We’ve heard it so often that maybe it has lost its impact—“…the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed…” (1 Cor. 11:23). What night? The night He was betrayed! That’s not just a chronological marker or a filler to make Paul’s sentences even longer! That event was tragic!
After Jesus washed 24 grimy feet and explained the heart of a true servant, He quoted Psalm 41:9, “’He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me” (John 13:18). Then, right before He said, “one of you shall betray me,” the verse says, “He was troubled in spirit.” The Greek for “troubled” means “to cause inward turmoil, disturb, agitate with grief and anxiety” (cf. John 11:33-35; 12:27-28). Jesus was inwardly torn up about being betrayed. But, not just Jesus! When He announced this, His apostles “were exceedingly sorrowful” (Matt. 26:22) with distress and grief.
One of Jesus’ closest friends betrayed Him to the malicious mob, setting off the sequence of events that would end in His crucifixion. That ought to exceedingly grieve us today also!