Thomas Aquinas

Having set forth the foretelling of the future betrayal, here is set forth the consummation of the very thing foretold, namely the perpetration of the betrayal. And first he permits Judas to fulfill what he had said; secondly he shows how it was fulfilled, at the place, "When therefore he had received the morsel, he immediately went out." Concerning the first he does three things. First he sets down the words of the Lord permitting; secondly he manifests the obscurity of those very words; thirdly he adds how those words were understood by the apostles.

Now the words of the Lord are these: "What you do, do quickly." These words are indeed not the words of one commanding, or counseling, since sin cannot fall under a divine precept or counsel, because it is said in Psalm 18:9: "The precept of the Lord is lucid, enlightening the eyes"; but they are the words of one permitting. For, as has been said, the Devil had put it into the heart of Judas that he should betray him, namely Jesus, which he had already arranged with the chief priests; but he could not accomplish it unless Christ himself permitted it: because above, John 10:18: "No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself"; Isaiah 53:7: "He was offered because he himself willed it." They are also the words of one reproaching the crime of betrayal, so as to show that while he conferred benefits, the other intended death; Psalm 49:21: "I will reprove you, and set you before your own face." They are also the words of one longing for the work of our redemption, as Augustine says. Yet he did not command the crime, but foretold it, not so much raging toward the destruction of the faithless one, as hastening toward the salvation of the faithful; Luke 12:50: "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?"

Now the words of the Lord were obscure only to the disciples; and therefore it says: "But this no one of those sitting at table knew, to what end he said it." In which it is given to understand that the words of Christ are so profound and exceed human understanding, that we cannot grasp of them any more than he himself reveals; Proverbs 25:2: "It is the glory of God to conceal a word."

But here a question arises. For since the Lord had pointed out to John the person of the betrayer, saying, "He to whom I shall reach the dipped bread," and had given the dipped bread to Judas, the disciples seem to have been too dull, in that they did not understand the word of the Lord. To this it must be said that the Lord had spoken those words secretly to John alone, so that the betrayer should not be made manifest. The reason for this is that Peter was so fervent in his love of Christ that, if he had known for certain that Judas was going to betray Christ, he would have killed him at once.

But since John was one of those reclining at table, another question still arises, why it says that none of those reclining knew. To this it must be said that it is the custom of a good and innocent mind to believe that others too are far from the iniquity from which they know themselves to be free. Since, therefore, John was most innocent, and removed from the iniquity of betrayal, he by no means suspected that a disciple would go forth into so great an iniquity.

But as to what the disciples, ignorant of the true cause of the words, supposed concerning those very words, the Evangelist adds, saying: "But some of them," namely the disciples, "thought, because Judas had the purse," and so on. Here it must be known that the Lord God of heaven, who gives food to all flesh, had a purse—not that he possessed any earthly thing, but keeping what was offered by the faithful, that he might come to the aid of his own needs and of others in want; and it was Judas who carried this purse. In which an example is given, as Augustine says, that the Church can have money and reserve it for pressing needs. In which we are also instructed that ecclesiastical money is to be spent only on two things.

First, indeed, on those things which pertain to divine worship; whence it says, "Buy those things which we need for the feast day," that is, the things by which we can worship God on the feast day; Malachi 3:10: "Bring in all the tithes into my storehouse, that there may be food in my house." And then, on those things which pertain to the sustenance of the poor, as it adds, "or that he should give something to the needy."

But if you should object against what the Lord says, Matthew 6:34: "Take no thought for tomorrow," Augustine responds to this, and says that this was not commanded by the Lord to the effect that no money or other things of a single day should be kept by the saints for tomorrow; but the Lord said, "Take no thought for tomorrow," for this reason: lest we should preach and perform other services of God so that provision might be made for us in the future; or lest we should desist from those things which belong to virtue, on account of anxiety for the morrow. From which it is clear that the Lord, in saying, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow," forbids two things. One, that we should not do good works for the sake of tomorrow; the other, that we should not be drawn back from good works through fear of tomorrow's want, and so on. But Chrysostom explains it more plainly, saying: "Take no thought for tomorrow"; that is, do not anticipate today the care that belongs to tomorrow's day: for sufficient for the day is its own evil.

There is also a doubt here, since the Lord commanded his disciples, Luke 10:4: "Do not carry on the way a purse, nor a scrip, nor shoes." How then did he himself have a purse? But, according to Chrysostom, the Lord carried a purse for the service of the needy, so that from this you may learn that however poor one is, and crucified to the world, one must have care for the poor: according to that saying, Psalm 111:9: "He has distributed, he has given to the poor," and so on. Or it must be said that this saying, "you shall carry nothing on the way," etc., is to be referred to individual preachers and apostles, who ought to carry nothing when they go forth to preach. But it is not to be referred to the whole company, which must have something both for themselves and for the needy.

Consequently, when it says, "When therefore he had received the morsel, he immediately went out," the fulfillment of the thing foretold is set forth; and first the execution is set forth; secondly the determination of the time.

The execution indeed was swift: for when he had received the morsel, he immediately went out. Here attend, according to Origen, that the Evangelist does not say, "when he had eaten the morsel," but "had received it": which can be understood in two ways. In one way, that the betrayer, being solicitous only to obey the master in this, did not eat the bread once received; but perhaps, having left it on the table, he brooked no delay, going to perpetrate the betrayal. The reason for this can be that the Devil, who had already entered into the heart of Judas, fearing that if he ate the bread he would have to yield—being unable to be in the same place together with Jesus—did not permit Judas to eat the bread; 2 Corinthians 6:15: "What agreement has Christ with Belial?"; 1 Corinthians 10:21: "You cannot be partakers at once of the table of the Lord and of the table of devils." In another way it can be understood that he ate the bread once received; and so the sense is: "When therefore he had received the morsel"—not only in hand, but also by eating it—"he thus immediately went out," making evil use of a good thing. Just as one who unworthily eats the bread of the Lord, or drinks his cup, eats and drinks to his own prejudice and is the more burdened with sins; so the bread given by Jesus to Judas was unto damnation, so that after the bread Satan entered into him.

Now the time or hour is marked as dark; whence it says, "Now it was night": which indeed it specifies for two reasons. First, to aggravate his malice, which had so prevailed in his heart that not even on account of the inopportuneness of the hour did he wait until morning; Job 24:14: "The murderer rises at the very break of day (...) and in the night he becomes a thief." Secondly, to designate the quality of his mind—"for it was night"—because the mind of Judas the betrayer was darkened from the divine light. Above, John 11:9: "He who walks in the day does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world; but he who walks in the night, stumbles, because the light is not in him."