Leaving Judas Behind
6 min read
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just 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.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
Mark 14:17-22
Of course, we know that Jesus is referring to Judas. But why did Jesus find it necessary to mention the betrayal at the last supper? And if Jesus was going to mention the betrayal, why did He not reveal who it was?
If we can put ourselves in the shoes of the eleven, the identity of the betrayer would not be obvious at all. That is to say, if we were a disciple of Jesus but not one of the twelve, and we observed this exchange, we might think that any one of them could have been the betrayer.
Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times. James and John have already asked Jesus for the highest positions of authority in the “kingdom.” All the disciples, after Jesus died, scattered for fear of their lives. In some way, all the disciples betrayed the Son of God.
Knowing that, Jesus dipped bread into the oil and handed a piece to each and every one of His disciples—including Judas. That very act aligns every single one of us to Judas Iscariot and not to Jesus Christ.
If we were already aligned with Jesus Christ, there would be no reason for Him to offer us bread and to say, “Take it; this is My body,” because we wouldn’t need the sacrifice of His body for the forgiveness of our sins.
That is to say, every single day of our lives, in some way, we betray Jesus—whether in denying our relationship to Him, or in seeking personal glory over His glory, or in just scattering and chasing after the “comfort” and “security” of the world to avoid “suffering” (inconvenience) in the name of Jesus.
The devastation of that truth can stop us in our tracks. The devastation of that truth can lead us to overwhelming sorrow and to self-destruction.
And yet, to all those who betray Jesus, He said, as He hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
— Isaiah 53:5
And so …
Therefore, there is not no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, …
— Romans 8:1
And so …
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
— Galatians 2:20
I remember God’s promises during this Passion Week, and as I receive communion on Good Friday, I will receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Father, Your ways are perfect, and there is no other way to life. Forgive me for my betrayal each and every day. But Your mercy is greater, and Your love heals my brokenness. Change me from the inside out, so that I may glorify Your name in all I say and do. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
