Thirty Pieces of Silver

This is Easter Weekend. It has been a very good week, starting with Palm Sunday, a very somber Maundy Thursday service, and culminating today with a great Easter service. For some reason, Judas and the role he played in the Easter story have been on my mind since Maundy Thursday. Why did he betray Christ? We have the luxury of looking back on historical events through the lense of time. Events that confused or perplexed the participants usually come into focus as we see the bigger picture. This question is different. This is an attempt to articulate where my thoughts have gone with this question.


The idea of Messiah to a first century Jew was someone who would lead the Jewish people to greatness. Israel had been a strong and powerful nation under great kings like Saul, David and Solomon. Yet for so many generations they had suffered under the seige of the Babylonians, Assyrians and the Romans. The Messiah was to be someone who would make Israel great again. We know from John 1 that the disciples recognized Jesus as Messiah. No doubt they had ideas about their future and how it would unfold as disciples of Christ. He would lead them to greatness, and they would be leaders in the new kingdom. We see examples in Mark 10 and Luke 9 where the disciples are dreaming of the future and jockeying for position in the coming kingdom. Mark 10 mentions James and John having the discussion, Luke 9 refers to “the disicples” as having the argument about who would be the greatest. The disciples spend time with Jesus, witnessing the miracles and listening to his teachings, seeing more and more people join the group of followers. They know Jesus is the Messiah and they all have visions of what the future will hold.

Jesus, however, isn’t talking like the Messiah they envisioned. He is talking about persecution, suffering and death. He plainly told them what would happen at the hand of the elders and chief priests, but they either didn’t understand or they refused to believe it. In Matthew 16 Peter even tells Jesus that such things will never happen to him. Jesus scolds him and tells him that he is thinking of the things of man, and not the things of God. The idea of a suffering Messiah does not exist in their realm of thinking.

Then comes the entry into Jerusalem before Passover. Jesus tells two of the disciples to go into the village to get a young colt, referring to a donkey. I never understood the significance of this until a couple of years ago. Horses weren’t very common during this time. Only military leaders and rulers or the rich really had horses. If a leader rode into town on a horse, it meant that they were a conquering ruler with militaristic or nationalist ideas. If they rode a donkey, it indicated a peaceful mission. Horses were for the privileged and led leaders into battle. Donkeys were common work animals of the people.

I think Judas began to grow impatient. Jesus had articulated his ideas about his suffering and his death. Judas had a different idea. I think he realized that Jesus had a following, and that the people were looking for a leader to start the revolt and cast out the Romans. Perhaps getting arrested was the nudge that Jesus needed to get things started. Surely he would resist, he was innocent. Surely this popular leader being arrested would be enough to get the people fired up and start the fireworks!

I won’t even try to attempt to explore what happened to Judas. We know that he met a gruesome end. Matthew 27 states that he tried to return the money and eventually hanged himself. In Acts 1 Luke writes that Judas bought a field and threw himself over a cliff. Consumed with guilt, he couldn’t live with himself.

If the betrayal was an attempt to start a revolt, Judas was guilty of trying to impose his ideas and desires instead of accepting God’s will for what a Messiah should be. Looking at it in those terms is a bit uncomfortable for me, I know that I am guilty of the same thing. Like the disciples mentioned in Luke 9 and Mark 10, and like Judas, I have my own ideas of how things should unfold. Sometimes I am guilty of trying to give things a nudge by setting events into motion instead of trusting God to take care of things. Every time I choose to go to “Tarshish instead of Nineveh”, every time that I choose to worship a “golden calf”, every time I deny Christ, I am choosing to impose my will instead of accepting God’s will.

God’s will is rarely what we expect. It is humility instead of power and wealth. It is mercy instead of condemnation and judgement. It is love instead of hatred and bitterness.

We don’t understand how a Messiah could be carpenter’s son instead of a preist or a ruler’s child. We don’t understand choosing to work through prostitutes, fishermen, and sinners. We don’t understand a suffering Messiah instead of a conquering hero. As human beings, we don’t understand how sin and death can be overcome through the resurrection.

As spiritual beings we believe in the power of the risen Lord and the transformative power of God’s love. Easter shows us how grace and love trump sin and death. My prayer is that I will trust God and that I will be obedient to His will. I don’t want to sell out for thirty pieces of silver!