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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_14:17-21
17When it was evening He came with the twelve. 18As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me." 19They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, "Surely not I?" 20And He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."
Mar_14:17 "When it was evening" The Jewish day begins at twilight (cf. Gen_1:5; Gen_1:8; Gen_1:13; Gen_1:19; Gen_1:23; Gen_1:31). This was the Passover meal because usually Jewish evening meals were in late afternoon. Only the Passover meal was eaten after 6:00 p.m.
Mar_14:18 "reclining" Originally the Passover was eaten standing because of Exo_12:11. The Jews of the first century did not use chairs, a custom which they learned from the Persians (cf. Est_1:6; Est_7:8). They ate at low cushions, usually three in number, at a table in the shape of a horseshoe (so servers could bring food easily), reclining on pillows on their left elbow with their feet behind them.
▣ "'Truly'" This is literally "amen." See Special Topic at Mar_3:28.
▣ "'that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me'" This is an allusion to Psa_41:9. This was a cultural way of accentuating Judas' guilt (cf. Joh_13:18). Table fellowship was a significant cultural symbol of friendship and commitment. To betray someone with whom you had eaten would be appalling to an easterner.
Mar_14:19 "one by one, 'Surely not I'" Each disciple thought it might be himself. This shows that at this point in time, none of them suspected Judas. Each of them was unsure of his own standing.
Mar_14:20 "'who dips with Me in the bowl'" This was a special dish of gray colored fruit dip, which resembles brick mortar. Judas was sitting right next to Jesus in the place of honor! Jesus was still, even at this late hour, trying to spiritually reach Judas.
Mar_14:21 "'but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born'" Joh_13:27 ff implies that Judas left after the third cup of blessing before the institution of the Lord's Supper. Judas is an enigma. His motives for betraying Jesus are never revealed. Some see him as a noble Jewish patriot (i.e., zealot) trying to force Jesus to act militarily against Rome. Others see him as a committed Jew who was upset with Jesus' rejection of the Oral Tradition and His fellowship with the outcasts and sinners of Jewish society. The Gospel of John depicts him as a thief from the beginning, someone who was driven by his love of money. However, Judas' actions after Jesus' arrest do not fit this characterization. Whatever the true motive or rationale, whatever the involvement of Satan, whatever the foreknowledge involved in predictive prophecy, Judas is responsible for his actions, as are all of us (cf. Gal_6:7).