20 In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. 21 As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”
22 This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”
23 Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. 24 The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
Read Matthew 26:20-25 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
When reading about the last supper Jesus had with His disciples before the crucifixion, Matthew’s gospel includes an interesting statement that is never really concluded. When Jesus shares that one of the twelve disciples present in that room would betray Him, it would seem as though all twelve were confused and shocked.
Perhaps the eleven disciples (not including Judas the betrayer) were shocked that a traitor was in their midst, but perhaps Judas himself was shocked that Jesus was so perceptive. It had been only days since he had taken the money and agreed to find a time to turn Jesus in.
In Matthew’s gospel, we see an interesting dialog. Each one of Jesus’ follower ask Jesus if they would be the one to betray Him. Presumably Jesus says no to the first few disciples who ask, but then Matthew tells us that “Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?’” (v. 25a)
Jesus’ response is direct and clear. Matthew tells us He said, “Yes, it is you.” (v. 25b)
I don’t know if the remainder of the disciple felt relief or anger at this piece of news. Perhaps they were relieved that they were cleared from being suspects, but I imagine many of them were angry at Judas for being the one who would betray Jesus. Part of me wonders if there wasn’t some disbelief or thought that either Jesus had gone nuts, or that Judas’ betrayal would be weeks or years in the future, rather than that specific night.
Matthew doesn’t tell us the disciples’ response/reaction. Instead, he just continues by jumping to the next key part of their special Passover meal. In order to learn what reaction the disciples had, we should pull a set of verses from John’s gospel, since John includes a statement to help us understand what was happening in the disciples’ minds.
John tells us that, “No one at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. Since he was the one who kept the money box, some of the followers thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast or to give something to the poor.” (John 13:28-29)
In John’s gospel, Jesus had just identified Judas Iscariot as the traitor, and told him to carry out his plan. Judas got up and left, leaving the other eleven disciples shocked at what just happened.
To us reading the gospel narrative, we can clearly see the different angles and how Judas would be headed to the priests to get a mob ready for the upcoming arrest.
Looking at the gospels this way helps draw out the truth that it is easier to understand events when looking back on them. The disciples were confused and shocked in the moment, but they understood it later, and wrote down what happened after coming to this understanding.
In our own lives, when things happen that we don’t understand, we may benefit from letting some time pass, before reflecting back on the event to look for causes, mistakes, and lessons to help us grow moving forward. Often in the moment, things can seem confusing, but time helps create clarity. We might not understand why something bad happened, but perhaps it becomes the seed that God uses for something amazing in our future.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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