Truth and Confusion

Truth and Confusion
Matt. 26:20-22

20 Now [de] when the even [opsios] was come [ginomai] , he sat down [anakeimai] with [meta] the twelve [dodeka] .
21 And [kai] as they [autos] did eat [esthio] , he said [epo] , Verily [amen] I say [lego] unto you [humin] , that [hoti] one [heis] of [ek] you [humon] shall betray [paradidomi] me [me] .
22 And [kai] they were exceeding [sphodra] sorrowful [lupeo] , and began [archomai] every one [hekastos] of them [autos] to say [lego] unto him [autos] , Lord [kurios] , is [eimi] it [meti] I [ego] ? KJV-Interlinear

20 Now when evening had come, He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. 21 And as they were eating, He said, 'Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.' 22 And being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, 'Surely not I, Lord?' NASB

We are going to leave John for the moment and return to Matthew so that we can fill in some missing pieces of the events of that final Passover evening. Passover begins at dusk. Dusk usually occurs at 6 PM in the evening. In the Jewish calendar, the day runs from evening to evening, unlike our calendar day which runs from midnight to midnight. So in Judea the day begins at 6 in the evening and ends at 6 on the evening of the next day. Passover has begun.

The meal is now being celebrated but now in a reclined posture, quite unlike the posture of the original Passover which immediately preceded the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, Ex. 12:11, where the Israelites were commanded to be dressed and ready to travel at a moments notice. They were so commanded because when the death angel came upon Egypt there would be a brief time when Pharaoh would be of a mind set, to release them, and they had to be ready when that time came.

But this was not the first Passover and times were not of such an immediate nature.

The Passover meal followed a certain sequence. First, the initial cup of wine was mixed with water and then served. The partaking of the first cup was preceded by the giving of thanks to God, Lk. 22:17.

Second, the ceremonial washing of hands preceded the main part of the meal, representing the need for moral and spiritual cleansing. This is what we refer to as Fellowship, or the cleansing of sin from ones person via confession before partaking of the spiritual meal. They were celebrating Gods deliverance from spiritual bondage to sin, as they remembered their deliverance from bondage to Egypt. It is important that participants come to the Lords table cleansed.

In Lk. 22:24 the apostles will again erupt in a heated discussion as to who among them would be the greater in the Kingdom to come. It may have been at this time that Jesus rose from the table and began to wash the disciples feet, Jn. 13:4-5. Or at least it would seem reasonable that this is when He arose to wash their feet.

We have already studied in John how the Lord explained to the disciples that He had washed their feet 'as an example'. Washing another person's feet would normally done by a servant and was considered to be the most demeaning of tasks.

The third part of the Passover meal was the eating of bitter herbs, symbolic of the bitter bondage the Israelites had endured while in Egypt. These herbs and pieces of unleavened bread were dipped in the 'charoseth', a thick mixture of ground up fruit and nuts.

The fourth part was the taking of a second cup of wine. When the head of the household took that second cup, he would then explain the meaning of the Passover. Following that would be singing from the 'hallel', which means 'praise' and is the term from which hallelujah is derived. The hallel came from Psalms 113-118.

After the singing, the roasted lamb would be brought out. The head of the house would again wash his hands and then break pieces of the bread and hand them out to be eaten with the lamb.

The meal has begun and when Jesus mentioned a betrayer among them they (the apostles) immediately began talking among themselves. You recall this from our study in John. Here we see that they all avoided responsibility in anything resembling a betrayal. 'Not me. Not me!'

Peter will lean over to John and ask John to ask who the person is. Even John when he asks, does not pay attention to the answer. The room is probably full of noise. Everyone is talking. Everyone is shocked. And, everyone is defending themselves, lest someone might point a finger at them.

'Not me! Not me!' Not an uncommon response from an immature person. One who has not grown up to spiritual maturity. If a person was mature, then he/she would know that they were not guilty of the crime, but an immature person immediately throws up all manner of defensiveness. 'Not me! Not me!'

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