking? We can ponder all we want, but clearly Jesus is as yet still trying to save Judas by giving His terrible warning of the consequences of such a betrayal. Perhaps Judas is only testing Christ, seeing if He has the knowledge of what Judas has done. Perhaps he's trying to blend in with the other disciples in mimicking their behavior and acting as one of them in order to hide what he's done from them. There are other speculations that people have made throughout history, even suggesting possibly that Judas is part of a conspiracy to create a revolution against the Romans. But there's no doubt about Christ's words of woe and warning of judgment. We might notice, also, that the other disciples address Him as Lord. But Judas calls Him "Rabbi" or "Teacher." When Judas asks his question, all Jesus replies is, "You have said it." Jesus will use this phraseology elsewhere also within this span of the few days contemporaneous with our present readings. When the high priest demands of Him, "Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus will reply with the identical words response, they are the same in the Greek. When Pilate asks Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" His answer is almost identical but for the tense; Jesus replies, "You say so." There is a strange inversion of words and their meaning taking place in all of this, in this time of great evil. The truth is there in plain sight, even in the language people use, despite their intended meaning. And so it is with Judas, for as Jesus tells him, he has said it. Judas still has time to repent, to turn back, to change his mind. We will see that even at the very moment of betrayal (with a kiss), Jesus will try to save Judas, asking, "Friend, why have you come?" In all of this time of evil, of an upside-down kind of reality that begins to bear down upon Jesus and press for His death, Jesus, the Logos, will still be telling the truth. His words will continue to have meaning that is direct and true, when so many others will fail through manipulation and deceit, even denial. Let us pay close attention to what is at hand, even through our own times of trial and temptation.
