"And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily, 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."
The Jewish day was reckoned from one sunset to another. The Passover
was always eaten in the evening; and thus a new day was beginning when
Jesus spake these words.
Jesus next asked the disciples, whether they had lacked or wanted
anything when He sent them to teach throughout the country, taking
with them neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes. They answered, that
they had wanted for nothing. "Then said he unto them, But now, he that
hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that
hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto
you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he
was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me
have an end,"--an end or object,--that is, everything which the
prophets had spoken concerning the circumstances of our Saviour's
Passion, was intended to fulfil some especial purpose, and therefore
all must be exactly fulfilled. In answer to what Jesus said, the
disciples "said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto
them, It is enough."
Simon Peter appears still not to have understood that his Master's
death was at hand, for "he said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?
Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but
thou shalt follow me afterwards." Peter was not to die with his Lord;
but he did afterwards follow Him indeed, for he was crucified some
years after, in the reign of the Emperor Nero. Peter, as usual in his
zeal and self-confidence, lost sight of the fact, that his duty was to
believe and acquiesce without questioning and gainsaying: he needed
the severe lesson he received afterwards, to teach him this. Now, in
his love for his Master, "he said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow
thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him,
Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, The cock shall not crow till thou has denied me thrice."
We now come to a very important event in the life of our Saviour,
namely, His instituting another Feast, or Ceremony, to take the place
of the Passover. The Passover was a means of reminding the Jews of a
past bodily deliverance, and also of keeping them in remembrance of
the promised Messiah, who _was to come_, and deliver them from
spiritual bondage.
When the Messiah had actually come and finished His work, it would no
longer be right to keep the Passover, as given to Moses. Jesus
therefore, in doing away with this Feast, gave to His disciples
another, which was for ever to remind men of all He had done for them.
This Holy Feast we call "The Lord's Supper," "The Eucharist," or
giving of thanks, "The Communion" of His blessed body and blood. "The
Lord's Supper" is one of the Two Sacraments which Christ hath ordained
in His Church. The other is Baptism, whereby we are admitted into
Christ's Church. This is only partaken of once; just as in the natural
world a child can only be born once. The Lord's Supper, on the
contrary, should be partaken of constantly; just as we daily eat and
drink to keep ourselves alive. But children do not partake of this
Sacrament until they are old enough to understand its nature, and to
fight for themselves against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
The Four Gospels do not give us exactly the same account of what took
place at the institution of the Lord's Supper. Some mention one thing,
and some another; and therefore it is difficult to say _the order_ in
which the events took place: that is however, of little consequence,
since we are sure that everything they do tell us, did happen during
the Last Supper which Jesus ate with His disciples.
"As they were eating,"--probably at that part of the Feast when the
master of the family broke one of the unleavened cakes (see 5, p.
123),--"Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to
the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is given
for you: this do in remembrance of me."
They were to look upon this bread as the body of Christ, sacrificed
for them; and in the same spirit they were to eat bread in a solemn
manner, from time to time, in remembrance of all the blessings which
Jesus purchased for mankind, by giving up His body, or His human life,
for our redemption.
"Likewise also, after supper, he took the cup,"--probably that one
called the Cup of Blessing (see 6, p. 123),--"and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it: and they all
drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new
testament. This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed
for you and for many, for the remission of sins."
The wine in the cup was to be taken as a memorial, or remembrance, of
that New Covenant, or agreement, made between God and man, by the
shedding of that precious blood wherewith the Saviour blotted out our
sins.
The Old Covenant of works, made by God with the Children of Israel,
was now done away with. The New Covenant of Grace was to take its
place. In this New Covenant, God promised, that as Jesus bore our
punishment, and washed out our sins with His atoning blood, we for His
sake should be looked upon as righteous, because He was righteous: our
part of this New Covenant being to repent and forsake our sins, and
have such faith in Christ as will constantly show itself by our trying
to please Him, and prove our love by doing His will.