From this moment on, the Gospel narrative begins to move steadily toward its center of meaning - the story of Jesus' death and Resurrection. Christians have always understood these events as the accomplishment of a new sacrifice, which Christ offers for the whole world. The word "sacrifice" has long since fallen out of everyday speech in its original, religious sense. Yet the difficulty lies not only in ancient religious realities, but also in the very character of this self-giving. Christ gives Himself, as it were, in response to the gesture of the disciple who poured precious fragrant oil over Him.
For an outside observer, represented here by Judas, giving the most valuable thing for another is absurd and wild. He would be more satisfied with the "sacrifice" of alms to the poor, when only an insignificant part of what one has is given away. To give everything, to give oneself, is a reality "beyond the limits" for Judas and, perhaps, for many of us.
But an even greater mystery is that the suffering and dying Christ becomes bread and wine for the disciples - food that nourishes their life, which is now inseparably bound to the Teacher.
