John 13:26

26. Give a sop The dipping in the same dish (Mark 14:20) and this giving the sop, are two things not to be confounded. By the former Jesus indicated that the betrayer was among those nearest him; the giving the sop was the signal by which he revealed to John which the traitor was.

It must be remembered that the Orientals use neither knife nor fork, but eat in primitive style, with the fingers. It is a customary token of peculiar friendship to dip a piece of bread into the liquid sauce upon the table and hand it to some one of the guests. What a marvellous delicacy was this to perform this kindly office to his future betrayer. The love it indicated was real. This token of tender kindness from that outstretched innocent hand, should have melted the traitor’s heart, and have driven the devil from his soul. Immovably his hardness withstood this melting assault of love; and no wonder that Satan, who, at John 13:2, had put treason into his heart, now, John 13:27, completely entered into him.