Last updated on October 31, 2024
I mentioned earlier that the religious leaders were nervous about arresting Jesus during the festival surrounding Passover. Now they’re two days away from the actual day (Matthew 26:1-2), and they know it can’t happen then. But they also know that this might be their best opportunity yet. They have continued to rally support to their cause. This now includes Caiphas, the high priest. And now something even better has happened.
Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, has come forward and offered, for a price, to lead Jesus right into their hands. What was the price? Thirty pieces of silver.
We don’t know much about Judas. He was invited by Jesus to “come and follow me” just as he had many others. And then he was invited into the inner core of 12. I imagine that he, like the other disciples, had very different ideas of what the Messiah would, and like the others, Jesus had not met many of those expectations, especially as he continued to talk about death.
Peter had been the most outspoken when talking about Jesus not measuring up to his expectations. But at some point he came to the conclusion that he was going to need to give up these expectations and surrender to Jesus’ plan. It seems that Judas was never able to do this.