Betrayal At The Last Supper

Questions This Sermon Answers:

1. Why did the woman at Bethany anoint Jesus with costly oil?

She gave Him extravagant, sacrificial devotion that the disciples judged wasteful. Jesus interpreted her act prophetically: "For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial" (Matthew 26:12, NKJV). The Reformed tradition reads her worship as a model of love responding to grace. Her gift cost much and was poured wholly on Christ, while Judas, in the same chapter, valued the Lord at the price of a slave.

2. What did Jesus mean when He called her deed a memorial?

He gave her act lasting honor in the gospel itself: "wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" (Matthew 26:13, NKJV). Her quiet devotion would outlast the schemes of priests and the betrayal of a disciple. Christ binds true worship to the proclamation of His death, so that wherever the cross is preached, costly love for Him is remembered.

3. Why did Judas betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver?

Matthew records Judas asking, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15, NKJV). Greed and unbelief moved him, yet the price fulfilled Zechariah 11:12. The sum was the value of a gored slave (Exodus 21:32). His nearness to Christ never became saving faith, exposing the difference between proximity to the means of grace and a renewed heart.

4. Was Judas free to betray Christ, or was he forced by God's decree?

Jesus said, "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!" (Matthew 26:24, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (3.1) teaches that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass, yet so as neither to be the author of sin nor to offer violence to the will of the creature. The betrayal fulfilled Scripture, and Judas acted freely and guiltily. God's sovereignty and human responsibility stand together.

5. Why did each disciple ask, "Lord, is it I"?

When Jesus announced the betrayal, "they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, 'Lord, is it I?'" (Matthew 26:22, NKJV). The honest disciples examined their own hearts rather than accusing others. Calvin notes that genuine fear of sin drives a believer to self-scrutiny. The contrast is sharp: the eleven grieve and search themselves, while Judas, already committed, asks "Rabbi, is it I?" with a hardened conscience.

6. What did Jesus mean by "Take, eat; this is My body"?

As they ate, "Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body'" (Matthew 26:26, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (29.7) teaches that worthy receivers truly feed upon Christ crucified, yet spiritually, by faith, not carnally. The bread does not become His physical flesh; transubstantiation is denied (WCF 29.6). The sign genuinely communicates the thing signified to faith, nourishing the soul with the crucified Savior.

7. What is the new covenant in Christ's blood?

Over the cup Jesus said, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28, NKJV). He fulfilled Jeremiah 31:31 and ratified the covenant of grace with His own blood. The Reformed tradition reads this as the climax of redemptive history: the shadows of the Passover give way to the substance, and forgiveness is secured not by the worshiper's work but by the once-for-all sacrifice of the Mediator.

8. What does "shed for many for the remission of sins" teach about the atonement?

The phrase grounds the doctrine of substitutionary atonement: Christ's blood is poured out in the place of sinners to secure pardon (Matthew 26:28, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (8.5) teaches that Christ fully satisfied the justice of His Father and purchased reconciliation for those given to Him. His death is not a mere example but an effective sacrifice that actually obtains "the remission of sins" for His people.

9. Why is the Lord's Supper called a means of grace?

Christ appointed bread and cup as a perpetual remembrance and a real spiritual feeding upon Himself (Matthew 26:26-28, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (29.1) calls the sacrament a bond and pledge of believers' communion with Christ and one another. It is not a bare memorial only; by the Spirit, faith receives and rests upon the crucified Christ truly held out in the signs. It strengthens assurance and renews covenant fellowship.

10. How can someone be near to Christ yet still be lost, like Judas?

Judas heard every sermon, witnessed every miracle, and shared the table, yet betrayed the Lord. Jesus said it "would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24, NKJV). Outward nearness to the means of grace is not saving faith. The Westminster Confession (10.1) teaches that effectual calling is a sovereign work of the Spirit renewing the heart. The passage warns every hearer to seek Christ truly, not merely to stand close to holy things.