“Then one of the twelve,
called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I deliver Him to you?”
And they counted out to him
thirty pieces of silver.
So from that time he sought
opportunity to betray Him.”
(Matthew 26:14 – 16)
This is ALL the information
That we are given about
The betrayal of Jesus by Judas
In Matthew’s account
But I have mentioned before
About paying attention to the detail
What can we deduce from
What is said here and from
What we know of Judas
Elsewhere in the Bible?
The verses here in Matthew
Start by saying: “Then one of”
Judas went to chief priests
Immediately after the woman
Poured the costly oil over the
Head of Jesus
We are left to assume that Judas
Was one of the Disciples that
Complained about this oil
Being wasted in this way
It is only when we read about this
Story in John 12:4 – 6 that we get
A better understanding:
“But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot,
Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said,
“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for
three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
This he said, not that he cared for the poor,
but because he was a thief,
and had the money box;
and he used to take what was put in it.”
(John 12:4 – 6)
Simply reading Matthew in isolation
Could lead us into potential error
When we study the Bible we must
Read it in context, mindful of the
Whole picture
So here in Matthew 26 Judas
Goes to see the chief priests
Immediately after the woman
Has lavishly poured the costly
Oil over the head of Jesus
“What are you willing to give me
if I deliver Him to you?”
(Matthew 26:15)
Money is what Judas is looking for
And as John 12 says, Judas looked
After the money box and he was
A thief…
NOW…
Judas was one of the twelve
And Judas would have healed the sick,
Cast out lepers, raised the dead…
Just like the other Disciples…
And yet Judas was concerned about
MONEY…
“For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil”
(1 Timothy 6:10)
Money of itself is NOT evil
But the LOVE of money is…
I don’t believe that this is the
Complete story about Judas
And his actions concerning Jesus
But we deal with the details as
We have them
We could ask the question:
“Why did Jesus put Judas
In charge of the money?”
For surely Jesus would have known
That this was an area of weakness
In Judas’ life…
John knew that Judas was a thief
So surely Jesus would have known too
We are not told but simply trust
The leading of the Holy Spirit
As we read the Bible and listen to
His voice…
Informed Speculation…