“After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.’”
Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, tells the chief priests that he will betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The Jewish leaders obviously don’t value the life of Jesus for this is the price paid to a master for a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). However, this payment amount was prophesied by Zechariah in the Return Era when the Lord commanded him to pretend to be a shepherd caring for a flock that was doomed for slaughter. The Lord was giving the people a picture of His past judgment on them for their disobedience. In the illustration, Zechariah was paid the insulting amount of thirty pieces of silver – “And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter” (Zechariah 11:13). Later, Scripture will be fulfilled when Judas feels the weight of his actions and throws the money into the temple. Then the Jewish leaders will use the money to buy a field from a potter.
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Jesus then begins washing the feet of His disciples and tells them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.”
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’”
At the table, Jesus calls out Judas as the betrayer fulfilling Scripture – “He who eats with Me has lifted up his head against Me” (John 13:18, Psalm 41:9). “Then Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’ … Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.”
The disciples at the table are confused by what Jesus said – “But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, ‘Buy those things we need for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor.”
The disciples can’t see the heart of Judas. Outwardly Judas appears to be the same as they, as followers of Christ. However, as we see here, not everyone claiming to be a disciple of Jesus actually has a true love for Him over self. Many will claim to know Him, but few will actually inherit the kingdom of God. And Jesus knows the ones who belong to Him by their hearts, by their trust in Him as Lord and Savior.
Keep reading. (Mark 14:1-2, Matthew 26:1-5, Luke 22:1-2, Mark 14:10-11, Matthew 26:14-16, Luke 22:3-6, Mark 14:12-16, Matthew 26:17-19, Luke 22:7-13, John 13:1-17, Mark 14:17-26, Matthew 26:20-30, Luke 22:14-30, John 13:18-30)
Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 