What Does John 13:26 Mean?

(26) **He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it.**—The better reading is probably, *He it is for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him;* but the change does not affect the sense. The pronouns are emphatic. “*He* it is for whom *I* . . .”The word “morsel” or “sop” occurs in the New Testament only in this context. The meaning is illustrated by the use in the LXX. in Ruth 2:14 (“Come thou hither, and thou shalt eat of the bread and dip thy *morsel* in the vinegar”); and Job 31:17 (“And if I ate my *morsel* alone, and did not impart it to the orphan”). The cognate verb occurs twice in the New Testament—Romans 12:20 and 1Corinthians 13:3. (See Notes on these passages.) The original root of the word means “to rub.” Hence it is “anything rubbed or broken off.” It was often used for a mouthful just like “morsel,” which means literally, *a little bite.* As used here, the word means any portion of food. The general explanation that the morsel was dipped in the *Charosheth* (comp. Note on Matthew 26:28) implies that this supper was the Paschal Supper. (See *Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord.*) Our Lord would preside at the meal, and distribute to each guest his portion. When John asked the question, He was about to give the morsel to Judas. He avoids the name, and makes the act which He is about to perform convey the answer to the question. That act is the token of friendship and love which even now would redeem the heart full of treachery, if that heart would but receive it. (Comp. John 13:18.) **He gave it to Judas Iscariot.**—Better, *He takes and gives* . . . , with the majority of good MSS. Note the solemn and sad fulness with which the name of Judas is again given by the Evangelist. (Comp. John 13:2.)