The
disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover. Now when evening had come, he was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, he said, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.” They were exceedingly sorrowful, and each began to ask him, “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?” He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same will betray me. The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You said it.”
Matthew 26:19-25
Matthew 26 [18.] He said, “Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.”’”
Matthew 26 [19.] The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover. Now when evening had come, he was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, he said, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.”
Matthew 26 [22.] They were exceedingly sorrowful, and each began to ask him, “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?”
Matthew 26 [23.] He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same will betray me. The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.”
Matthew 26 [25.] Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”
He said to him, “You said it.”
Matthew 26 [26.] As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Meaning:
The disciples prepare the Passover, and in the evening Jesus reclines at the table with the twelve. In the middle of the meal he makes a shocking announcement: one of them will betray him. The scene moves from sorrowful questions to a final, quiet exchange between Jesus and Judas. Mark records the same conversation (Mark 14:16; Mark 14:17-18; Mark 14:19; Mark 14:20-21), and Luke and John add their own details (Luke 22:21-22; John 13:18-21).
- “The disciples did as Jesus commanded them”
Everything happened as Jesus had said (Matthew 26:17-18). When evening came, the Passover was eaten, as the Law required, at night. Jesus and the twelve were “reclining at the table”, lying on couches around a low table, leaning on the left elbow.
- “one of you will betray me”
To share a meal was a sign of friendship and trust. To betray someone you ate with was the deepest treachery. Jesus saw in it the fulfilment of the psalm: “He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me” (John 13:18; Psalm 41:9). John tells us that as Jesus said this, “he was troubled in spirit” (John 13:21). It grieved him.
- “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?”
The disciples were “exceedingly sorrowful.” None of them pointed at another; each asked about himself. The question in the original expects the answer “no”, yet they were unsure of their own hearts. Every one of them would fail Jesus that night, though only one would betray him.
- “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish”
The guests dipped bread and bitter herbs into a common bowl. Jesus’ answer stressed the closeness of the betrayer: someone sharing the same dish. John adds that Jesus gave Judas a piece of dipped bread, a gesture of honour, still offering friendship to the end (John 13:21-26).
- “The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of him”
Jesus’ death was foretold in Scripture. Isaiah wrote that the Servant “poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12). Luke says, “The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined” (Luke 22:22). Yet God’s plan does not excuse the traitor: “woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed!” Divine purpose and human responsibility stand side by side. Judas acted freely and was accountable for his choice. The words “It would be better for that man if he had not been born” are not a curse spoken in anger but a sorrowful warning of the outcome of his path.
- “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”
Judas asked the same question as the others, but with a telling difference. They called Jesus “Lord”; Judas called him “Rabbi”, teacher. In Matthew no true disciple addresses Jesus as Rabbi, and Judas uses the word again when he kisses Jesus in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:49). Jesus answered, “You said it”, a way of saying yes. He used a similar reply before the high priest (Matthew 26:64). Judas had been exposed, yet he was not stopped. Jesus let him go his way.
The Significance of Matthew 26:19-25
- Self-examination
The disciples’ question “It isn’t me, is it?” is a good question for every follower. Paul urged believers to examine themselves before sharing the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). It is better to search our own hearts than to suspect others.
- Calling Jesus Lord
Judas could call Jesus a teacher and still betray him. Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father” (Matthew 7:21). True discipleship is shown by submission, not words alone.
- God’s purposes cannot be defeated
Even betrayal by a friend served the plan of salvation written in Scripture, yet God still holds people responsible for what they do.
Cross-References:
Mark 14:20-21: "It is one of the twelve, he who dips with me in the dish." Mark’s record of the warning.
John 13:18-21: "He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me." Jesus applies Psalm 41 to Judas.
Luke 22:21-22: "But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table." Luke’s account of the same moment.
Isaiah 53:12: "He poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors." It is written of the Son of Man.
Conclusion: Matthew 26:19-25 tells how, at the Passover meal, Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray him. The disciples sorrowfully asked, “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?” Jesus said it was one who dipped in the dish with him, that the Son of Man goes as it is written, and that woe awaits the betrayer. When Judas asked, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” Jesus replied, “You said it.” The passage calls us to humble self-examination and true loyalty to Jesus as Lord.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible