THE CLOSER we study the precise details of all the events which marked the Lord’s pathway, and more particularly, the time we are now reviewing when the hour of His death was drawing near, the more we stand in awe at the amazing fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Here it is brought to us again. In Psalm 41:99Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9) we read: “Yea, Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, hath lifted up his heel against Me.” At His closing supper with His disciples, He could now say, “Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me shall betray Me.” v. 18.
Because we so well know the wicked heart of Judas, we might expect the disciples would also have immediately known who the Lord’s betrayer would be, but such was not the case. “They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I?” v. 19. Surely this could only be because in Jesus’ walk with His disciples He had never shown by word or action any less love toward Judas than toward all the others, even though He knew all about him from the beginning. But now the time has come for this prophecy to be manifest and Jesus reveals the one who would betray Him. “And He answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with Me in the dish.” v. 20. Judas is thus identified.
After he had received the sop from Jesus he immediately went out to accomplish what was in his heart. In Hebrews 8 we are told: “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” Such was the case with Judas. He had been in the presence and power of the mighty works of Christ, had even been a partaker of them, but had never really accepted the Person of Christ in his own heart. His greed for money led him into this wicked deed. Perhaps he thought that Jesus would escape, as He had so often done before. God had not made Judas wicked, but allowed the evil of his unrepentant heart to accomplish the scripture: “So they weighed for My price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them.” Zechariah 11:12-1312And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. (Zechariah 11:12‑13). Is it not string that when Judas repented of his act and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests, they, not knowing what to do with this, the “price of blood,” bought with it the potter’s field, to bury strangers (Gentiles) in? Scripture points out that this is the very act foretold by the prophet. (See Matthew 27:3-103Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. 8Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. (Matthew 27:3‑10).)
Notice also that Judas went out into the darkness at the end of the Jewish passover feast, but before the Lord set His special remembrance feast before His own. In other words, Judas was not a partaker of the “Lord’s supper” and could not have been, because it was given specifically to true believers.
ML-03/22/1964