It’s the fifth day of the Holy week. The week began with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and moved to yesterday, the Spy Wednesday, when Judas betrayed Jesus. No one expects to be betrayed and the experience is usually not one to recover easily from.
Partners betray each other, leaders betray followers and vice versa, friends betray each other, siblings, relatives- it’s a long list.
However, why not look at one of the most profound betrayal stories?
So, apparently, the beloved disciple, Judas was one of Jesus’ trusted fellows. And he betrayed his master with a kiss. Talk about profoundness in betrayal, this guy was a pro. Have you ever asked how and why Jesus ever chose him?
Little is known about Judas, but there are accounts in the bible that disclosed that he was in charge of the money box. Judas was the treasurer of the group, a corrupt one. Corruption didn’t just start anyways. Judas would take from the money of the group and no one knew- but of course Jesus would have known.
The Judas story simply points out the fact that sometimes you don’t have to do a thing to be betrayed. Jesus was a good master to the group and Judas must have felt the deep love of his master to have given him the final greeting with a kiss.
Prior to Jesus’ arrest, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes had been looking for occasions to arrest Jesus and put him to death. They couldn’t find anything against him, they just wanted to nab him, but how?
They wracked their heads over that for a long time till Judas came in the scene.
He walked up to their assembly- recall he’s not in their class; these set of people are the presidents and governors of those times. The Sadducees were upper-class wealthy men from Jerusalem and the Pharisees were of the economic class; these were elites that the people could rarely approach. But, Judas found his way and got to them.
So, here’s Judas, a disciple of the controversial leader of his time, in the midst of these people and what has he come to do?
“I can help you get Jesus,” that’s how he must have said it right? And then, they’d give him the bombastic side eye. Some must have whispered to themselves, “just give him a piece of silver and let him go, he’s probably hungry.”
“You want to catch him right?” Judas must have continued, “I am one of his disciples. I wake up with him every morning. We travel everywhere. You must have seen me once or twice with him.”
“And what would you gain by betraying your Master?” one of them must have asked.
“You want to ask me about that or you want Jesus?” Judas acting like a pro now, “By full moon, three days from now, come to the Garden of Gethsemane, near Jerusalem.”
They’d all sit quietly watching him, curiously, confused- mixed feelings.
“And in return?” a Sadducee asks.
“30 pieces of silver.”
The assembly will be filled with murmurs. Each person whispering to the other and Judas walks out like the legend criminal he would be.
Well, however long it would have taken them to decide to believe Judas, they took the chances anyways.
Jesus went to pray at the Garden of Gethsemane that night and they showed up with guards all armed . They didn’t recognize Jesus, so they had Judas do the job for them. He had told them earlier, “The one I kiss…he’s the one.”
Judas identified Jesus with a kiss, and Jesus responded, “Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?”
That must have been painful. You can probably relate to this if you’ve been betrayed.
They took Jesus and the rest as they say, is history.
So, what happened to the betrayer?
Judas felt condemned after he betrayed his master. He went back to the Pharisees to return the 30 pieces of silver he had took as the compensation. They didn’t take it from him and he left it with them by all means. They bought a field with the money since it was sinful to put back in the treasury such “bloody money.” They called the field “the field of blood.”
Judas killed himself afterwards.
Would you say that was well deserved? HAPPY EASTER IN ADVANCE.