Matthew 26:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.

NIV: Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.

NASB: And He answered, 'He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.

CSB: He replied, "The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me.

NLT: He replied, 'One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me.

KJV: And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

NKJV: He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.

While eating the Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus has announced that one of them will betray Him (Matthew 26:20–21). Matthew's readers know Judas has already pocketed money for turning Jesus over to the chief priests (Matthew 26:14–16). The other 11 disciples will learn many of these details after the fact (John 12:6), but do not know the information at this time. In sorrow and fear, they each ask Jesus if they will be the betrayer (Matthew 26:22).

Jesus' answer is both cryptic and heartbreaking. It was common to dip a piece of bread or a piece of meat inside bread into a bowl containing a mix of fruit, nuts, and vinegar. This would have helped to cut the bitterness of the "bitter herbs." Sharing a common bowl in this way was a picture of hospitality and fellowship. In saying this, Jesus made the point that the one who will betray Him had shared closeness and intimacy: one who should have been a true friend.

In truth, this is a non-answer, since every one of them at some point dipped their hand into the same dish Jesus has used. John specifies that Jesus handed a piece of bread directly to Judas (John 13:26), a detail likely missed in the instant it happened and only understood once the disciples recounted their memories to one another.

Matthew 26:17–35 begins with locating the room which will be used for the Passover meal. While they are eating, Jesus announces that one of His closest disciples will become a traitor. Judas discovers that Jesus knows it is him. Jesus introduces the concept of bread and wine as symbols of His sacrificial body and blood. After the meal, Jesus tells the disciples they will fall away that night and that Peter will deny Him three times. They insist that will not happen. Mark 14:10–31, Luke 22:3–23, Luke 22:31–34, and John 13:21–38 feature these events, as well.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.