Judas Iscariot

Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot –

went to the chief priests and asked,

“What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?”

So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over.

Matthew 26:14-16

I could read this over a hundred times and more, and I still would never understand what in the world was in Judas’ mind when he agreed to betray Jesus.  When I was a child, I was taught that Judas turned his back on Jesus because he wanted the money.  Turns out that although it sounds like a large chunk of change, it was not.  If the silver coin was a denarius, 30 coins would be about one and a half month’s pay for a Roman soldier or an Israeli laborer (Matthew 20).  Somehow I don’t think it was all about the money.

Judas had walked every mile that Jesus and the disciples journeyed.  He had seen the miracles:  the blind, deaf and mute healed; illnesses vanquished; the dead raised to life.  He saw the compassion for the poor, the uneducated, the children.   He was witness to the love for His twelve friends that poured from the Savior’s heart, and yet he chose to walk away.  Or did he?

Did Judas think that by forcing Jesus to face the religious right, it would compel Him to declare His kingdom?    Did he, like Simon the Zealot, believe that Jesus was destined to defeat the Romans?  When Judas realized that the Pharisees intended to kill Jesus, he tried to backtrack, return the money, declare Christ's innocence, withdraw from his contract.  But it was too little, too late.

Lord, give me strength, at the dawn of the day, to face whatever may come my way.  Be my Wisdom and my Guide in every step I take today.