Matthew 26:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Judas, who would betray him, answered, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said so."

NIV: Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "You have said so."

NASB: And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, 'Surely it is not I, Rabbi?' Jesus *said to him, 'You have said it yourself.'

CSB: Judas, his betrayer, replied, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" "You have said it," he told him.

NLT: Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, 'Rabbi, am I the one?' And Jesus told him, 'You have said it.'

KJV: Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I He said unto him, Thou hast said.

NKJV: Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”

While the other disciples are clueless as to his treachery, Judas knows he is the betrayer Jesus had spoken of (Matthew 26:20–23). The rest of the disciples immediately asked Jesus if they were the guilty one, but He has only said that it would have been better for the betrayer if he had never been born, pronouncing a judgment of "woe" on the man (Matthew 26:24).

Now Judas finally asks what the others have already asked, with a difference. The others had called Jesus "Lord." Scripture does not say, explicitly, that everyone but Judas had asked that exact question. It's possible that Judas did, continuing to pretend that he was not already guilty (Matthew 26:14–17). Here, however, he responds to Jesus' damnation of the traitor by asking, but not acknowledging Jesus as "Master." Rather, he only calls Him a "teacher," which is not wrong at all (Mark 9:5; John 1:49), but strongly contrasts with the other disciples.

This begs the question of why Judas asked, at all? Perhaps he was trying to cover his guilt by joining in with the others. Perhaps he wanted to see if Jesus already knew he was the guilty one. Or, if Judas had already made his defense (Matthew 26:22), this might be a sarcastic or resigned statement of someone who knows he's caught. In either case, Jesus acknowledges that He knows the truth.

John adds details to the story. Jesus gives a morsel of bread to Judas after dipping it in the bowl that He has mentioned. At that moment, Satan enters fully into Judas (John 13:27). Jesus tells him to do what he is going to do quickly. Judas immediately leaves. The other disciples think Jesus has sent him on an errand, not realizing Judas is the betrayer (John 13:28–30). In the rush of these events happening, such details would have been easily missed until the disciples talked about them later in the week.

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.