¹⁷ In the evening He came with the twelve followers. ¹⁸ They sat at the table and ate. Jesus said, “For sure, I tell you, one of you will hand Me over to be killed. He is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They were very sad. They said to Him one after the other, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the twelve followers. It is the one who is putting his hand with mine into the same dish. ²¹ The Son of Man is going away as it is written of Him. But it will be bad for that man who hands the Son of Man over to be killed! It would have been better if he had not been born!”

The First Lord’s Supper ^(A)

¹⁴ When the time came, Jesus sat down with the twelve followers. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have wanted very much to eat this special supper with you to remember how the Jews left Egypt. I have wanted to eat this with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ I say to you, I will not eat this special supper again until its true meaning is completed in the holy nation of God.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus took the cup and gave thanks. He said, “Take this and pass it to each one. ¹⁸ I say to you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the holy nation of God comes.”

Jesus Tells of the One Who Will Hand Him Over to the Leaders ^(A)

²¹ When Jesus had said this, He was troubled in heart. He told them in very plain words, saying, “For sure, I tell you, one of you is going to hand Me over to the leaders of the country.”

²² The followers began to look at each other. They did not know which one He was speaking of. ²³ One follower, whom Jesus loved, was beside Jesus. ²⁴ Simon Peter got this follower to look his way. He wanted him to ask Jesus which one He was speaking of. ²⁵ While close beside Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one I give this piece of bread to after I have put it in the dish.” Then He put the bread in the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷ After Judas had eaten the piece of bread, Satan went into him. Jesus said to Judas, “What you are going to do, do in a hurry.”

²⁸ No one at the supper knew why Jesus had said this to Judas. ²⁹ They thought it was because Judas carried the bag of money, and Jesus had said that Judas should buy what they needed for the religious gathering. Or they thought Judas should give something to poor people. ³⁰ As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread, he went out. It was night.

Love—the Greatest Law

³¹ After Judas went out, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now honored and God has been honored in Him. ³² If God is honored in Him, God will also honor Him in Himself right now. ³³ Little children, I will be with you only a little while. You will look for Me. I say to you what I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come!’ ³⁴ I give you a new Law. You are to love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. ³⁵ If you love each other, all men will know you are My followers.”