Why now? The obvious answer is prophecy. Events have reached a certain point, stars have aligned. Jerusalem is a bomb waiting to go off with the most powerful explosion mankind has ever seen – one that will scatter Jewish believers throughout the known world.
The less obvious answer is politics. Dozens of factions among the Jews have famously squabbled and vied with one another for power under the Romans throughout (and before) the last 100-plus years of occupation. The crowd unified under Jesus is a huge asset, and the Pharisees, Sadducees and Priests will do whatever they must in order to get control of it. If they cannot control it, they must neutralize it.
Then Satan entered Judas.
This is a complex, confusing statement. It hints at possession, but Judas acted of his own free will. He did his research, reviewed his options and made his choices. He was self-directed. Perhaps then it might be better to re-state this as “Judas became Jesus’ chief adversary.” Judas is not driven by unseen, external forces to betray Jesus. His motivations are very personal – so personal, in fact, that we do not know them.
So what do we know?
The name “Judas” means “the praised one.” That conjures up all sorts of images involving spoiled, entitled children. His surname “Iscariot” may mean “man from Kerioth” or “man of the knife” (we like that one because it appeals to our simplistic sense of right and wrong, black and white – never gray).
John tells us Judas was deceitful, a thief and that he held – and helped himself to – the group’s petty cash. Matthew tells us Judas was outgoing and showed initiative – he sought out the priests to negotiate a price for his betrayal. Mark may be telling us the most by putting that betrayal immediately following the dinner at Simon the leper’s house where the woman anoints Jesus with nard (a most extravagant gift). Was it Judas who decried the waste of 300 denarii?
Despite these clues, Judas remains elusive (the Apostles and early Church Fathers did a thorough job of expunging Judas from the record). But if we augment this information with what we know about the disciples in general, we can speculate on a fuller picture of Judas.
As a group, the disciples (including Judas) have several things in common. They are all outsiders – fishermen, tax collectors, etc. Each has a sincere desire for a relationship with God, and each has been waiting for the promised Messiah. None has found what he has been looking for in the Temple system of worship. All see Jesus as the answer to their nation’s spiritual, social, political and geopolitical needs. Because they are individuals, however, we know that each has his own personal agenda that may include one, more or all of these characteristics in varying degrees.
While Judas and Jesus are alive, there is tension in the group. The disciples frequently fight amongst themselves about who is greatest. After Jesus and Judas are dead, this infighting stops. While Christ’s resurrection must be given full credit for transforming the disciples from a bunch of lower class yokels into Godly men of grace and power, it does make you wonder: is it a coincidence that they stop fighting now that Judas is dead?
There is nothing in the text about the disciples’ ministry activities to indicate that Judas did not fully participate in them, nor do we find anything critical of his attitude. Everything we know about Judas outside of the context of the group is told to us in hindsight: his secret thieving, his black remorse and consuming despair, his failure to find atonement under the Priests, his suicide.
So what happened? How did Judas go from being one of the guys to being Jesus’ nemesis – The Betrayer?
Human nature being what it is it probably wasn’t just one thing but a series of things that turned Judas against Jesus. But if we want a simpler answer, we can find it. We know Judas was stealing, so he either needed or coveted money. Either way, he would have resented those times when money failed to find its way into his pocket (as with the woman and the nard). We know he had relationships among the Jewish leadership since he knew who to approach to get the best deal for betraying his Lord. Do we do a disservice to him by drawing such a short, straight line from greed to greed? Is it that simple?
Sadly, it probably is. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for a little bit of pocket money may have been a small thing to Judas. He knew Jesus would be arrested, but he may have assumed he would be released from custody after Passover. No harm, no foul, and Judas would be miles away by then (his favorite prophet is Jonah). Regardless of his intentions, Judas clearly miscalculated because his small betrayal turned out to be a very big deal indeed – one which culminated in death for both him and Jesus. It’s an important lesson for us because we are just like him. We betray our Lord every day for the smallest satisfactions and comforts in order to have our own way over His Will. Unlike Judas, however, we have the benefit of grace and the opportunity to confess, repent and be forgiven.
We revile Judas. We hiss and boo and throw popcorn at the screen whenever he appears. We should pity him. He sought to use his relationship with Jesus to ingratiate himself with the Jews and make a little profit. Prophecy, however, used his betrayal to bring about the sacrificial death of the Lord of Life – and condemn Judas’ soul to hell. There but for the grace of God go all of us.
