Wednesday 31 March 2010

Background

Although this passage is the inspiration for Leonardo da Vinci'spainting of the Last Supper, it is likely that Jesus andhis disciples were not sitting along one side of a high table, butwere reclining, Roman style, on a three-sided triclinium. The disciple whom Jesus loved -normally understood to be John, around whose recollections theGospel of John may have been written - was therefore probably notleaning his head on Jesus, but was just reclining next tohim.

The mention of the beloved disciple reclining next to Jesus heremay not be significant, but there may be an intentional contrastbeing drawn between the disciple whose identity is only expressedin terms of being loved by Jesus, and the disciple who betrayedthat love with a kiss. Although Judas is identified in the text forthe benefit of the readers, he is not named by Jesus, except as the"one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it inthe dish". Judas, like John, is defined only by his response toChrist's love.

In ancient societies to eat with someone was to make a bond, and toeat together involved dipping bread into a common dish containingmeat or sauce of some kind. To betray someone with whom you hadshared a dish, therefore, was a contradiction in terms. It was awork of darkness, of evil, defining you as being in Hebrew terms,ha-Satan - an adversary of God. It is no surprise then that in aGospel full of the language of light and dark, we are told thatafter receiving the piece of bread Judas went out into the night.It was not just that the spirit of opposing God had entered Judas,but that Judas had entered the realm of the darkness that ends indestruction (Acts 1:18-20). The Gospel writer also wants usto know, however, that Jesus was not naïve about opposition to whatis good and of God. Though the others misunderstood what he meantJesus told Judas to go and get on with it.

To Ponder

How do you feel about Judas? What do you thinkmotivated him? Can you identify with him in any way? Was hefulfilling the purposes of God?

In the Gospels, the name of Satan is usedsparingly and at extreme moments (the temptations of Jesus; Peter'ssuggestion that Jesus need not suffer; Judas' betrayal). What arethe benefits and the dangers of using this language?