Did Jesus explicitly confirm Judas as his betrayer at the Last Supper, and if so, why did the disciples not react?

Question

Mark 14:20

And he said unto them, [It is] one of the twelve, he that dippeth with me in the dish.

Luke 22:21

But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

He doesn't single Judas out at all here.

Matthew 26:25

And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, Is it I, Rabbi? He saith unto him, Thou hast said.

Plenty of others asked in turn if they would be the one, and when Judas asks, Jesus seems to reply affirmatively. Did he do so quietly? Was no one else paying attention?

John 13:26

Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, [the son] of Simon Iscariot.

Again, why wasn't this noticed or remarked upon, or acted upon by anyone? Did they not believe what he was telling them? Did they not find Judas' subsequent hasty departure suspicious?

John extends the incident a bit further:

John 13:27-30

And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, Buy what things we have need of for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went out straightway: and it was night. [bold mine]

How could they not have known, when he straight out told them what was going to happen and who was going to do it? How could any of them think "Hey the guy that Jesus just said is going to betray him is probably just running off to the shops to get some more food, probably for the poor."

Answer 1

Myself, I have difficulty believing they didn’t know who the person was. The narratives are pretty conspicuous. My own personal understanding is that while they understood from the giving of the sop who the person would be, they didn’t grasp what the betrayal would be. After being in company with the same twelve men for three or more years, performing miracles themselves (including Judas), etc., it would have been hard for any of them to fathom a full-blown, stab-in-the-back, turn him over to the temple authorities type of betrayal. And in the context of, “I wonder how he’ll betray him” (which likely crossed many of their minds), I expect that the statement from Jesus occasioned little more than curious stares. The reaction might have been more animated if Jesus had said, “one of you will betray me and turn me over to the temple authorities to be killed.” But that’s not what he told them. He doesn’t even allude to his impending death in Jerusalem relative to the mentioned betrayal. So, objectively, it’s only clear retrospectively that the betrayal would be what it ultimately ended up being. To those sitting there, unable to conceive of the notion that one of their own could betray him like that, his predicted betrayal was enigmatic. They likely had no idea what it would be.

The closest conception available is that Judas held the bag, and it is implied, if not directly stated, that Judas might have been a thief. Perhaps some of them speculated that he would steal the money and run off. Who knows?

The question ultimately has no cut and dry answer. We can only speculate and infer by the tidbits the narratives give us. But when I put myself in their shoes, I can’t see myself being so dense that when he says he’s going to give the sop to the one who will betray him, and then hands it to someone, that I wouldn’t know that that person is the would-be betrayer. Nor can I see myself leaping off my seat to beat Judas senseless, seeing that the nature of the betrayal hadn’t been revealed. The most I can imagine for myself, sitting there with that group, is that I’d be grateful it wasn’t going to be me, and I’d be curious about how he would betray him. Judas might get a scowl or two from me. But I couldn’t personally behave with animosity towards someone for a betrayal they had not yet committed. I fully expect the same attitude from men hand-picked by Jesus, no doubt for the capacity of love in their souls.

Answer 2

Slow to Learn The Last Supper dialogue is another example of the dullness of mind that the 12 Apostles had. Over and over again, throughout the 3 1/2 years of ministry, Jesus complained about how faithless and slow the Apostles were to understand what He was teaching!

He could even say something "point blank" about His soon crucifixion and resurrection on the third day, and they did not comprehend what He was declaring.

Par For the Course So it is par for the course that Jesus could clearly reveal the treason of Judas at the Last Supper, and the Apostles would not comprehend the importance of Jesus's words! The fact that Judas did indeed carry the financial purse of the Company of Disciples further clouded their understanding of Jesus's words.

There is no improbability of these narratives in the Gospels. The story line just continues the topic of the "denseness of the minds" of the Disciples who had been educated and influenced by the rabbinical teachings of the time.

As the story continued, remember that even after the Crucifixion, the Apostles were slow to grasp the Resurrection. "Slow to believe!" And Jesus upbraided them for their unbelief.

The story does have a happy ending though! Or was it a beginning? The start of a Kingdom of God, with a risen King, to be proclaimed by a convinced Church throughout the world!

Answer 3

Matthew 26:21,now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

Jesus did not call anyone name,even when he said it they were all worried and the one that was to betray knew that jesus wastalking about him but jesus did not call anyone

Answer 4

We can be sure that Jesus himself knew, and we can also be sure that the Last Supper is covered by all Gospels, so we have multiple sources to help explain the thoughts and proceedings of what happened (All quotes will be from the ESV unless otherwise stated).

The conversation is recorded in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 27, and, as mentioned in the Question, John 13. The passages are provided below:

Matthew 21-23,25: "And as they were eating, he said, 'Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.' And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, 'Is it I, Lord?' He answered, 'He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me'... ...Judas, who would betray him, answered, 'Is it I, Rabbi?' He said to him, “You have said so.'"

Mark 14:18-20: "And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.' They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, 'Is it I?' He said to them, 'It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.'"

Luke 22:3: "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve."

John 13:21-27: "After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.' The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, 'Lord, who is it?' Jesus answered, 'It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.' So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, 'What you are going to do, do quickly'."

Out of these, Luke does not mention that he said it out loud, but the rest tell us a complete story.

Jesus washes the disciples' feet, afterwards they start to eat. Jesus tells them that someone will betray him, furthermore, it will be one of the twelve. He then adds more details, which are recorded in John: "It is he to whom I will give this morsel." He then gives it to Judas - simple. Jesus cryptically tells him to "do it" - this would confuse me, as it confused the disciples. The gospels have the gift of 20/20 hindsight, but in the moment, none of the twelve knew that Jesus needed to die to complete His mission. Despite the fact that He had been telling them (Matthew 16:21-22):

"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."

The disciples were likely still convinced He would deliver them from Rome. Thus, the point is, none of the disciples knew what the betrayal was, nor why Jesus was okay with it. Yet, as we see in John, they did indeed know that it would be Judas. I think that they were probably thinking that Judas would simply disavow Jesus; stop following him. Furthermore, Judas himself confirmed it when, in Matthew, Jesus tells him head-on it is him. As they often were, the disciples were simply confused about the nature of what Jesus was saying.

John 13:26-29: "Jesus said, 'The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I've dipped it.' Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.

'What you must do,' said Jesus, 'do. Do it and get it over with.'

No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor" (MSG).

Jesus predicts his death, Wikipedia

The Last Supper, Wikipedia

Answer 5

Yes he did and the disciples knew, the basis is in the Bible where Jesus explicitly identified this disciple as the one he was going to give a piece of bread after he had dipped it into the dish. Jesus dipped the morsel of bread into the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot in full view of the other disciples.

John 13:26

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

The whole conversation shows Jesus revealing the identity of the disciple who was going to betray him.

The disciples could not react because they were still processing how one of the twelve was going to betray him after all the works he had performed and all the truths he had told them concerning God