He that Dips His Hand Shall Betray - Matthew 26:23

Matthew the apostle wrote, “Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”, and in chapter twenty-six and verse twenty-three of his book, Matthew writes how Jesus' told His disciples, “he that dips his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me” where we read:

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

The verse reads, “And he answered and said, He that dips his hand with me in the dish, ...” Matthew began words, “and he answered” which means “and Jesus responded and uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “He that dips” or “the disciple who wets by dipping” “his hand” which refers to “the disciple's hand along with Jesus' hand” “in the dish” or “in the deep dish or bowl”. Matthew shared how Jesus responded to the disciples' question about whether they were the one who would betray Him by telling them there would be one of the disciples who would “dip his hand” in the bowl along with Him.

The verse continues, “... the same shall betray me.” Matthew added the words, “the same” which means “this certain and same disciple” “shall betray me” or “will deliver up treacherously and commit Jesus to the chief priests”. Matthew shared how Jesus said the disciple who dips his hand into the bowl with Jesus is the disciple who would “betray” Him.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see this simple way for the disciples to know who would “betray” Him. The low lying table at which the disciples and Jesus reclined usually had “bowls” of certain spices and sauces whereby each person would tear a piece of bread and dip within them. At this point in the meal, the guilty disciple and Jesus would enter their bread into the same bowl at the same time. This would identify who would “deliver” Jesus over to the “chief priests”. It is not certain that all the disciples understood fully what Jesus meant, however, we know God's desire is to “save” every person through His Son Jesus, and rather than “betray” Him, He wants them to yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus says, “the Son of man goes as it is written of him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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