Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’” 19 The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” 23 He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” 25 Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
In the Gospel of Matthew, Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus immediately after Jesus was anointed with perfumed oil while dining at the house of Simon the leper (Mt. 26:6-13). Matthew juxtaposes the unnamed woman’s love for Jesus with the betrayal by a disciple. The wage Judas earned for offering to betray Jesus was thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12). This begins the final phase of the “works” Jesus came to accomplish (Jn. 5:36).
The Passover lasted eight days (Ex. 12:18). The normal population of Jerusalem at that time was about 30,000 people. Approximately 130,000 pilgrims came for the feast, so it was difficult to find a place to celebrate the feast. The Passover is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because for that week the Israelites did not eat leavened bread (Ex. 12:14-20). Jesus instructed the disciples where to go to find a room for him to celebrate the Passover with them.
Normally the Passover is celebrated at sundown with family so women and children would be present. At the Last Supper, only the Twelve celebrated the feast with Jesus (v. 20). They reclined at table. The table would have been a low table with couches around it on three sides. Guests would recline on their left side and support their head with their left elbow which left their right hand free to take food from the table. During the meal, Jesus announced that one of the disciples would betray him and they all asked “Surely it is not I, Lord (v. 22)?” Jesus knew exactly who would betray him (v. 23). While the 11 addressed Jesus as Lord, Judas addressed him as Rabbi (v. 25). Jesus told them that the betrayer was one of the disciples who dipped the bitter herbs in the dish that was passed around the table. Jesus said that the Son of Man goes willingly to his death but his betrayer will suffer greatly.
Almighty God, shower us with your grace so that we may have no duplicity in our minds and no guile in our hearts. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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