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JUDAS
AND THE LAST
PASSOVER SUPPER
by
Keith Hunt
The apostle Peter wrote: "But grow in grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...." (2 Peter 3:18).
Jeremiah cried out to God and said: "O Lord, correct me, but
with judgment, not in your anger, lest I be brought to nothing"
(Jer.10:24).
As true Christians and as the children of God, our attitude
should always be that we are willing to grow in grace and
knowledge. Our attitude should always be that we want to be
corrected by our heavenly Father, in His kindness and mercy, as
Jeremiah requested, not in His anger. Who would want to fall into
the hands of someone who had to correct us in anger, because we
were too stiff-necked to receive the correction any other way?
We need to be the kind of clay in the potters hands that is
workable, of the texture that our Father can fashion into a
beautiful work of art.
Jesus said that when the Spirit would come, it would guide
His followers into all truth (John 16:13).
Now, being guided into truth does not take place all in one
sitting, all in the first day or week or month or year, of
becoming a converted Christian. It is surely at the
determination and will of the Father as to the guiding into all
truth via the Holy Spirit.
Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (the very
personification of the Word of God) is a life long process. We
never in this life time come to the end of that road. Our
willingness to be taught and corrected from errors of all kinds,
must be an attitude of mind we have all the days of our life on
this earth in the flesh.
Some truths are very important, very essential to our
salvation. The truth of repentance and being saved by grace
through faith in Christ, would be a truth that is essential to
salvation. Such fundamental truths, such essential truths, are
taught to us over and over again in the pages of the Bible. Those
kinds of truths we can know via the Spirit and study of the word
of God, at the onset of our Christian lives.
But there are other truths in the word of the Lord that are
not essential to our salvation. If we live and die never coming
to see some of those truths (usually not large truths at all,
because they are not essential for our salvation), it will not
effect our being saved into the Kingdom of God. And as the Father
works with each of us throughout our lives, coming to some of
those none-essential truths of the word, will to a large extent
depend on the leading of the Spirit into those truths.
What is important though is that we always have the attitude
of mind that will be willing to be led by the Spirit into more
knowledge and more truth, willing to be corrected.
This study article concerns a truth that is really a
none-essential to our salvation. It does not matter if we ever
come to find this truth or not, in this life time. It will not
effect our being saved and our resurrection into the family of
God. Yet, when this or anything is presented to us that
challenges our present belief, and would seem to have verses that
would teach that our present belief is in error, then we need to
be willing to search the Scriptures as the Bereans did in Acts
17, to prove all things as the apostle Paul said we should do (1
Thes.5:21) and to then hold to that which is correct. In other
words we must be willing to be corrected.
I must admit that this subject of study we are about to
undertake, I had never studied in any detail, but was of the
opinion as was taught to me by my previous religious teachers and
surface study. The hours of re-study I have done shows me that my
previously held view on this specific subject was in error.
JUDAS AND THE LAST PASSOVER SUPPER
What this study is all about is the question: Was Judas
present for the entire last Passover supper that Jesus observed
with His disciples? Was Judas the betrayer, present for not only
the foot washing, but for the special NT introduction of the
symbols of the bread and cup that Jesus instituted on that night?
Was Judas a partaker of the bread and cup, what many today call
"the communion service"?
Answering this question is also having to put together that
aspect of the harmony of the Gospels that would include all the
sections of the Gospels to do with that evening of the 14th day
of Abib or Nisan.
Before I start into that aspect, let me lay down the two
sides of this coin subject that we are about to study. If you go
to the popular Bible Commentaries and study them concerning the
last chapters of the Gospels, you will find two camps of belief
and teaching on this issue. One camp of teaching takes John 13
and says this took place at the beginning of the evening and so
Judas then left and was not present for the Passover supper and
all that Jesus said and introduced during the rest of that
Passover meal. Such Bible Commentaries will have little to say on
Luke 22:20-23.
The Bible Commentaries that do talk about Luke 22:20-23 will
say this proves that Judas was present for all of that Passover
meal, and so the foot washing of John 13 was performed by Jesus
at the end of the meal, later in the night, after which Judas
then departed to do his dirty work of betraying Jesus.
Here I will mention that within the Sabbath keeping Churches
of God over the last century there has been a difference of
opinion as to whether the foot washing of John 13 was BEFORE the
meal or AFTER the meal.
The Church of God Seventh Day, which is now out of Denver,
taught the foot-washing of John 13 was before or during the meal,
hence they observed that part of the service of the evening of
the 14th, FIRST, before the eating of the unleavened bread and
the drinking of the cup. Herbert W. Armstrong and the Worldwide
Church of God under his direction, had their roots in the Church
of God that so taught and practiced the foot washing that way,
and hence they also did it at the beginning of the service. So,
most of the splits today from the WCG still observe the foot
washing at the start of the service.
But, there were some parts (and still are today) of the
Sabbath keeping Churches of God that said the foot washing of
John 13 was AFTER the supper, at the end of the Passover meal
that evening. So they did and still do, observe the foot washing
at the close or near the close of the evening, after the
partaking of the bread and cup.
TO A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS
There are a few "Harmony of the Gospels" books available
today. The one I have is by Ralph D. Heim.
It may be typical of the others. I shall give you how he
lays out the harmony of the Gospels in the sections we are
studying here.
Under the heading: "Jesus and the twelve have the last
supper together" he gives Mat.26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke
22:7-13.
Then is gives: "The washing of the disciples' feet." And he
includes all verses as found in John 13:1-20.
The next section he titles: "The meal and the betrayer." In
this Ralph Heim gives Mat.26:20-25; Mark 14:17-21; John 13:21-35.
Jesus and the disciples are eating and Jesus discloses to them
that one of them there at the meal shall betray Him. John is
given as the one who expounded the most on this part of the meal.
Please read John 13:21-35.
You will notice clearly that in this section, verses 30 and
31, Judas after receiving the sop, immediately leaves. He goes
out. He is gone. Satan had entered him and he then left to do his
work of betraying Jesus.
The next section by Heim is called: "The institution of the
Lord's Supper." And the sections given by him are Mat.26:26-29;
Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23.
Ah, please now read Luke 22:14-23.
Do you see? In that section by Luke, it is very clear that
Judas was STILL at the table with the others. Jesus clearly says,
"But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the
table."
Some of the Bible Commentaries have seen this and echo
similar words as those given in the Adam Clarke Commentary, which
in part states: "What can be desired more, says Dr. Lightfoot, as
a demonstration that Judas was present at the eucharist? And
whereas the contrary is endeavoured to be proved out of John 13.,
nothing is made out of nothing....."
The Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary says: "He signifies to
them that the traitor was now among them, and one of them,
v.21.....it seems plain that Judas did receive the Lord's supper,
did eat of that bread, and drink of the cup; for after the
solemnity was over, Christ said, Behold, the hand of him that
betrayeth me is with me on the table. There have been those that
have eaten bread with Christ, and yet have betrayed Him."
So now, what can we make of all these passages, and
harmonizing them together to make a full sense of the Harmony of
the Gospels? It is clear that Ralph Heim has a contradiction in
his presenting us with a harmony of these passages. Unless of
course you want to believe that Judas left after the foot washing
early on in the evening, then returned, partook of the "Lord's
supper" as many today call it, and then left once more, not to
return to Jesus until he betrayed Him in the garden to the Jewish
religious leaders.
That particular understanding I have never read or heard
from anyone, as to claiming that is the true way to reconcile all
these passages, so harmony can be ascertained.
I do not see any verse in the Gospels to show that Judas
departed and returned and departed again later in the evening.
All the verses we have looked at in the passages given by
Heim as to the harmony of the Gospels, are indeed in the Greek,
if anyone is questioning. They are all there, nothing was added
centuries later. All those verses are in the Greek manuscripts.
LET'S ANSWER JOHN 13
Was the foot washing BEFORE the Passover meal, or was it
AFTER the Passover supper meal? Can we even know? Yes, we
indeed can!
If you look at some of the modern translations you will find
they read: "And supper taking place." Even Berry in his
Greek/English Interlinear gives it as "And supper taking
place."
Humm, would seem kinda conclusive many would think. Why,
even a Greek/English Interlinear gives it as supper was taking
place, not yet over, but during the meal Jesus gets up and washes
the feet of the disciples.
Going to the NKJV I have, they still translate it as in the
old KJV, "And supper being ended" but have a margin note which is
"NU during supper." Now what does all that mean? Well NU in their
margin notes means as they give in their "preface" section,
"These variations from the traditional text...."
What all this is getting at is that the traditional text is
the so-called Textus Receptus, the traditional Greek text
preserved from which the KJV was translated. The NU text is from
two main manuscripts, the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex
Sinaiticus. Both of these were not brought to light until the
19th century and made famous by Westcott and Hort. It is quite a
study in itself. These two manuscripts are very corrupt, very
unreliable, and do not even agree with each other. Most of the
modern translations are founded upon those two manuscripts.
Again, the reader is asked to study some of the books written on
Textual Criticism of the Greek NT to discover the full truth on
that subject.
The standard and majority Greek text, that goes back for
1500 years or more, are the Greek manuscripts that the KJV and
the NKJV are founded upon.
This is the Greek text that Berry and Green both use in
their Greek/English Interlinears.
But notice how Green translates John 13:2, "And supper
HAVING OCCURRED...."
Green gives it in the PAST tense. Two Greek scholars
translating, but they do not render it the same in English. One
is in the PRESENT TENSE, the other gives it in the PAST TENSE.
Ah, both cannot be correct! Yes, even so-called "scholars" can
disagree or not as much disagreeing, if both using the same Greek
manuscripts, but one being wrong and one being correct. Who then
is correct here?
Going to my Greek tense Analytical Greek Lexicon it is
simple to learn that the Greek tense for "being ended" (as in the
KJV) is in the AORIST 2 tense. What is all that about you may
ask. I will briefly give you the answer from the book
"Essentials of New Testament Greek" pages 65-70, by Ray Summers.
".....In the Greek, as in English, there are two ways to
form the past tense.....In English the verb 'preach' forms
its past tense by adding 'ed': 'I preach' (present),
'I preached' (past)......So in Greek, there are two ways
called 'first aorist' and 'second aorist.' Some Greek verbs
add a 's' to the stem and are called 'first aorist';
others add the ending without the 's' and are called 'second
aorist.' There is NO DIFFERENCE IN FUNCTION between the
two.
The aorist is a secondary tense, i.e., it deals with action
in PAST time.......
The function of the aorist tense is a matter of tremendous
importance. The TIME of the action is past. The KIND of
action is punctiliar. Thus is observed the difference
between the imperfect and the aorist. The IMPERFECT
indicates CONTINUOUS action in PAST time - 'I was loosing' ;
the AORIST indicates FINISHED action in past time - 'I
loosed.' The IMPERFECT is a 'moving picture'; the AORIST is
a 'snapshot.'.......
The FUNCTION of the second aorist is EXACTLY THE SAME as
that of the first aorist. The difference is one of FORM
only......."
I hope you understood the above. Putting it in simple
language. The "aorist" tense in the Greek is PAST tense, an
action, or something done in the PAST, but viewed in the sense of
a single snapshot event, not a long-drawn-out continuous past
event or action.
So the Greek scholars employed by King James to produce the
KJV of 1611, were quite CORRECT, as was J.P. Green (in his
Interlinear) to render John 13:2 as "And supper BEING ENDED..."
The event of supper, the meal of the Passover, was OVER. It
was PAST action, a past event, as a snapshot, already having
occurred, as Green renders it in English. It was over as far as
the meal of food eating as observing the Passover. They were not
yet leaving the upper room. It was the custom to lounge around
and relax. To talk and to fellowship, to discuss the word of God,
often all night long.
Jesus then after the meal was over rises from the atmosphere
of the "supper" (verse 4) fellowshipping and relaxing, and starts
to wash all the disciples feet including Judas, who was then
STILL with them all, and who had then partaken of the whole meal,
including the NT symbols of the bread and cup that Jesus had
ALREADY instituted earlier as the supper meal of the Passover had
been observed.
Now, it may have been the argument or dispute that arose
among the disciples as given in Luke 22:24-30, that triggered
Jesus into rising from the supper fellowship to wash their feet
and to teach them the lesson of serving humility through
establishing a custom He then wanted them to do from hence forth
on the Passover evening.
We can know from the very Greek tense used by John that the
foot-washing was AFTER the meal was over. Hence the foot-washing
by Jesus had nothing to do with the custom of washing feet as
people entered a home, after a long journey on the dusty
roads of Palestine, which foot washing was done by the lowest
servant of the household. The disciples were observing the
Passover that evening. It was a very special Festival of the
Lord, and you can be sure that all who would have been observing
it in their small groups here and there around Jerusalem, would
have made sure they were washed and bathed and nicely groomed
BEFORE ever coming to observe such a special evening to the Lord.
John then, clears up the problem of the harmony of that
evening, and shows without doubt, as does Luke (being in harmony
together) that Judas was present all through the Passover meal
and foot washing, before Satan entered into him, and he departed
to betray the Son of God.
LUKE'S ACCOUNT
Turning to Luke we find Jesus eating the Passover with His
disciples (Luke 22:7-15). Jewish history of the day and the
customs of the Passover at that time, show that in many ways the
Passover had become what Jews today call a "seder" meal. The
original Passover said nothing about "the cup" or even drinking
anything at its observance. There was much relaxing time,
fellowshipping and talking about the word of the Lord during the
Passover evening in the days of Christ. It had in some ways
taken on a form quite different from the first and original
Passover as observed in Exodus 12 by the Israelites under Moses.
It was only the Samaritan sect of those days and even
of today, who tried to observe the Passover as closely as
possible in the manner of Exodus 12 (but no blood spread around
the doors). The reader can find a long and detailed article in
the Encyclopedia Judaica on the origin and practices of the
Samaritans.
There was a partaking of the "cup" before the meal began, as
many Jews still do to this day in their Passover meal observance
(verses 15-18).
During the meal Jesus took the unleavened bread and with it
introduced a new NT symbolism of His broken body.
Verse 20 shows Jesus took the "cup" and also with it
introduced a new NT symbolism to represent His shed blood, that
would be shed for the sins of the world later that same 14th day.
The KJV translators render the Greek as "after super" and
going to the Analytical Greek Lexicon, for the Greek tense of the
word, this again shows the KJV scholars of 1611 to be correct.
The Greek (number 1172 in Strong's concordance) is in the AORIST
1 infinitive tense. A snapshot event action in the PAST. The
Passover meal was basically over and finished with when Jesus
took the cup and gave it to them to drink as representing His
shed blood of the New Covenant.
They no doubt relaxed once more, and were talking about the
Word of the Lord and spiritual things, when the argument and
disagreement came up among them as to who among them, would be
the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus then rose from the supper
fellowshipping, washed their feet, telling them what example He
was setting them, and what example He had set them. He as the
greatest came not to be served but to serve, and so it was to be
among them. He who would think he should be the greatest now or
in the kingdom, should be the one to be the least and to serve
the most.
All through these events of the evening, Jesus had told them
a few times that there was one among them who would betray Him.
That one was still with Him, his hand on the table with Jesus
when Jesus introduced the cup as representing His shed blood.
Judas was still with them when after all this Jesus washed the
disciples feet, and told them again that one among them was not
clean.
Satan finally entered the heart and the mind of Judas, and
he left them all, to go out into the darkness (of his mind and
the night) to betray Jesus the Christ.
The Lord loved even Judas to the very end, even up to the
time Satan entered into him.
This would seem to be the truth of the harmony of those
events concerning Judas and that last Passover supper meal,
leading up to the death of God, in the form of the Son of God who
came to earth as flesh and blood to give Himself as the perfect
Passover Lamb of God, that through His shed blood, other flesh
and blood humans who would accept Him as Lord and Savior, could
have life forever more.
..............................
Written April 2000
All articles and studies by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,
e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr. Hunt trusts
nothing will be changed (except for spelling and punctuation
errors) without his consent.
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