“Behold the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.” (Luke 22:21)

“Behold the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.” (Luke 22:21)

During the close intimacy of this last meal with His Disciples, they must have been utterly surprised – even horrified – when our Lord announced that a traitor was amongst them (Matt. 26:20-25; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:21-23; & John 13:21-35), one who would betray his Master out of greed and avarice. For none of those men who, after spending three years traveling with Jesus and witnessing His teachings and miracles would have ever suspected that someone in this tight-knit brotherhood would betray Christ. Perhaps they thought that Christ meant one of them might betray their Master unintentionally through an inadvertent remark, yet Judas knew what exactly what Christ meant as he sat through this meal and dipped his hand in the same bowl as Jesus. For thus fulfills the prophecy: “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me” (Psalm 41:9).

Fr. John