Live 4 The LORD

Lessons from The Betrayal:

“The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed” (Mt 26: 24). These are serious words that throw light on the traitor’s tremendous responsibility. Judas had not followed the Master out of love, but out of selfishness, looking for material gain; greed had made him a thief: he began by pilfering small money, and then for small money betrayed him who was of no more interest to him, because he (Christ) was offering little hope of worldly gain.

Judas is sometimes depicted as a revolutionary who simply desired to bring about Jesus’ reign and whose plan went terribly wrong. Others portray him as a man who just wanted the authorities to accept Jesus’ mission, and thought that surely this would happen if only Jesus were given a fair hearing. However, Jesus’ judgment of Judas’ actions in today’s Gospel is less than sympathetic. To hear the Son of God say, “It would be better for that man if he had never been born” should cause us to shudder in abject fear.

We can only guess at Judas’ motivations. The most likely explanation is that he was disillusioned when Jesus did not measure up to the common Jewish conception of the Messiah as a revolutionary warrior who would overthrow Roman power and reestablish the Kingdom of David. Judas may have been a member of the Zealot Party or at least influenced by them in this regard. Zealots are seldom interested in hearing of their own need for personal healing and repentance, let alone the call to love their enemies. This is obviously only speculative; Judas’ motivations remain to a large degree shrouded in the mystery of iniquity.

Yes, Judas betrayed Jesus for money—a significant amount—but compared to his salvation and his soul, it was but “a mess of pottage for his birthright” (see Gen 25:34). What will it profit a man that he should gain the whole world and lose his soul? (Mk 8:36) Judas goes his way, freely. God did not force him to play this role. He only knew what Judas would do beforehand and based His plans on Judas’ free choice.

Christ’s sacrifice supposes a traitor: this had been foreseen in the Scriptures, which did not, however, determine the betrayal, but simply announced it because it was going to happen. For though everything has been preordained by God, who so loved the world as to give his Son for its salvation, this did not exempt from guilt the man who of his own will became a traitor.

Clearly, Jesus thought that Judas’ actions were inexcusable. In order to understand the events following the Last Supper, we too must comprehend the chilling evil behind Judas’ act. Judas knew Jesus, saw his miracles, received his love, embraced him, and ate at the same table. Nevertheless, he chose to welcome evil into his heart and to betray his beloved Master. Before his betrayal, Luke describes how “Satan entered into Judas …” (Lk 22:3). Like Judas, countless Christians who have known Jesus well, gone to church, and proclaimed their faith, still have fallen into truly disturbing evil acts. Judas’ shocking betrayal is an unsettling reminder to all Christians that we too can betray Jesus when we allow evil into our lives.

Judas gave into the spirit of the devil when he chose to believe that he knew better than Jesus. Judas did not do one thing that Peter did: trust in God’s mercy. Judas’ greatest mistake was his lack of faith in the inextinguishable mercy of God. In despair, Judas “departed and went off and hanged himself” (Mt 27:5).”

We are warned not only to avoid the influence of evil in our lives but also to take seriously the mercy of the Lord. Jesus lived, died, and rose to cancel our penalty for sin. However, the focal point of our Savior’s actions is not our sins but the abundant, overflowing mercy of God. Every time we fall into temptation, even the greatest of evils, God’s Merciful Life is ready to flow into our hearts, wash our souls clean, and give us a new start. Remember to continually accept God’s mercy every day. Judas’ greatest mistake was not to trust in this Mercy that was ready to forgive, to forget, and to help him to start anew. Let us not make this same mistake!