T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S one of us. Let no man say in foolish self confidence that any form of sin which his brother has ever committed is impossible for him.-**—Maclaren. v. 23. He answered. He does not turn upon Judas and look daggers at him. He does not utter these words in a tone of exasperation and resentment. He says, “Woe will be the lot of him who does this, Oh, I pity that man. It had been good for him had he not been born.”—People’s Bible. v. 24. Had he not been bom. These words close forever the door of hope, since if in some remotely distant age there were in store for Judas a restor ation of his being to light and peace, in that restoration there would still be for him an eternity and the balance of good would'at once preponderate im measurably on the side of having been- born.-—-Liddon. v. 25. Judas which betrayed. There are other ways of betraying the Lord than by selling Him for a definite sum of money and by sealing the hateful bargain with the kiss of treachery. There is the betrayal of intellect—the men who profess to be the leaders of our thought and who are never tired of telling us that the story of Jesus is a myth. There is betrayal through the sins of our own nature and betrayal by our silence.-—Horton. Master, is it I? Note that Judas did not call Him Lord as did the other disciples. In not one instance in any of the Gospel stor ies is it recorded that Judas ever called Jesus Lord (1 Cor. 12:3).—Torrey. At last Judas speaks but in no spirit of repentance. He is only driven to it as the last refuge of hypocrisy. He asks it in so low a tone that neither it nor the answer to it appear to have been noticed by the general company. (Jn. 13:29).—Gibson. v. 26. Jesus took bread. This marked the end of t{ie Mosaic dispen sation. The Passover had fulfilled its purpose as the Paschal Lamb to Which it pointed was to be slain the next day. -—Gray. The Lord’s supper is a mem orial of the death of Christ, designed to nourish religion in our souls. It an ticipates the eternal communion which believers will enjoy with' Christ in Heaven. It reminds us of Christ’s sec ond coming. (1 Cor. 11:26)^—Gloag. This is my body. Romanism teaches that by a miracle worked by the priest, tie bread and wine are changed as to their substance and converted into the body and blood, soul and divinity, bones and sinews of Christ. When Christ
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peculiar satisfaction (Mk. 14:11) with which J;he priests seem to have wel comed the communication of Judas1. “Who would ever have thought .of our receiving such an offer as this?”— Lewis. v. 15. What will ye give me? Con trast the picture of Mary in the preced ing verse, Mary spending her all to anoint the Saviour for His burial, Judas selling Him for thirty pieces of silver. Which of the two do you most resem ble?—Torrey. v. 16. Sought opportunity. How exceedingly great is the deceitfulness of sin. What,was it this unhappy man promised himself by his sin? Oh, the amazing folly of sin! How it blinds men to truth, to affection, to honor, to all but itself.—Booth. v. 18. Go into the city. Jesus gave very strange and improbable directions but Peter and John proved themselves to be disciples indeed by doing exactly as Jesus told them (v. 19; cf. Jn. 15: 14).—Torrey. The Master saith. There fore the host in question was a disciple but not one of the twelve.—Bengal. At thy house. It was usual for the in habitants of Jerusalem to lend guest chambers to the strangers who caTme to the feast.—Carr. Poverty never lost anything by His entertainment and the rich man always found his silver cup on the top of the sack when his won drous guest was gone, and the money was there and nothing was lost. This is the Christian experience through the ages. No man loses anything by Christ. —Parker. v. 21. As they did eat. Imagine in what tones His ■words were spoken, what love and sorrow must have thrilled in them. The kind inténtion was to reach the heart of the one without at tracting the attention of the rest. There must have been a studied avoidance of any look or gesture that would have marked the traitor.-*—Exp. Bible. One of you. The Lord will not discover hypocrites till they by their own deed discover themselves, but will suffer them to lurk among the saints until His own time comes, as here He suffers Judas to lurk and to eat the Passover. —Dickson. v. 22. Is it I? None of them could think that he was the traitor, yet none of them could be ,sure that he was not. Every man is a mystery to himself. We have a sample of that wholesome self distrust which a glimpse into the pos sibilities of evil that lie slumbering in all our hearts, ought to teach every
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