| Verse | Translation | Text |
| Mt 26:21 | King James | And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| As they did eat ... - The account contained in these verses is also recorded in Mar 14:18-21; Luk 22:21-23; Joh 13:21-22. John says that before Jesus declared that one of them should betray him, "he was troubled in spirit, and testified;" that is, he "felt deeply" in view of the greatness of the crime that Judas was about to commit, and the sufferings that he was to endure, and "testified," or gave utterance to his inward feelings of sorrow. Mat 26:22 They were exceeding sorrowful - John says Joh 13:22 "they looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake" - that is, they anxiously looked one at another, conscious each one, except Judas, of no such intention, and each one beginning to examine himself to find whether he was the person intended. This showed their innocence, and their attachment to Jesus. It showed how sensitive they were to the least suspicion of the kind. It showed that they were willing to know themselves, thus evincing the spirit of the true Christian. Judas only was silent, and was the last to make the inquiry, and that after he had been plainly pointed out Mat 26:25, thus showing: 1. that guilt is slow to suspect itself; 2. that it shrinks from the light; 3. that it was his purpose to conceal his intention; and, 4. that nothing but the consciousness that his Lord knew his design could induce him to make inquiry. The guilty would, if possible, always conceal their crimes. The innocent are ready to suspect that they may have done wrong. Their feelings are tender, and they inquire with solicitude whether there may not be something in their bosoms, unknown to themselves, that may be a departure from right feeling. Mat 26:23 He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish - The Jews, at the observance of this ordinance, used a bitter sauce, made of bunches of raisins, mixed with vinegar and other seasoning of the like kind, which they said represented the clay which their fathers were compelled to use in Egypt in making brick, thus reminding them of their bitter bondage there. This was probably the dish to which reference is made here. It is not improbable that Judas reclined near to our Saviour at the feast, and by his saying it was one that dipped "with him" in the dish, he meant one that was near to him, designating him more particularly than he had done before. John adds (Joh 13:23-30; see the notes at that place), that "there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved" - referring to himself; that Simon Peter beckoned to him to ask Jesus more particularly who it was; that Jesus signified who it was by giving "Judas a sop" - that is, a piece of "bread" or "meat" dipped in the thick sauce; and that Judas, having received it, went out to accomplish his wicked design of betraying him. Judas was not, therefore, present at the institution of the Lord's Supper. Mat 26:24 The Son of man, goeth - That is, the Messiah - the Christ. See the notes at Mat 8:20. Goeth - Dies, or will die. The Hebrews often spoke in this manner of death, Psa 39:13; Gen 15:2. As it is written of him - That is, as it is "written" or prophesied of him in the Old Testament. Compare Psa 41:9 with Joh 13:18. See also Dan 9:26-27; Isa 53:4-9. Luke Luk 22:22 says, "as it was determined." In the Greek, as it was "marked out by a boundary" - that is, in the divine purpose. It was the previous intention of God to give him up to die for sin, or it could not have been certainly predicted. It is also declared to have been by his "determinate counsel and foreknowledge." See the notes at Act 2:23. Woe unto that man ... - The crime is great and awful, and he will be punished accordingly. He states the greatness of his misery or "woe" in the phrase following. It had been good ... - That is, it would have been better for him if he had not been born; or it would be better now for him if he was to be as "if" he had not been born, or if he was annihilated. This was a proverbial mode of speaking among the Jews in frequent use. In relation to Judas, it proves the following things: 1. that the crime which he was about to commit was exceedingly great; 2. that the misery or punishment due to it would certainly come upon him; 3. that he would certainly deserve that misery, or it would not have been threatened or inflicted; and, 4. that his punishment would be eternal. If there should be any period when the sufferings of Judas should end, and he be restored and raised to heaven, the blessings of that "happiness without end" would infinitely overbalance all the sufferings he could endure in a limited time, and consequently it would not be true that it would have been better for him not to have been born. Existence, to him, would, on the whole, be an infinite blessing. This passage proves further that, in relation to one wicked man, the sufferings of hell will be eternal. If of one, then it is equally certain and proper that all the wicked will perish forever. If it be asked how this crime of Judas could be so great, or could be a crime at all, when it was determined beforehand that the Saviour should be betrayed and die in this manner, it may be answered: 1. That the crime was what it was "in itself," apart from any determination of God. It was a violation of all the duties he owed to God and to the Lord Jesus - awful ingratitude, detestable covetousness, and most base treachery. As such it deserved to be punished. 2. The previous purpose of God did not force Judas to do this. In it he acted freely. He did just what his wicked heart prompted him to do. 3. A previous knowledge of a thing, or a previous purpose to permit a thing, does not alter its "nature," or cause it to be a different thing from what it is. 4. God, who is the best judge of the nature of crime, holds all that was done in crucifying the Saviour, though it was by his determinate counsel and foreknowledge, "to be by wicked hands," Act 2:23. This punishment of Judas proves, also, that sinners cannot take shelter for their sins in the decrees of God, or plead them as an excuse. God will punish crimes for what they "are in themselves." His own deep and inscrutable purposes in regard to human actions will not change "the nature" of those actions, or screen the sinner from the punishment which he deserves. |