The Gaze of Judas

A Reflection on Spy Wednesday

Photo by Boston Public Library on Unsplash

As Catholics we have at one time or another seen Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper. But have any of us truly reflected on this majestic and beautiful piece of artwork? Have we noticed that Judas is the only one with his eyes fixed upon the face of Christ?

When we look closely at the painting we can see Sacred Scripture coming alive through the strokes of the paintbrush. The scene takes us to the verses from Matthew 26: 20-25:

And while they were eating, he said, “Amen I say to you, one of you will betray me. Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

When we look closely at Da Vinci’s masterpiece and not simply look at the painting, but contemplate deeply upon it we can see the look of profound sadness sweep over our Lord’s face. In those moments when Jesus and the Apostles are reclining at table you can feel the loneliness of Jesus sitting by himself surrounded by his closest followers, yet completely and utterly abandoned. It seems to be a foreshadowing and glimpse of the Cross when all of the Apostles except St. John, his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the wife of Clopas remain at the foot of the Cross.

After Jesus reveals to the Apostles that one of them will betray him, his brethren become more concerned with finding out who in their group will be the one to turn Jesus in to his enemies than comforting Jesus. We can observe in the painting how all of the Apostles are turned towards one another in deep discussion and ensuring themselves and their fellow brothers that it is not one of them. We know that they were not trying to convince Jesus of their innocence, but themselves because if they truly believed Jesus to be the Son of God, they would have known that Jesus knew the individual who would betray him.

The only Apostle who Da Vinci illustrates as paying any mind to Jesus, is Judas. We know that we are looking at Judas because within his hand is the money bag; the same money bag that he kept the thirty pieces of silver that he would pay to hand over Jesus to the chief priests and elders. He is looking Jesus in his very eyes and must have seen the expression of Jesus. How did he not feel any compassion at that moment when his eyes gazed upon the face of Christ?

Scripture tells us that Satan entered into Judas after Christ dipped the morsel and handed it to Judas. (See John 13:26-27). Judas’ heart was not filled with the love of Christ because he had voluntarily surrendered his heart to the evil one. Satan put into the heart of Judas that he should hand Jesus over to his enemies. Greed had consumed his heart and there was no more room for Christ. Judas was able to look God Himself in the eyes and lie to him. Satan could not cause Judas to directly murder Christ himself, but he led Judas to fall to the temptation of greed, which caused his betrayal and the death of Christ.

Da Vinci’s The Last Supper seems to be a simple piece portraying Christ reclining at table with the Apostles and having their last Passover meal together before the sacred feast becomes the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood. But there is a lot taking place in the painting, and we can spend time during this Spy Wednesday as well as the Sacred Triduum deeply meditating upon this beautiful piece of artwork.