THE BETRAYAL AND DESERTION
One of the darkest chapters in the history of our Saviour’s life is this now before us. Here we see him betrayed into the hands of his enemies by one of his disciples and deserted by all the rest.
In studying this subject, we may look at the history of the betrayal and desertion, and then consider some of the lessons that it teaches.
The man who committed this awful crime was Judas Iscariot. He was one of the twelve whom Jesus chose, in the early part of his ministry, to be with him, all the time, to see all the mighty works that he did, and to hear all that he said in private as well as in public. He is called Judas Iscariot, to distinguish him from another of the disciples of the same name, viz., Judas, the brother of James. Different explanations have been given of the meaning of this name Iscariot. The most likely is, that it was used to denote the place of his birth. If this be so, then it was written at first, Judas-Ish-Kerioth—which means a man of Kerioth. And then this would show us that he belonged to a town in the southern part of Judah, called Kerioth.
We know nothing about Judas before we hear him spoken of as one of the twelve apostles. In the different lists of the names of the apostles, he is always mentioned last, because of the dreadful sin which he finally committed. When his name is mentioned he is generally spoken of as “the traitor”—or as the man “which also betrayed him.” Jesus knew, of course, from the beginning, what kind of a man Judas was, and what he would do in the end. But, we have no reason to suppose that Judas himself had any idea of committing this horrible crime when he first became an apostle; or that the other apostles ever had the least suspicion of him. There can be no doubt that he took part with the other apostles when Jesus sent them before his face to “preach the gospel of the kingdom,” and to perform “many mighty works.” Yes, Judas, who afterwards betrayed his Master, preached the gospel and performed miracles in the name of Jesus. His fellow-disciples, so far from suspecting any harm of him, made him the treasurer of their little company, and let him “have the bag” and manage their money affairs. And this, may have been the very thing that ruined him.
The first time that we see anything wrong in Judas is at the supper given to our Lord at Bethany. We read about this in St. John 12: 1-9. On this occasion, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, brought a very precious box of ointment, and anointed the feet of Jesus with it. Judas thought this ointment was wasted, and asked why it had not been sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor. This would be about forty-five or fifty dollars of our money. It is added—“This he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put therein.” None of his disciples suspected Judas of being a thief at this time. These words were added, long after the death of Judas, when his true character was well known.
But, when Jesus rebuked Judas for finding fault with Mary, and praised her highly for what she had done, he was greatly offended. And then, it seems, he first made up his mind to do that terrible deed which has left so deep and dreadful a stain upon his memory. For we read—St. Matt. xxvi: 14-16—“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.” The paltry sum for which Judas agreed to betray his Master was about fifteen dollars of our money—the price of a common slave.
Very soon after this Jesus met his disciples in that upper chamber of Jerusalem, to eat the Passover together for the last time. And Judas came with them. How could the wretched man venture into the presence of Jesus, when he had already agreed to betray him?
But Jesus knew all about it. How startled Judas must have been when he heard Jesus say before them all—“One of you shall betray me.” It is probable that Jesus said this to drive Judas out from his presence, for it must have been very painful to him to have him there. And, after Jesus had given the sop to Judas, to show by this that he knew who the traitor was, we read that—“Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said unto him, That thou doest do quickly.” Then he “went immediately out;” and hastened to the chief priests to make arrangements for delivering Jesus unto them.
It is clear, I think, from this that Judas was not present while Jesus was instituting the Lord’s Supper. It must have been a wonderful relief to Jesus when Judas left their little company. And we are not surprised to find it written—“When he was gone out Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him,” St. John xiii: 31. Then followed the Lord’s Supper; and the glorious things spoken of in the 14th, 15th, and 16th chapters of St. John, and the great prayer in the 17th chapter. After this came the agony in the garden of Gethsemane.