Chapter XXXII.—THE LAST SUPPER.
"And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you which eateth with me shall betray me: behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table." The disciples, hearing this, "began to be exceeding sorrowful, and to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing: and one by one, they asked him, Lord, is it I? and another said, Is it I?"
It was well for the disciples to be sorrowful, and fearful of doing wrong. When we hear of sin committed, we should never say or think, "I am sure I should not do this, or that"; because we do not know what we might do, if we were tempted as others have been. Let us, on the contrary, when we hear of others falling into sin, watch and pray the more earnestly, that we may never be led to do anything which we know to be wrong.
In answer to the question asked by each one of the disciples, Jesus repeated what He had said, that one of them should betray Him; and "said unto them, It is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish; the same shall betray me." And then He told them that, although He came on earth on purpose to die, yet the man who sinfully betrayed Him would bring upon himself the utmost wrath of God. "The Son of man, indeed, goeth as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake." But though eleven of the disciples knew not the meaning of their Lord's words, there was one who could have had no doubt upon the subject—one who had sold himself to do evil, and was only waiting for a convenient opportunity to execute his wicked purpose. Even now he might have taken warning, and given up his guilty purpose; but no: he had listened to the Devil, and his heart was hardened against Jesus.
According to the custom in those times, when people did not sit as we do to their meals, but lay upon couches, so that one guest leant upon the one next to him, John, who was next to Jesus, was leaning on Jesus's bosom. John is always spoken of as "the disciple whom Jesus loved"; showing that he was, as a man, especially dear to his Master, in consequence of which, doubtless, his place at supper was next to that of Jesus.
Simon Peter, always eager and active, now beckoned, or made signs, to John, "that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then, lying on Jesus's breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him,"—that is, gained more entire possession of his soul; as will always be the case when we once listen to the Devil. What our Lord said to John does not appear to have been heard by any of the other disciples. Judas himself now dared to ask, "Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said,"—which was a most solemn form of saying "Yes." Jesus then said unto Judas, "That thou doest do quickly." Judas immediately left the company, and went out.
Even then the other disciples do not seem to have understood that Judas was the traitor. St. John tells us, that "no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag (or common purse), that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or that he should give something to the poor."
There were still sacrifices needed for the remaining days of the feast.
After Judas was gone out, Jesus told the disciples that, as in His life He had glorified the Father, He was now about to glorify Him still farther by his death. Then he bade them love one another, as He had loved them: and this He called "a new commandment," because the love of His followers for one another, was to be something very different from what the Jews taught and practised.
Jesus then warned Peter, that Satan would tempt him, but that He had prayed for him that his faith might not entirely fail, although he would fall into sin: and He charged him, when he should have recovered himself, to strengthen the faith of others. Peter had not yet learned the lesson of humility, which would have made him distrust himself. He knew that he loved his Master, and therefore he fancied, that for His sake he could bear and do anything. Instead, therefore, of being filled with fear at this warning, he exclaimed, "Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death." And Jesus said, "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me."