Lent 2025 Day 23: Mon 31 Mar
Luke 22:1-6
Judas agrees to betray Jesus
22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
What was Judas’ motivation in wanting to betray Jesus? Earlier in John, we read that he was a thief and stole from their common purse (something not mentioned in the other Gospels), which is hardly a motive, though it might indicate it was out of greed that Jesus was sold out.
If we were reading a murder-mystery, that would be a perfectly sufficient motive, albeit hardly a creative one, but perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye?
Some scholars make a rather interesting suggestion: we know that many people expected the Messiah to be a military leader who would restore Israel’s independence by ousting the Romans, so what if Judas shared in this belief? Then perhaps he thought that by precipitating a confrontation between Jesus and the authorities, he would kick start the revolution…
We can, of course, never know for sure, but there is something scary about this hypothesis: we might be sure in our hearts that we cannot be tempted by riches, but what if we can be deceived in our good intentions? That evil might enter this way is perfectly consistent with much of the Biblical witness, so whether this idea about Judas rings true or not, we would do well to guard ourselves against those who would weaponise us when we mean well.
Lord, preserve us from those who would use our godly zeal for evil, and give us the shrewdness of snakes that we might be innocent as doves.
1:26:19 Erbarme dich (Arie)
39. Aria A (Chorus I)
Have mercy, my God,
for the sake of my tears!
Look here, heart and eyes
weep bitterly before you.
Have mercy, have mercy!
Ends at 1:32:34
Paul