Matthew 26:14-16
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.
Historians tell us that thirty silver coins would have had a value of about a month’s wages in Judas’ day. Now that’s a decent chunk of change, but it’s not like winning the lottery.
One has to ask the question, “Why would Judas betray Jesus for such a mediocre sum?” It certainly wasn’t enough to make him rich.
I think an argument can be made that, while money was certainly part of Judas’ motivation to hand Jesus over, he was also motivated by something else. But what?
We know that the disciples were confused by Jesus’ talk of death. We know that Peter himself tried to get Jesus to stop talking about death (Matthew 16:22-23). We know that the crowds had clamored for Jesus to be made king of Israel (John 6:15). We know that when Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was fulfilling the words of the prophet Zechariah (9:9), “Behold, your king comes to you, humble and riding on a donkey.” We also know that when Jesus spoke about betrayal at the Last Supper, each of the twelve wondered if he could be talking about them (Matthew 26:22).
So I think it is possible that Judas, like many others, thought Jesus was destined to become the earthly King of Israel. I think Judas may have been convinced that Jesus was the one the people had been waiting for; the one who would finally deliver Israel from the hand of their Roman oppressors; the one who would restore Israel to her former glory. I think Judas could envision himself helping King Jesus run the show once Jesus took his rightful throne. Since Judas was “good with money” and handled the group’s finances, maybe he even thought of himself as the future, “Minister of the Treasury”, or some such important role.
So, while it might be a bit of a stretch, I think Judas may have thought he could play a key role in getting all this to happen – and make a little cash along the way. Perhaps Judas thought that he could facilitate the whole process by forcing Jesus to declare himself king by arranging for a “private interview” with the Sanhedrin. Perhaps Judas thought that by helping the religious leaders capture Jesus he would be putting Jesus in position to do something miraculous to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the next King of Israel.
I wonder how often I am guilty of trying to make Jesus what I want him to be, instead of allowing him to be who he is? How often do we spend our prayer trying to get Jesus to do things that we think he should do for us, instead of asking him what he wants to do in us and through us?
Now we can’t know what motivated Judas at the deepest level. Perhaps it was a grandiose scheme to be a player in making sure Jesus became king. Perhaps it really was just thirty pieces of silver.
But we can look deeply into our own hearts to see and confess the sometimes selfish and superficial motivations we carry within us.
Lord, forgive us for times when we think we know better than you. Forgive us for trying to make you into our own image. Forgive us for trying to force you to do our will, instead of surrendering to your will.
Forgive me, Lord.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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