20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” 23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 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.” 25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
Jesus now sat down with the twelve for the Last Supper (26:20-30).
26:20
When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.
The “evening” here is after sunset (6:00 p.m.) on the 14th of Nisan. Jesus and His disciples “sat down”; this means they reclined. The Passover meal symbolically represented some aspect of the exodus from Egypt.
26:21
Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
Jesus made the shocking point that one of the twelve sitting at the Passover meal would betray Him.
26:22
And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
Each disciple recognized that he had the capacity to betray Jesus. The betrayer could be himself personally. Each had dipped into the bowl.
26:23
He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.
All of them ate with Jesus out of the same bowl. They could not clearly identify who was to betray Jesus.
26:24
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!
The Old Testament predicted the coming betrayal of the Messiah. Jesus put His death into eternal perspective. His death was planned from eternity and recorded in Scripture.
It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
With Judas’ choice, it would have been better for him not to have been born, for he had to face the eternal consequence of his decision.
26:25
Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
The disciples may not have heard Jesus answer Judas that he was the man.
PRINCIPLE:
The Lord’s Supper is central to worship.
APPLICATION:
The church’s Passover is the Lord’s Supper. The two are linked. The bread represents the body and the cup represents the blood. The two representatives (bread and blood) are memorials of Christ’s life and death. The Lord’s Supper celebrates the person and work of our wonderful Lord.
