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Day 283

Luke 22 : 21-23 "THE MENTION OF THE BETRAYER"

Day 283 – Luke 22

Text: Luke 22 : 21-23

THE MENTION OF THE BETRAYER

The Passover Feast suddenly took on new and even more profound meaning! Jesus wanted His Disciples never to forget Him. He wanted them to always remember Him, as they would keep the Passover Feast. Of course, it would take a while before the Disciples fully comprehended what Jesus had just taught them.

Jesus then changed the subject and spoke of the fact that one of the Disciples would betray Him. His words must have stunned all of them.

“But behold, the hand of My betrayer
is with Me on the table.
And truly the Son of Man goes
As it has been determined,
But woe to that man by whom
He is betrayed!”
Luke 22:21

In Matthew’s account, we have a more elaborate account of this scene. Let us take time to read the following passage.

“When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.
Now as they were eating, He said,
‘Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’

And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them
Began to say to Him,
‘Lord, is it I?’

He answered and said,
‘He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish
will betray Me.
The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him,
But woe to the man by whom the Son of Man
Is betrayed!
It would have been good for that man if
He had not been born!’

Then Judas, who was betraying Him answered and said,
‘Rabbi, is it I?’

He said to him, ‘You have said it.’ “
Matthew 26:20-25

To complete this story, we need to look at John’s Gospel. Let us take time to ponder over what John wrote,

“When Jesus had said these things,
He was troubled in spirit (that is, “sad”),
And testified and said,
‘Most assuredly, I say to you,
one of you will betray Me.’

Then the Disciples looked at one another,
Perplexed about whom He spoke.

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom
One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved (that is, “John”)
Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask
Who it was of whom He spoke.

Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him,
‘Lord, who is it?’

Jesus answered,
‘It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread
when I have dipped it.”
And having dipped the bread,
He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him.”
John 13:21-27

HOW COULD ANYONE THINK OF BETRAYING JESUS?

The initial reaction of the Disciples when Jesus said these words was one of disbelief if not shock! Luke wrote,

“Then they began to question among themselves,
which of them it was who would do this thing.”
Luke 22:23

It was unthinkable that anyone among the twelve could contemplate betrayal! How could this be? Could Jesus be mistaken? Could He have overstated things?

But no, there was no mistaking the tone of voice, and the solemnity of the words Jesus uttered!

Horror must have filled the hearts of all the disciples, for they began to worry that any one of them could end up being a betrayer!

Judas was capable! He sold his Master for a paltry sum of money! The unthinkable occurred. The lesson intended was obvious! How the Disciples must guard their hearts! We must learn this lesson well. We must guard our hearts or run the risk of betraying the Lord Jesus as Judas did.