Judas Iscariot and The Lord's Supper

[ICHTHUS]

"When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 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 22:14-22

Here we have the account of the institution of the Lord's Supper as recorded by the Apostle Luke. I have chosen Luke, as he was an historian and unlike the other Gospel records, give more details of the Lord's Supper, and Judas Iscariot.

Firstly, it is well known to all, that the Lord's Supper as instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ, was to proclaim His death, with the bread and wine representing His body and blood on the cross. Also important is the words that the blood shed by Jesus was for the remission of sins, and according to this account, was done for ALL OF THE TWELVE. The YOU is in the plural number in the Greek. Further, we read Jesus say, "behold the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table", which is clear that Judas would have taken of both the bread and wine. The words of Jesus that were spoken of His pending sacrifice on the cross, was addressed to ALL His disciples. This conclusively PROVES beyond any doubt, that Jesus' death was for Judas, as His blood was shed for HIM.

Secondly, the timing of the institution of the Lord's Supper by Jesus is very important. He did NOT wait for Judas to have left the room, which was not much later, and then break the bread and give the cup, but did so with him still in the room. IF, as some wrongly suppose, that Jesus never died for anyone who ends up in hell, as we know that Judas has sadly done (Acts 1:25), He would most certainly have waited for Judas to leave, and then say, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you", which is for the forgiveness of sins. The FACT that Jesus did what He did, was to show CLEARLY to all, that His Amazing Love for Judas was so Great, that He still includes him in His death on the cross.

Thirdly, I suspect that there are those who will try to wrestle with this passage, and make it say something it DOES NOT.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Good question. Judas is there for most of what we think of as the seder at Passover. Includes most of the readings, washings, the full meal, bread and wine. It was not until the END of the seder that Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper and by that time Judas is not there.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Be really careful to synthesize ALL the Gospel accounts. Each is given from a unique perspective and purpose. Luke often lists events by "subject" rather than in chronological order. And yes, that can confuse if we don't harmonize all accounts.

Example: In Luke's gospel, several incidents are recounted according to subject matter rather than being presented in the order in which they actually occurred. This is clear in the narrative of the baptism of Christ. Luke mentions the story of John the Baptist, his sermons, his preaching for repentance by baptism, and his baptizing of the multitude in the Jordan River. He then mentions that King Herod arrested John the Baptist and shut him up in prison, because John had rebuked him for his marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. It is well known, as mentioned in the gospels, that Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan before he was shut up in prison, and before John's martyrdom which followed his imprisonment. However, Luke, after mentioning the imprisonment of John, continues saying, "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him." (Luke 3:21-22).

 

[Dr. Bob]

We can place Judas at the Passover, and at the table, and at the meal (earlier part of Seder but this is NOT part of the Lord's Supper/Communion).

We cannot place Judas as eating or drinking the communion elements. It was after the meal, and the foot washing, that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper; Judas was no longer there by then. The remainder of the apostles listened to some more preaching from Jesus and then sung a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. The Gospel of John backs up the time-frame:

"The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: 'He who shared my bread has turned against me.' "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me." His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means." Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly." But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him." (John 13:2-31).

(Gospel account of John gives all the sequence, including the foot washing that the other Gospels do not give. Again, harmonize all the accounts to figure out chronology.]