“And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? (Matt. 26:21-22)
We have here an account of Christ’s keeping the Passover, because He lived under the law and submitted to all the ordinances of it. The Passover was kept in remembrance of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt, and it marked the birth of the Israelite nation. Christ died the day after the Passover, the anniversary of the day Israel began its march through the wilderness.
The account contained in these verses is also recorded in Mark 14:18-21; Luke 22:21-23; John 13:21-22. John says that before Jesus declared that one of them should betray Him, “he was troubled in spirit, and testified…;” We can see from the wording of the account that Jesus felt deeply in view of the greatness of the crime that Judas was about to commit, as well as the sufferings that He was to endure.
The apostles were “exceeding sorrowful.” John says (John 13:22), “they looked one on another, doubting of whom He spake” At first they looked from one to the other-each one believing he had no such intention, then one-by-one, each began to examine himself to find whether he were the person intended. This showed their innocence as well as their attachment to Jesus. It showed their faith in Jesus’ words no matter what they personally understood. It showed that they were willing to know themselves, even if it meant learning of some new character flaw. This should be the true spirit of every Christian.
At first Judas was silent, and made his inquiry only after he had been plainly pointed out (Matt. 26:25). The guilty always try to conceal their crimes. The innocent are ready to suspect that they may have done wrong. Their feelings are tender, and they inquire with true humility whether there may not be something in their hearts, unknown to themselves, that may be a departure from right.
Can we as Christians say, “Lord, is it I?” Can we trust Him to know our hearts better than we know ourselves? We must use the mirror of God’s word to examine ourselves daily to see if we are “in the faith” (James 1:23-25). May God bless us all to have this kind of humility.
-Beth Johnson