The source used by Leonardo Da Vinci is John 13:21 and is supposed to represent the exact moment when Jesus announces to his disciples that one of them would betray him: "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." Thus the reactions of all the disciples are the reactions to hearing that one of them is a traitor to Jesus who would cause the death of their teacher. Each reacts in a different way.
On the far left of the painting are grouped Bartholomew, James the Lesser and Andrew, with Andrew throwing up his hand as if to say "stop!" The fact that he is to be betrayed by someone who is eating with him at that time heightens the enormity of the act - in the ancient world, people who break bread together were assumed to have established a bond with each other, one not lightly broken.
The vindictiveness with which Jesus describes the betrayer is, however, very strange. Jesus makes it clear that he knows that the events he is experiencing are predetermined by God: he, the Son of man, goes where it is "written" that he must. Isn't the same true of Judas? Doesn't he "goeth, as it is written of him"? If so, then it's unreasonable for him to be punished so harshly that he would wish that he "had never been born." Only an evil deity would punish a person for acting in exactly the way that the deity desired.
Also curious are the reactions of Jesus' disciples: instead of asking who the betrayer would be, each asks in turn if he will be the betrayer. Most normal people wouldn't wonder if they will end up betraying their teacher. Asking this question indicates that they, too, recognize that they are playing roles in some grand drama where the beginning, middle, and end of the script have already been written by God.
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