Section 146
Identification of the betrayer
Jerusalem, in the upper room
| Matthew 26:21-25 | Mark 14:18-21 | Luke 22:21-30 | John 13:21-30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21As they were eating, he said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.” | 18As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you who is eating with me will betray me.” | 21But behold, the hand of the one who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22The Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” | 21After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” |
| 22Greatly distressed, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. 24The Son of Man indeed 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.” | 19So they began to be sorrowful and to say one after another, “Surely not I?” and, “Surely not I?” 20Jesus answered them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread with me into the dish. 21The Son of Man indeed 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.” | 23Then they began to discuss with one another which one of them it could be who would do this. | 22So the disciples began looking at one another, perplexed as to whom he was speaking about. |
| 23One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining on Jesus' chest. 24So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus whom he was talking about. 25Leaning back on Jesus' chest, he said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then he dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. | |||
| 25Then Judas, who betrayed him, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.” | |||
| 27After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28(Now none of those reclining at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some were thinking, since Judas had the moneybag, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.) 30As soon as Judas took the morsel, he went out. And it was night. | |||
| 24A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greater. 25So Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors. 26But it must not be so with you0x3B rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader must become like one who serves. 27For 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 one who serves. 28“You have stayed with me in my trials. 29And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one on me, 30so that you may eat and drink at my table. And you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” |
Notes
Upper Room
The Upper room, or Cenacle, commemorates the place where the last Supper was eaten and Holy Communion was instituted. The Gospels tell us nothing of the location of the house, but there is good indication it would have been on the western hill where a wealthy man would have had an upper room on his house. Archaeological excavations in the Jewish quarter show that there were large houses in this area during the time of Christ.
There is a possibility that this is indeed the correct location of the Upper Room. A church was built on this site soon after the death of Jesus. It must have survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Bishop Epiphanius wrote of how Emperor Hadrian made an inspection tour of Jerusalem in 130 A.D. and found “everything razed except for a few houses and a certain small church of the Christians which stood on Mount Zion in the place where the disciples returned after the ascension”. This church was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the following centuries before being handed over to the Franciscans who restored the room giving it its present Gothic appearance (14th century).