In the previous article, the preparations were described for Jesus’ final Passover (at least, the last one He engaged in during His ministry on earth). If you haven’t read that one, you can catch up by reading Mark 14:12-15. As a reminder, it was customary in Jesus’ culture to recline when eating, maybe while leaning on a pillow or cushion. While that’s not the main point of the next passage, it may help us visualize the scene a little better.
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Mark 14:17-21 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.14.17-21.NIV
Like many large meals, there was conversation going on. However, this wasn’t all just casual banter (although there may have been some of that, too). The gospel of John records a lot that Jesus said at the Last Supper (see John 13-17), but even though Mark captures less, his gospel – the shortest of the four – still includes a couple of key things.
One point recorded in Mark 14 is Jesus sharing that one of His apostles would betray Him. I find it interesting that individual apostles each asked Jesus if he would betray Him. We would expect each of the apostles to know his own heart – his faith and commitment to Jesus. Perhaps each was concerned that he had missed something. In our own lives, we know that things change, and what we were passionate about in the past isn’t always where we are today. Hopefully, following Jesus is something that we become more and more committed to throughout our life, though, while things like outdated fashions and bad ideas from our youth drop by the wayside.
Having said that, verses 10-11 recorded that Judas Iscariot was already looking for a chance to betray Jesus, so do you ever wonder if Judas (who would betray Jesus in less than a day’s time) also joined in, asking if he was the one who would betray Jesus? If so, I suspect that this was done from a pretty different place than the others.
The other disciples may have been concerned that they would fall away in the future, or perhaps were self-conscious about secret doubts. Maybe they were worried that they hadn’t understood everything that Jesus had said, and that they would betray His teaching by accident. (Spoiler alert: Followers of Jesus can experience doubt and make mistakes sometimes, and that’s normal.)
Judas, on the other hand, was already heading down the path of betrayal. While he might have put up a front (so that it wouldn’t be obvious that he was the only one not asking Jesus if it was him), I wonder if Judas asked Jesus if he would betray Him in order to see if things would “work out” for Judas: that is, whether Judas would be successful in what he had arranged with the religious leaders? Would Judas get the thirty pieces of silver that he may have coveted?
Can you imagine Judas holding his breath after asking Jesus if he was the betrayer? I’m not sure if anyone got a verbal answer from Jesus, though – only the sign about dipping bread in the bowl. The gospel of John [see John 13:21-30] indicates that Jesus gave Judas the bread that Jesus had dipped.
While no readers of this site are exactly in Judas Iscariot’s situation, there are certainly situations that God may ask us questions about. Given this context (of Judas), when God tells us something, let’s use it as an opportunity to change for the better, rather than resisting it and going ahead with a bad idea that we’ve been germinating. If God (maybe through a sermon, lesson, or your Bible reading) asks us a hard question, or tells us something that makes us uncomfortable, that is an opportunity. When that happens, rather than trying to pretend that it doesn’t apply to us, let’s be mature enough to let it change us for the better, rather than just rejecting what we don’t like and going on with what has now been confirmed to be a bad idea.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 30, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 