When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. They were reclining at the table eating, when he said, "I'm telling you the truth that one of you will betray me - one of you who are here eating with me." They were saddened. One by one they said to him, "Surely it is not I?" "It is one of the twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man goes as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
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In a Nutshell What Jesus told His
disciples showed that he knew of Judas' betrayal. |
Questions When did the disciples realise Judas had betrayed Jesus? |
The Passover meal Jesus prepared for His disciples was memorable. It was a moment of great importance and it has remained ever after in the minds of His disciples. His teaching impressed them and so did His humility and kindness. Yet, at this moment of terrible treachery it is right that we still feel sad about it.
Think about what it must have been like for those who were there. They had lived and walked and enjoyed Judas' company all along the way from Galilee. But at this moment, when Jesus indicated He knew Judas had betrayed Him, this must have been very painful and it would be something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. This small paragraph illustrates evil. It illustrates an impossible reality - rebellion against God and a person's deep hatred, any person's, for the innocent Lamb of God.
What Jesus' disciples held on to then is what His disciples hold onto now:
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hid their faces he was despised, and we did not hold him in high regard at all.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted (Isaiah 53:3-4).
There is something overwhelmingly bad here. It is as if the coming of this Son of Man, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, is an invitation too tempting to resist - for all who hate God, for all who want to blame God. Here is the One. You can pour out your anger, hate, treachery upon Him! Here is the Innocent you can blame for all your sins. Here's the opportunity to sink the boot in. Have a kick. The Son of Man is here. He is exposed. He is vulnerable.
You want to hate? Go ahead. Make His day … awful.
The Bible is not a nice book. The picture is not at all pretty.
But then Mark didn't dwell long on Judas' betrayal. He moved on from Judas' deceit after telling us Jesus' own words. They are a warning. Stay loyal and loving toward Jesus just as He did in His celebration of the Passover with his disciples.