First of all, we see that Judas the Iscariot betrayed the Lord only for thirty dollars, and he sold Him with an intimate action. We also see that the birthright of the eldest sonship in the eyes of the world is not worth much. The Lord already knew that Judas would betray Him, but still prayed that God’s will would be accomplished. We also see Judas’ ending and the fulfillment of a prophecy. Second, we point out that we had previously discussed the prophecies and achievements in preparing for the Passover feast, and also used them to discuss why we need to look back in order to understand how and why God was working that way at that time. Third, we discuss that the Lord Himself instituted the ceremony of bread and cups during the Passover feast, and we look at its meaning and rules. In the scriptures, we also see that we need to truly be able to discern with right judgment. This is not only true during the ceremony of bread and cups, but also in ordinary times. We must know that when we encounter suffering, we are sometimes punished by the Lord, and we should never ask for it. Finally, we point out where we have discussed the disciples’ dispute over who is greater. Please go there for a detailed discussion of this topic and related scriptures.
1. The time, process, and ending of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal
The time when Judas decided to betray the Lord is clearly stated in these verses: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people. And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.”(Luke 22:1-6) So the scripture would say, “For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”(Acts 1:17) He himself gave up this office, so ““For it is written in the book of Psalms, …‘Let another man take his office.’”(Acts 1:20)
How much was He worth in the eyes of Judas? “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”(Matthew 26:14-16)
Jesus is the firstborn Son, as this scripture says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”(Romans 8:29) In the eyes of the world, the birthright is really very cheap. Just like a situation in the Old Testament said, “When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”(Genesis 25:29-34) In this situation, the firstborn sonship is only worth bread and lentil stew. Therefore, the Book of Hebrews will say, “…there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”(Hebrews 12:16-17)
This blessing refers to the blessing of the Heavenly Father coming down through the human father. Isaac knew this very clearly, because “Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.””(Genesis 27:33-35) If God didn’t want to do this, nothing could be accomplished by this way. God’s will cannot be changed by some human words. We can see that this was God’s original purpose, which was fulfilled through human actions since His original will can be seen in this verse, “The LORD said to her her (Rebekah), “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.””(Genesis 25:23) This incident shows God’s foreknowledge and predestination, which are two sides of the same coin, so the book of Romans says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”(Romans 8:29)
Regarding the fact that Jesus foresaw that Judas would betray Him, we have talked about it before in “(3) Foreknowledge regarding Judas’ betrayal” of “1030 Last supper (3) – Logic, washing feet, and foreknowledge”, so we won’t say more. Those who are interested in knowing the details can go there and have a look. Here we only mention one verse, “And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.””(Matthew 26:25) Even though Jesus had already known this, He still prayed like the following in the Garden of Gethsemane: “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.””(Mark 14:36) He is a one hundred percent human, how difficult this is for a man! But He knew that in order to complete salvation, He had to shed His blood and pay the price of crucifixion, so He said, “yet not what I will, but what You will.” Let’s now look at how Judas betrayed his Lord: “Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.”(Matthew 26:49) Kissing is an act of intimacy with others, but Judas used it to betray the Lord!
Let’s now look at the ending of Judas Iscariot, “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”(Matthew 27:3-5) Suicide is not what a Christian should do. Although Judas had followed Jesus for many years, he was not a true Christian. In the end, he betrayed the Lord. Although he regretted it, but he was completely different from Peter’s repentance. He chose something that he shouldn’t have done.
Here we see the fulfillment of a prophecy, that is, “The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.””(Matthew 27:6-10)
From the above scriptures, we know that it was a field bought by the chief priests and others for him. We don’t know why his belly collapsed after hanging. The following scriptures record this. “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)”(Acts 1:17-19) No wonder Jesus said, “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”(Matthew 26:24) Finally, we want to emphasie that he hanged himself and his belly burst because the Bible says so. From a human point of view, this is absolutely possible! For example, the place he chose to hang himself might be in the wilderness, and the rope finally broke because it could not bear the weight, so he fell down. Later, a wild animal passed by, causing his belly to burst and his intestines to flow out.
2. Preparation for the Passover Feast Prophecy and Fulfillment
“Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.”(Luke 22:7-13)
We see that this prophecy was fulfilled that day. Usually prophecies in the Bible do not mention the time when the prophecy will be fulfilled, with only a few exceptions. The time of achievement may be very short, and it may take a long time to be fulfilled. We have discussed this before in “1075 Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt and cleanses the temple – Jesus (28)”, and through relevant scriptures, we discussed why we often need to look back in order to understand how and why God did what He did at that time. For example, the Bible says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”(Ephesians 3:20) Some people want to explain this verse and use the current example to show that it is more than what we ask or think. This is illogical. Since a current example can be given, isn’t that example conceivable? So in the past, we discussed in “1048 Power of Jesus and things beyond all that we ask or think – The image of Jesus (3)” regarding things that are more than what you think. We used examples that happened in the past. At that time, they were more than what people could think at their time. We have discussed it, so we won’t go into details here.
3. The ceremony of setting up bread and cups at the Passover feast
“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.”(Luke 22:14-23)
Of course, we now know for sure that it was Judas who betrayed Him, as we have discussed previously. Here, the text says that the cups were divided before the meal was started, and that He told them that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the Kingdom of God came. The kingdom of God should come after His resurrection and ascension to heaven, so there will be the subsequent filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Then there was the breaking of bread, and after the meal there was the covenant cup.
Similar verses are found in Matthew 26:26-29 and Mark 14:22-25. Therefore, the ceremony of bread and cups was established by the Lord Himself. We can also see this from the following scriptures, as well as its meaning and rules. “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. …”(1 Corinthians 11:23-34)
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. …He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”(John 6:48-55) Let’s look at what the book of Hebrews says? “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12) We see that this bread refers to the Word of God since the oracles of God are in the Bible and the Bible is inspired by God.
“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”(Hebrews 9:22-23) “(Jesus Christ) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, …”(Romans 3:25) Starting from faith, which can be effective is due to the blood of Jesus. In the material world, we can see that “And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”(Mark 15:37-38) The veil is also torn in the spiritual world as said in Hebrews 10:19-20, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” We all walk in a new and living way, which we did not know before. This is similar to the time in the Old Testament, “At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.””(Joshua 3:2-4) Both the Old and New Testaments are the same God, and the same principles are used to reveal God’s righteousness.
So when we eat at a gathering, we need to wait for each other and start together. “But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”(1 Corinthians 11:28-29) This is not only true during the ceremony of bread and cups, but also in ordinary times. You must know that as the scriptures say, when we encounter suffering, we are sometimes punished by the Lord. The Old Testament also says the same. For example, in the incident involving Uriah the Hittite and his wife Bathsheba, “…David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.””(2 Samuel 12:13-14) Of course, there are other punishments.
“Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’””(2 Samuel 12:11-12)
We must not ask for trouble. We have encountered enough suffering due to temptation. Some sufferings are allowed by God in order to bless people, like Job in the book of Job. In the past I have tried to find out whether suffering is caused by Satan, permitted by God, or directly punished by God. Now I realize that this is not of much use to people who are suffering, because they still have to go through suffering personally. As long as we know that nothing will happen if God does not allow it, it is sufficient. What we can do is, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”(1 Peter 5:7-10) We see that Satan never stops working, but “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13) Therefore, our suffering is only temporary, and the Lord will reveal us through others or by Himself. The latter is like what was recorded in the Book of Job as the following verse says, “…the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind …”(Job 38:1)
4. The disciples argued about who was greater
“And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”(Luke 22:24-30)
So the worldly and spiritual principles are completely different. Worldly leaders are rulers, while spiritual leaders serve people. At that time, Judas Iscariot was still sitting at the table with the twelve, but he chose to betray the Lord and gave up his position. The other eleven were chosen by the Lord Himself. Therefore, although God has chosen us with grace and mercy, we cannot give up like Judas. Matthias in the book of Acts was chosen by drawing lots (see Acts 1:23-26), not chosen by the Lord Himself. After the resurrection, the Lord Himself chose Paul in the great light (see Acts 22:6-11), so there were still twelve apostles chosen by the Lord Himself. We have discussed this topic in Luke’s Gospel and related scriptures in detail in the “(1) Dispute” of “1031 Dispute, new command, foreknowledge about Peter – Last supper (4),” so we will not discuss it here.
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
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