It was clear that Jesus sensed something. From the very beginning of the meal, He had expressed a deep desire to eat this Passover before His suffering, and now He hinted again that He would be betrayed. He even added, “Woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!”—which made me uneasy. Yet, because He also said it was part of God’s plan, I wondered if this was something good or bad.
Even though selling the Teacher may not look good to others, I can say with confidence that I am acting to fulfill Jesus’ words and God’s will. Besides, I have carefully chosen the best possible time for Him to be arrested, ensuring that there is absolutely no risk of His death. There is nothing to worry about. Who else but me could handle things so thoroughly?
At Caesarea Philippi, Peter was the first to say aloud what all the others already knew in their hearts, and so he received a great blessing. I, too, want to receive such blessings—like the promise Jesus gave him: “I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” That’s why, this time, I am the one who understands Jesus’ intentions before anyone else and puts them into action. Maybe what Jesus will give me is the key to wealth. After all, He entrusted me with the money bag, and the thirty pieces of silver I received this time were given by the high priest himself. Following Jesus’ words has brought me money—surely that is a good sign.
* * *
Judas Iscariot, driven by Satan and planning to betray Jesus that night, forgot all of Jesus’ teachings and justified his actions for his own benefit. He did not remember Jesus’ words from a few days earlier at the temple, when He said that the two lepta the poor widow put in were more valuable than the large offerings of the rich. Jesus praised her not for the amount, nor simply because she gave all she had, but because she showed by her actions that she completely trusted God to provide for her even after giving everything. How could He not praise such faith?
Mary of Bethany was praised, not because her perfume was expensive, but because she prepared Jesus for burial. Judas was mistaken in thinking his actions aligned with God’s will and would bring him blessing, but in reality, the role he played was evil. If he had remembered Jesus’ words, he would have realized this, but Satan kept whispering lies into his heart, preventing him from seeing the truth.
From Satan’s perspective, it would have been better if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, because only then would God’s plan fail. If the Son of God overcame death and rose again, Satan’s own judgment would be certain. So encouraging Judas to betray Jesus was not appealing to him. But if he acted against God’s plan, wouldn’t God immediately judge him? Rather than risk that, it was safer to let God’s plan unfold, even if it meant delaying his own punishment. He could deal with the consequences later. Since the gospel had to be proclaimed to all nations before the end, Satan could exploit that. Or, he could use God’s desire to save people against Him by hindering that salvation as much as possible.
There are many ways to delay Judgment Day. Why take unnecessary risks? For now, it was best to stay quiet and let God’s plan proceed. Still, Satan was not pleased, so as his first act of revenge, he would ensure Judas Iscariot died. He could not let Judas go free after the role he had played.
While Satan was preparing yet another evil scheme, the disciples fell into that tiresome argument once again—quarreling over who among them should be considered the greatest. Someone brought up the time when the mother of James and John asked Jesus for a favor, sparking the debate. Jesus spoke to them:
“The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so with you. Rather, the one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves. For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn’t it he who sits at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus, who had washed the disciples’ feet, reminded them that He was among them as one who serves. The disciples fell silent as before, but the hopeful words about the future sounded sweeter than anything else—an unavoidable reality. Even Judas heard only what he wanted to hear, interpreting the promise of judging the twelve tribes as a sign that he, too, would gain authority by betraying Jesus. Lost in the maze of his own justifications and rationalizations, Judas felt pleased and enjoyed the additional food served. Jesus, seeing him and the others, felt a heavy heart and finally resolved to reveal everything clearly.
“Most certainly I tell you, one of you who is eating with me will betray me.”
The disciples heard Jesus’ solemn voice and looked at one another in alarm. How many times had they heard this message already? Since Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had said He would be rejected by the chief priests, scribes, and elders, and be killed. Now, during this meal, He said it again. Only now did unease arise in their hearts, wondering what would happen. Though they had never considered betraying Jesus, they began to ask Him, worried that they might unknowingly do so.
“Surely not I, Lord?” they asked, one after another.
“One of the twelve, he who dips his hand with me in the dish, will betray me. The Son of Man goes, just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
Even Judas Iscariot, not fully grasping the meaning, quietly asked Jesus. In his mind, the promise of the kingdom was more vivid than Jesus’ warning, and he did not believe Jesus would die. He only wanted to know if Jesus knew he was the betrayer.
“Is it I, Rabbi?” he asked.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
A few disciples nearby heard Jesus’ reply, but none of them understood what He meant. As Judas questioned Jesus, the other disciples were also asking, “Is it I?” and no one grasped the meaning of His answer, “You have said so.” When Judas returned to his seat with a smile, no one suspected him—after all, how could the betrayer be so calm?
The disciples were curious, but since Jesus said nothing more, the meal continued in a tense atmosphere. Among the anxious faces, only Judas seemed pleased. Meanwhile, John leaned against Jesus. Jesus gently patted his back, as if to assure him that even if no one else would be by his side in the future, He would always be with him. Peter, watching, signaled to John.
"Lord, who is it?" John asked.
“It is he to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it.”
Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas Iscariot, saying,
“What you do, do quickly.”
Judas took the bread, smiling as if nothing was wrong, and left into the night. Even John, who heard Jesus’ words directly, did not suspect Judas. He thought it impossible that Jesus would tell the betrayer, “What you do, do quickly.” Judas’s calm demeanor led everyone, including John, to believe he had gone to buy something for the feast or to give to the poor.
After Judas left, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, giving it to the disciples:
“Take, eat; this is my body.”
After the bread had been given to everyone, the words Jesus had spoken at the start of the meal, “Do this in memory of me,” echoed once again among the disciples. Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and said:
“All of you drink it. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But most certainly I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom, the kingdom of God.”
Just as with the bread, Jesus’ words—“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you”—were once again deeply impressed upon the hearts of the disciples. That He spoke of “my blood” during Passover was no small matter. Jesus looked around and continued:
“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately. Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come,’ so now I tell you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Peter asked,
“Lord, where are you going?”
“Where I am going, you can’t follow now, but you will follow afterwards.”
“Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Peter was still insistent on his own thoughts. To him, Jesus said,
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
“Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”
“Will you lay down your life for me? Peter, most certainly I tell you, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied that you know me three times.”
Peter was left puzzled by Jesus’ words. He tried to respond, but Jesus continued:
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. You know where I go, and you know the way.”
This time, it was Thomas who asked a question. He was someone who accepted things only when there was clear evidence.
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him.”
Next, Philip made a request to the Lord—something he had long desired.
“Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
“Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
The statement “He who has seen me has seen the Father” was difficult for the disciples to understand. What did it mean that He was in the Father and the Father in Him? Even Philip, who asked, could not grasp it. Yet Jesus continued:
“If you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
As John the Baptist had said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as an advocate. The Father would send Him to be with the disciples forever, to help, comfort, and intercede for them. Jesus also promised to reveal Himself to those who kept His new commandment of love, but the disciples could not fully understand this either.
Judas, who was called Thaddaeus, asked,
“Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
“If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.”
The promise that if one loves the Son, the Father will love that person, and that the Father and Son will come and make their home with him, was even more mysterious. Yet the disciples would understand later. When the Helper, the Holy Spirit, came, He would teach them all things and remind them of everything Jesus had said.
“I have said these things to you while still living with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me; but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.”
Jesus said that He loved the Father and would do everything the Father commanded. With only a few hours left before His suffering, Jesus stood up to prepare for it. Once His suffering was over and the Father’s plan fulfilled, the disciples would find the true peace that only He could give—a peace the world could never offer.
As they prepared to leave, Jesus asked,
“When I sent you out without purse, bag, and sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
“But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a bag. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak and buy a sword. For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.”
“Lord, behold, here are two swords.”
“That is enough.”
Jesus then led the disciples out of the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, toward the gate that led to the Mount of Olives.
The passages from Matthew 26:21-29, Mark 14:18-25, Luke 22:19-38, John 13:21-14:31 quoted in this narrative are taken directly from the World English Bible (WEB) translation. Of the parallel passages, I have combined them into a single version that includes all the content.
Listen to the audiobook now.
