The Betrayal by Judas

Today's Reflections 
 
     

The Betrayal by Judas 

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Mt 26:14-25

¹⁴One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand [Jesus] over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, ¹⁶and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.” ’ ” ¹⁹The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

²⁰When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. ²¹And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²²Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” ²³He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. ²⁴The 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.” ²⁵Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

What are you willing to give me? It sounds so simple and easy for Judas to betray Jesus. It is just a matter of getting the best price for his “merchandise.” We know now who Jesus truly is; we are horrified by the seeming callousness of Judas. That is exactly the reason for Judas’ indifference and our horror: we know and he does not; we believe and he does not.

Judas may perhaps be very disappointed with Jesus, like the others who initially followed the Master. He now probably thinks the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, and their followers are right after all: Jesus is an impostor, a blasphemer, or a hoax. Judas has decided to do his Jewish religion the big favor of eliminating its most prominent threat by setting up Jesus’ arrest. He is convinced that selling Jesus to the authorities is not making him any poorer but in fact richer by 30 pieces of silver.

Our nearness to Jesus does not always mean

an equal depth of our love and devotion for him.