Mark 14

Mark 14:18

Christ, while they are eating the paschal lamb, of his apostles should betray him, and at length as the person, who upon this retires with a r confirmed him in that fatal purpose. Mat. Mark XIV. 18—21. Luke XXII. 21—23, XIII.—2, 18—30

LUKE XXII. 28.

THEN Jesus went on, as he was eating the passover, to instruct, admonish, and comfort his disciples, by a series of most wise and pious discourse; and said, Depend upon it, you will find that humble and benevolent temper which I have recommended to you the way to the highest honours, if you have patience to wait the proper time; for as ye are they who have continued faithfully and affectionately with me in all my trials and afflictions; So by a sacred and inviolable covenant I appoint unto you a kingdom, and solemnly engage myself to bestow it upon you, even as my Father has appointed a kingdom unto me, and is quickly about to raise me to it. Now the exalted honours which I shall there receive are incomparably beyond those about which you seem so solicitous; let me therefore awaken a nobler ambition in your minds, while I assure you that you may expect to eat and drink at my table in that my kingdom, or to be treated as my

• I appoint unto you a kingdom.] It is well known that the word διαβασίλω properly signifies to covenant, or to bestow in virtue of a covenant; and therefore the last clause of this verse may probably refer to what divines commonly call the covenant of redemption, to which there are so many references in scripture, and concerning the reality of which we could have no doubt if the references were not so express; considering, on the one hand, the great imrtance of that undertaking of our Lord’s, o which it refers; and, on the other, the plain declarations of those prophecies which

his Spirit suggested, and the confidence with which he has promised those blessings which, as Mediator, it empowers him to bestow. It is therefore astonishing that any should treat it as the creature of systematic brain. For the engagements in it on Christ’s part, see Psal. xl. 6—9; Heb. x. 6—9; Isa. lxi 1—3; Luke iv. 18, 19; Is. l. 5, 6. And for those on the part of the Father, see Heb. x. 5; Isa. xi. 2, 3; l. 8, 9; lii. 13, 15; liii. 10—12; lv. 4, 5; xlix. 1—10; Luke ii. 31, 32; xxii. 29; 2 Cor. vi. 2; Rev. vii. 16, 17.

inates his knowledge that they are not all so.

distinguished favourites and most intimate friends; yea, and my final and most triumphant appearance, when I shall sit on the throne of my glory, you may expect to be assessors with me on that grand occasion, and to sit upon thrones, as I formerly promised you, (Mat. xix. 28) judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and condemning the whole impenitent world for their contempt of that gospel which you, as the chief ministers of my kingdom, are to offer and unfold to them.

But when I speak in this manner of your final honour and happiness, I speak not of you all: I know the real character, and all the most secret views and transactions of those whom I have chosen; and could long ago have fixed a mark of infamy on the traitor, and have put it out of his power to execute his wicked purpose: but, as I chose him to be one of my companions, I leave him to go on, that the scripture may be fulfilled, which says (Psal. xli. 9), “He that eateth bread with me, and has been nourished by my care and favour, hath lift up his heel against me, like an ungrateful brute that kicks at the kind master who feeds him.” Such treatment David met with from those whom he trusted; and such I know that I am to expect.

And this I tell you now, before it comes to pass, that when it comes to be accomplished, you may be so far from doubting of the truth of my mission upon that account, that, on the contrary, you may more firmly believe that I

ᵇ Judging the twelve tribes of Israel.] The interpretation given of this promise here (and before on Mat. xix. 28, sect. cxxxvii. p. 231) appears to me preferable to that which refers it only, or chiefly to the power which the apostles had in the Christian church, as the authorized ambassadors of Christ. It by no means implies that Paul and Barnabas, the apostles of the Gentiles, shall be excluded from the honour of being assessors with Christ in his kingdom (compare 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3; Rev. ii. 26, iii. 21); but seems plainly to allude to the courts of judicature among the Jews, where the inferior judges sat in a semicircle round the chief judge, who had his seat in the middle point of it. Compare Rev. v. 4; xxi. 14.

ᶜ He that eateth bread with me, &c.] When these words are so plainly to be found, Psal. xli. 9, it seems very unnatural, with Mr. Jeffrey (in his Review, p. 187), to imagine they refer to Psal. lv. 12, 13, because something like the sense of them occurs there. Nor is it necessary, with Mr. Pierce, (Dissert. iii.) to suppose a trajection in these two verses, and render them, I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen: but I tell you this beforehand, that when it shall come to pass that the scripture shall be fulfilled, “One that eateth of my bread hath lift up his heel against me,” ye may believe that I am he. I rather think, with Brennius, that it is an accommodation; and that the sense and connection are to be explained accordingly, as in the paraphrase.

VOL. 2.

He tells them, One at the table with him would betray him.

am [he], that I told you I was even the true Messiah. And, whatsoever therefore I shall suffer, let not your zeal to carry on my cause be lessened, but stedfastly persist in your adherence to it, with a firm persuasion that I will support you in it; for in this view I look upon your interest as my own, and as I formerly declared, (Mat. x. 40, sect. lxxvi. and Luke x. 16, sect. xcvii.) so now I most assuredly say unto you, Whoever entertains and shews regard to you, or any of my other messengers, as coming in my name, entertains me; and whoever entertains me, entertains him that sent me; as, on the other hand, when you or they are slighted, the affront redounds to me and to my Father.

Now when Jesus had thus said, he made a solemn pause. (The devil, as was observed before, having already, by his vile and pernicious insinuations, put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon,⁴ to betray him into the hands of his murderous enemies.) And, as our Lord well knew that Judas was then watching for an opportunity to accomplish his horrid purpose, which he would execute that very night, he was much troubled in spirit to think of so ungrateful and impious a design in one so near him, and so much obliged to him; and, as they sat together, and were eating the paschal supper, Jesus openly testified and said with a deep sigh, Verily, verily, I say unto you, That, how incredible soever the hint I just now gave you may seem, one of you who is eating with me in this friendly and intimate manner will quickly betray me to those that thirst for my blood; [and] behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is now with me on the table.

Then the disciples were exceedingly grieved to hear of his being betrayed at all, and much more to be told that it should be by one of their own number, while, no one being singled out from the rest, the suspicion lay in common among them; and they looked stedfastly on

⁴ The devil having already put it into the heart of Judas, &c.] That Satan entered into Judas before he went to the chief priests, and agreed to betray his Master to them had been observed before, Luke position. xxii. 3, p. 400; and that this clause of John xiii. 2, would be inserted here, was intimated in the close of note ², sect. clxix. p. 407, where I accounted for this transaction.

s out Judas as the man by giving him a sop.

each other for some time in silence, doubting of whom he spake, and studious to observe in whose countenance they might read any peculiar confusion, which might look like an indication of guilt: and, as they none of them knew where to fix it, but the vile wretch himself, they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it could be that was about to do this thing; and, earnestly desirous to be freed from the suspicion of such heinous wickedness, they applied themselves to Christ, and began every one of them to say to him, one by one, Lord, is it I that am this guilty creature?e Thou knowest that my very heart abhors the thought, and I hope I shall never be capable of entertaining it.

Now one of his disciples, namely John, whom Jesus loved with a peculiar tenderness, and honoured with the most intimate friendship, sat next him at the table, on his right hand; and, as they were all in a reclining posture, each of them resting on his left elbow, so in the place where John was seated he was leaning on the bosom of Jesus. And as the question was almost gone round, and Jesus made no answer to it, but rather seemed to be swallowed up in mournful contemplation, Simon Peter therefore looked upon John, and beckoned to him with a motion of his head,f by which he intimated his desire that he should privately ask him who it might be of whom he spake. He then, lying down closer on the breast of Jesus, that he might put the question without being heard by the rest of the company, secretly whispered and said to him, Lord, who is it? And Jesus answered him with a low voice, It is he to whom I shall give this sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop in a thick kind of sauce made of dates, raisins, and other ingredients beaten together, and properly diluted,g he gave it to Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon,

e To say to him, one by one, Lord, is it I?] I look on this as a strong proof that the facts mentioned John xiii. 23-26, did not happen a night or two before; for if Christ had then privately marked out Judas to John and Peter as the traitor, the information must surely have reached the rest of the company by this time.

f Beckoned to him with a motion of his head.] This is certainly the import of the word vom, which might more exactly be rendered nodded. g In a thick kind of sauce made of dates, &c.] The Jews still retain such a sauce which they call charoseth, made of such kind of ingredients, about the consistenc

He a terwards reveals the traitor to them all

putting it towards that part of the dish which was nearest him, and directing it towards him. Upon which Judas put forth his hand to take it; and while he was just in this posture, others continuing the same question to Jesus, *he answered and said to them, [It is] one of the twelve, [even] he that now dippeth his hand with me in the dish, this very person shall betray me.*ʰ And let him not vainly hope that I shall exert my miraculous power to rescue myself from the hands of mine enemies, after he has delivered me to them and secured to himself the wages of unrighteousness; for the Son of man, great and powerful as he will finally appear, *is indeed going to sufferings and death,*ⁱ *as it is written in the scriptures, [and] determined in the divine counsels, concerning him:*ᵏ but as those prophecies and counsels have no influence to destroy the free agency of the

f mortar, to represent the clay in which their forefathers wrought while they were under bondage to the Egyptians. See Buxt. Synag. Jud cap. 18, and the Religious Ceremonies of all Nations, Vol. I. p. 215.

ʰ He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish.] Some very ingenious persons imagine that Christ by this phrase only declares it was one who sat on the same side of the table with him, and so eat out of the same dish; and, if it were so, there might seem a gradation in the discovery not observable on any other interpretation. But (not to insist upon it) that the lamb, which was to be roasted whole, Exod. xii. 9, was also to be served up in one dish, I cannot but conclude that, if this had been our Lord’s meaning, on his saying here (as Mark relates it), in the same breath, ις εκ των δωδεκα, one of the twelve, he would have added ις εκ των εμαζαλομινων, one of those that dip, rather than ο εμαζαλομινων, which plainly signifies the very person that dippeth.

ⁱ The Son of man is indeed going.] As we often, in common speech, say a person is going or gone, to intimate that he is dying or dead, so Elsner shews (Observ. Vol. I. p. 119) that the word υπαγι has the ambiguity. Compare Josh. xxiii. 14; and Psal. xxxix. 13. The repetition of that title of the Son of man, which is twice used here in the same verse, has a peculiar energy and dignity, not commonly observed.

ᵏ As it is determined.] As this passage is not liable to the ambiguities which some have apprehended in Acts. ii. 23, and iv. 28 (which yet seem, on the whole, to be parallel to it in their most natural construction), I look upon it as an evident proof, that those things are in the language of scripture said to be determined, or decreed (or exactly bounded and marked out by God, as the word εμίξω most naturally signifies), which he sees will in fact happen, in consequence of his volitions, without any necessitating agency; as well as those events of which he is properly the author (and, as Beza well expresses it, Qui sequitur Deum, emendate sane loquitur, we need not fear falling into any impropriety of speech when we use the language which God has taught) I say, without any necessitating agency, because I apprehend that this text, among many others, must entirely overthrow the scheme which Mr. Colliber (in his Inquiry into the Divine existence, p. 97—102) has so laboriously endeavoured to establish; and which the author of the Persian Letters for Paris (Letter lvi.) so confidently asserts, ‘That where God forsees an event, he always determines to render it necessary, and so to suspend the moral agency and accountableness of the creature concerned in it.’ Were this the case, nothing could be more unjust (on the principles of these authors) than to foretell punishments to be inflicted for such actions; which is plainly the case here, and indeed in most other laces where evil actions are foretold.

ld, That what he did he should do quickly.

ersons concerned in his death, so there will be a most terrible wo to that man by whom the on of man is so perfidiously betrayed, and who presumes to set a price on his royal and sacred blood: it had been well for that man if he had never been born; for a speedy and most dreadful vengeance awaits him, which will make the immortality of his being his everlasting curse.

Then Judas, who was indeed the person that betrayed him, answered in some confusion, lest by his silence he should seem to confess his guilt, and said, Master, is it I that shall do this thing, and to whom thou referrest in these severe words? And he said to him, Thou hast said [right]; thou art the very person, and I will conceal it no longer.¹

And after he was thus expressly marked out, not only by the sop which Jesus gave him,ᵐ but also by the answer which he had returned to his question, Satan entered into him with greater violence, and stirred up in his bosom such indignation and rage at the disgrace he had met with, that he could bear the place no longer; but prepared abruptly to leave it before the table was dismissed. Then Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly; farther intimating to him his perfect knowledge of the appointment he had made with the chief priests and elders, and admonishing him, as it were, not to lose the opportunity by overstaying his time. But the reference being thus particular to what none of the company but himself was privy to, no man at the table knew what was his meaning, or for what purpose he spake this to him. For some [of them] thought, because Judas had the keeping of the common purse, on which they were to subsist during their stay at Jerusalem, that it was as if Jesus had said to him, Take the first opportunity to buy those

¹ Thou hast said right.] This is plainly the import of the original phrase; It is as thou hast spoken. (See Mat. xxvi. 63-65; Mark xiv. 61, 62; Luke xxii. 70; John xviii. 37.) Thus, Now you say something, signifies among us, You speak right.

ᵐ After the sop.] It seems very unnatural to a rehend, with Dr. Reynolds (in his

Works, p. 101, 102), that Judas was encouraged by Christ’s giving him the sop to hope that Christ would, after all, provide for his own safety, and admit him into favour again. Christ’s words above expressly cut off all such hope; and I believe every reader will judge the common account given of the connection much more probable.

Judas goes away to execute his purp

sacrifices, and other things which we shall need for the feast tomorrow, and on the following days; or that perhaps he intended he should give something to the poor, which Christ used to do, though their stock was so small; but always did it in a very private manner, which made it the more probable that he should only give such an oblique hint of that intention. Of this they thought, rather than of any bad design of Judas; for they did not imagine that, if he was to prove the traitor, his wickedness could immediately take place; or that he was so utterly abandoned as to go away to accomplish it with those awful words of his Master sounding, as it were, in his ears.

But he was capable of committing the crime, even with this aggravation; and therefore having, as was said, received the sop, he immediately went out without any farther reply: and as it was night, which was the time he had appointed to meet those who were consulting the death of Jesus, under the covert of it he went to them, and fulfilled his engagements, in a few hours after, by delivering his Master into their hands.

IMPROVEMENT.

Luke xxii.28 Who would not gladly continue with Christ in the strictest fidelity, amidst all the trials which can arise, when he observes how liberally he repays his servants, and how graciously he seems to relish his own honours the more, in proportion to the degree in which those honours are shared with them; appointing them a glorious kingdom, and erecting thrones for each of them? And surely, though the apostles of the Lamb are to have their

Which we shall need for the feast. This is one of the passages which has led Grotius and other considerable critics to conclude that our Lord kept the passover at least one day sooner than the rest of the Jews. The controversy is too large to be critically discussed here: I content myself with referring to Dr. Whitby’s excellent Dissertation on the subject, (in his Appendix to Mark xiv.) only observing, that the supposition of Christ’s anticipating the day appointed by the law, is so improbable, that I think it more reasonable to suppose that the word feast, or passover, may signify the offerings attending the whole feast, and particularly those presented on the first day of unleavened bread; which is certainly the sense of the word elsewhere. (See Deut. xvi. 2; and 2 Chron. xxxv. 7—9.) And if this be admitted, it will obviate the most plausible argument for Grotius’ opinion, which is that taken from John xviii. 28. Others grounded on John xiii. 1, 2; xix. 14; and Mat. xxvi. 5; are obviated in the paraphrase or notes on those places, as the attentive reader will easily perceive.

Reflections on the hardness of the traitor’s heart.

peculiar dignity in the great day of his triumph, there is a sense in which he will perform to every one that overcometh, that yet more condescending promise, I will grant him to sit down with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne. (Rev. iii. 21.) Let our souls in that confidence be strengthened to all the labours and sufferings to which he may call us forth.

It is a melancholy reflection, that there should be any one in this select company, to whom this endearing promise did not belong; especially one who, having eaten of Christ’s bread, should, in such a sense and degree as Judas, lift up his heel against him. Deliver us, O Lord, from any share in that guilt! We are treated as thy friends; we are set at thy table: let us not ungratefully kick against thee, while the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib! (Isa. i. 3.)

If we would not do it, let us be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy. Happy are they whose hearts witness to their sincerity in the presence of him that searches them, and can cheerfully say, Lord, is it I? Let them say it humbly too; lest the infirmity of nature prevail upon them beyond their present purpose or apprehension, and lead them on to do that, the very thought of which they would now abhor.

How artfully must Judas have conducted himself, when on such an intimation no particular suspicion appears to have fallen on him! But how vain is that artifice, be it ever so refined, which, while it preserves a character in the sight of men, cannot in the least degree impose upon Christ! The day will come when he will lay open the false and ungrateful hypocrite, in a more overwhelming manner than that in which he here exposed Judas; and, whatever advantage he may have gained, either by professing religion, or by betraying it, he will undoubtedly find that it had been good for him that he had never been born.

One would have imagined that an admonition like this, which laid bare the secrets of his heart, and warned him so plainly and faithfully of his danger, might have wrought some remorse in his heart, or at least have proved some impediment to the immediate execution of his design: but, being now given up by the righteous judgment of God to the influence of Satan, and the lust of his own depraved mind, he is exasperated, rather than reclaimed by it; and immediately goes forth, under the covert of the night, to hasten the accomplishment of that work of darkness, the consequences of which had been so awfully represented. O Lord, let thy grace, and thy love, do that for us which thy terrors alone cannot do! Let our hearts be melted by that nobler principle, and taught to abhor every thing which would displease thee! Oh, let them flow forth into such workings of compassion to the afflicted as engaged the blessed Jesus

John xiii. 18

Mat. xxvi. 22

Mark xiv. 19

John xiii. 27 30

Jesus declares that he should soon be glorified.

to relieve the poor out of his own little stock; and into those clxx. sentiments of candour which would not permit the apostles, even after this admonition, to imagine Judas altogether so bad as indeed he was, but led them to put the mildest construction on their Master’s ambiguous address to him! Such may our mistakes be, wherever we do mistake; the errors of a charity, which would not by excessive rigor injure the vilest sinner, and much less the least and weakest of God’s servants!