They began to be sorrowful and, one after another, to ask Him, “Surely it is not I?”
The disciples’ sorrow shows that they accepted the seriousness of the Lord’s word. Their question, “Is it really I?”, expresses the terror of conscience and self-examination. The true disciple, when hearing about the danger of sin, first examines himself, rather than blaming another. This is an important spiritual lesson: a person must not, with self-confidence, think that the danger of falling does not apply to him. Although Judas’s sin was unique, the disciples’ question shows that they sensed the weakness of the human heart. Before the Lord’s word every person must humble himself and say, “Keep me, Lord.”