Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/461

 me." It was his familiar friend, his chosen companion, enjoying with him at that moment the most intimate social pleasures of the entertainment, and occupying one of the places nearest to him, at the board. As he promised, after dipping the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, who, receiving it, was moved to no change in his dark purpose; but with a new Satanic spirit, resolved immediately to execute his plan, in spite of this open exposure, which, he might think, was meant to shame him from his baseness. Jesus, with an eye still fixed on his most secret inward movements, said to him, "What thou doest, do quickly." Judas, utterly lost to repentance and to shame, coolly obeyed the direction, as if it had been an ordinary command, in the way of his official duty, and went out at the words of Jesus. All this, however, was perfectly without meaning, to the wondering disciples, who, not yet recovered from their surprise at the very extraordinary announcement which they had just heard of the expected treachery, could not suppose that this quiet movement could have anything to do with the occurrence which preceded it; but concluded that Judas was going about the business necessary for the preparation of the next day's festal entertainment,—or that he was following the directions of Jesus about the charity to be administered to the poor out of the funds in his keeping, in accordance with the commendable Hebrew usage of remembering the poor on great occasions of enjoyment,—a custom to which, perhaps, the previous words of Judas, when he rebuked the waste of the ointment by Mary, had some especial reference, since at that particular time, money was actually needed for bestowment in alms to the poor. Judas, after leaving the place where the declaration of Jesus had made him an object of such suspicion and dislike, went, under the influence of that evil spirit, to whose direction he was now abandoned, directly to the chief priests, (who were anxiously waiting the fulfilment of his promise,) and made known to them that the time was now come. The band of watchmen and servants, with their swords and cudgels, were accordingly mustered and put under the guidance of Judas, who, well knowing the place to which Jesus would of course go from the feast, conducted his band of low assistants across the brook Kedron, to the garden of Gethsemane. On the way he arranged with them the sign by which they should recognize, in spite of the darkness and confusion, the person whose capture was the grand object of this expedition. "The man whom I shall kiss is he: seize him." Entering the