Pseudo-Jerome: And he promises to betray Him, as his master the devil said before, "All this power I will give thee." [[Luk 4:6]]
It goes on, "And when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give him money." They promise him money, and they lose their life, which he also loses on receiving the money.
Chrysostom: Oh! the madness, yes, the avarice of the traitor, for his covetousness brought forth all the evil. For covetousness retains the souls which it has taken, and confines them in every way when it has bound them, and makes them forget all things, maddening their minds. Judas, taken captive by this madness of avarice, forgets the conversation, the table of Christ, his own discipleship, Christ’s warnings and persuasion.
For there follows, "And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him."
Pseudo-Jerome: No opportunity for treachery can be found, such that it can escape vengeance here or there.
Bede: Many in this day shudder at the crime of Judas in selling his Master, his Lord and his God, for money, as monstrous and horrible wickedness. They however do not take heed, for when the sake of gain they trample on the rights of charity and truth, they are traitors to God, Who is Charity and Truth.
Ver. 12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto Him: Where wilt Thou that we go and prepare that Thou mayest eat the Passover?13. And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and saith unto them: Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water - follow him.14. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with My disciples?15. And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.16. And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover
Chrysostom: Whilst Judas was plotting how to betray Him, the rest of the disciples were taking care of the preparation of the Passover: where it is said, "And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto Him, ’Where wilt thou that we go and prepare where thou mayest eat the Passover?’ "
Bede: He means by the first day of the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when they throw aside leaven, and were wont to sacrifice, that is, to kill the lamb at even. The Apostle explaining this says, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." [[1Co 5:5]].
For although He was crucified on the next day, that is, on the fifteenth moon, yet on the night when the lamb was offered up, He committed to His disciples the Mysteries of His Body and Blood, which they were to celebrate, and was seized upon and bound by the Jews; thus He consecrated the beginning of His Sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.
Pseudo-Jerome: But the unleavened bread which was eaten with bitterness, that is with bitter herbs, is our redemption, and the bitterness is the Passion of Our Lord.
Theophylact: From the words of the disciples, "Where wilt thou that we go?", it seems evident that Christ had no dwelling-place, and that the disciples had no houses of their own; for if so, they would have taken Him thither.
Pseudo-Jerome: For they say, "Where wilt thou that we go?", to shew us that we should direct our steps according to the Will of God. But the Lord points out with whom He would eat the Passover, and after His custom He sends two disciples, which we have explained above; wherefore it goes on, "And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and He saith unto them, ’Go ye into the city.’ "
Theophylact: He sent two of His disciples, that is, Peter and John, as Luke says, to a man unknown to Him, implying by this that He might, if He had pleased, have avoided His Passion. For what could not He work in other men, who influenced the mind of a person unknown to Him, so that he received them? He also gives them a sign how they were to know the house, when He adds, "And there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water."
Augustine, de Con. Evan, ii, 80: Mark says a pitcher, Luke a two-handed vessel; one points out the kind of vessel, the other the mode of carrying it; both however mean the same truth.
Bede: And it is a proof of the presence of His divinity, that in speaking with His disciples, He knows what is to take place elsewhere; wherefore it follows, "And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them; and they made ready the Passover."
Chrysostom: Not our Passover, but in the meanwhile that of the Jews; but He did not only appoint ours, but Himself became our Passover. Why too did He eat it? Because He was "made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law," [[Gal 4:4]] and Himself gave rest to the Law. And lest any one should say that He did away with it, because He could not fulfil its hard and difficult obedience, He first Himself fulfilled it, and then set it to rest.
Pseudo-Jerome: And in a mystical sense the city is The Church, surrounded by the wall of faith, the man who meets them is the primitive people, the pitcher of water is the law of the letter.
Bede: Or else, the water is the laver of grace, the pitcher points out the weakness of those who were to shew that grace to the world.
Theophylact: He who is baptized carries the pitcher of water, and he who bears baptism upon him comes to his rest, if he lives according to his reason; and he obtains rest, as being in the house. Wherefore it is added, "Follow Him."
Pseudo-Jerome: That is, him who leads to the lofty place, where is the refreshment prepared by Christ. The lord of the house is the Apostle, Peter, to who the Lord has entrusted His house, that there may be one faith under one Shepherd. [[Joh 21:15]] The large upper-room is the wide-spread Church, in which the Name of the Lord is spoken of, prepared by a variety of powers and tongues.
Bede: Or else, the large upper-room is spiritually the Law, which comes forth from the narrowness of the letter, and in a lofty place, that is, in the lofty chamber of the soul, receives the Saviour. But it is designedly that the names both of the bearer of the water, and of the lord of the house, are omitted, to imply that power is given to all who wish to celebrate the true Passover, that is, to be embued with the Sacraments of Christ, and to receive Him in the dwelling-place of their mind.
Theophylact: Or else, the lord of the house is the intellect, which points out the large upper room, that is, the loftiness of intelligences, and which, though it be high, yet has nothing of vain glory, or of pride, but is prepared and made level by humility. But there, that is, in such a mind Christ’s Passover is prepared by Peter and John, that is by action and contemplation.
Ver. 17. And in the evening He cometh with The Twelve.18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me shall betray me."19. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?"20. And He answered and said unto them, "It is one of The Twelve, that dippeth with Me in the dish."21. "The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born."
Bede: The Lord Who had foretold His Passion, prophesied also of the traitor, in order to give him room for repentance, that understanding that his thoughts were known, he might repent. Wherefore it is said, "And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me."
Chrysostom: Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.
Theophylact: But how could they eat reclining, when the law ordered that standing and upright they should eat the Passover? It is probable that they had first fulfilled the legal Passover, and had reclined, when He began to give them His own Passover.
Pseudo-Jerome: The evening of the day points out the evening of the world; for the last, who are the first to receive the penny of eternal life, come about the eleventh hour. All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: "And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I?"
One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, "Is it I, Lord?", as Matthew testifies.
Theophylact: But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him Who knows all hearts, rather than themselves.
It goes on: "And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish."
Bede: That is, Judas, who when the others were sad and held back their hands, puts forth his hand with his Master into the dish. And because He had before said, One of you shall betray me, and yet the traitor perseveres in his evil, He accuses him more openly, without however pointing out his name.
Pseudo-Jerome: Again, He says, "One out of the twelve", as it were, separate from them, for the wolf carries away from the flock the sheep which he has taken, and the sheep which quits the fold lies open to the bite of the wolf. But Judas does not withdraw his foot from his traitorous design though once and again pointed at, wherefore his punishment is foretold, that the death denounced upon him might correct him, whom shame could not overcome; wherefore it goes on: "The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him."
Theophylact: The word here used, "goeth", shews that the death of Christ was not forced, but voluntary.
Pseudo-Jerome: But because many do good, in the way that Judas did, without its profiting them, there follows: "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born."
Bede: Woe, too, to that man, today and forever, who comes to the Lord’s table with an evil intent. For he, after the example of Judas, betrays the Lord, not indeed to Jewish sinners, but to his own sinning members.
It goes on: "Good were it for that man if he had never been born."
Pseudo-Jerome: That is, hidden in his mother’s inmost womb, for it is better for a man not to exist than to exist for torments.
Theophylact: For as respects the end for which he was designed, it would have been better for him to have been born, if he had not been the betrayer, for God created him for good works; but after he had fallen into such dreadful wickedness, it would have been better for him never to have been born.
Ver. 22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, "Take, eat: This is My Body."23. and He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank of it.24. And He said unto them, "This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many."25. "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink It new in the Kingdom of God."
Bede: When the rites of the old Passover were finished, He passed to the new, in order, that is, to substitute the Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, for the flesh and blood of the lamb. Wherefore there follows: "And as they did eat, Jesus took bread"; that is, in order to shew that He, Himself, is that person to whom the Lord swore, "Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedec." [[Psa 100:4]] There follows: "And blessed, and brake it."
Theophylact: That is, giving thanks, He brake it, which we also do, with the addition of some prayers.
Bede: He Himself also breaks the bread, which He gives to His disciples, to shew that the breaking of His Body was to take place, not against His Will, nor without His intervention; He also blessed it, because He with the Father and the Holy Spirit filled His human nature, which He took upon Him in order to suffer, with the grace of Divine power. He blessed bread and brake it, because He deigned to subject to death His manhood, which He had taken upon Him in such a way as to shew that there was within it the power of Divine immortality, and to teach them that therefore He would the more quickly raise it from the dead.
There follows: "And gave to them, and said, ’Take, eat: This is My Body.’ "
Theophylact: That, namely, which I now give and which ye take. But the bread is not a mere figure of the Body of Christ, but is changed into the very Body of Christ. For the Lord said, "The bread which I give you is My Flesh." But the Flesh of Christ is veiled from our eyes on account of our weakness, for bread and wine are things to which we are accustomed, if however we saw flesh and blood we could not bear to take them. For this reason the Lord bending Himself to our weakness keeps the forms of bread and wine, but changes the bread and wine into the reality of His Body and Blood.