.jpg)
What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?
Judas thought he was the one handing over Jesus to the authorities. But in fact Jesus was the one allowing himself to be handed over. In proof of which we see Judas unintentionally fulfilling the oracle of Zechariah, where the sheep traders set the value of the faithful shepherd at thirty pieces of silver when "they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver" (see Zechariah 11:12). Judas also fulfilled the type of the brothers of Joseph who sold him into slavery for a sum of silver (see Genesis 37:28). In short, God had planned for this all along, and Jesus was not caught unaware.
Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘
The Gospel texts leading up to the Passion are replete with evidence that those events were not a surprise or an accident to Jesus. The appointed time was drawing near and everything had been arranged just so for the climax of the life and mission of Jesus. Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray him, knew all along that his disciples would flee, knew that even Peter would perjure himself against him. He knew that the crowds that welcomed him would shout for his death mere days later. He had been offered earthly kingdoms by the devil. But he had come for something more. Had he come to seek human glory he would have gone to every possible length to avoid the eventualities he knew were coming. But he had come to seek the glory that comes from God and thus fulfilled the words of the servant in Isaiah, "I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame". As the letter to the Hebrews states, Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (see Hebrews 12:2). Everything was under control. Everything was going according to plan, even if, to all outside appearances, everything was falling apart.
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
Aside from Judas the other eleven knew themselves as flawed and fallible. Unlike them, Judas did not ask sincerely, out of genuine humble concern that he might fail as a disciple and in some unimaginable way betray his Lord. Judas had already agreed to definite plans of intentional betrayal of innocent blood. In some way he must have thought himself as wiser than Jesus to attempt such a thing. He must have either come to doubt that Jesus was who he claimed to be, or else he must have thought that he could provoke Jesus into revealing himself immediately. He probably thought that he had managed to conceal this even from Jesus himself. And it was thus the fact that Jesus clearly knew, and told him so, without doing anything else to circumvent his plan, that sent Judas spiraling out into the darkness. The fact was that he had not outwitted Jesus. He was able to do what he did because Jesus had allowed it all along. Yet, though Judas rejected Jesus, a crime because of which, it "would be better for that man if he had never been born", Jesus never rejected Judas. The fact that Jesus was there, looking on him with compassion, considering him with a brother, with sorrow in his eyes as he said, "You have said so", must have been an incredible shock to the practically and financially focused Judas. It must almost have shaken him enough to wake him up, to snap him out of it, and free of the diabolical influence to which he had succumbed. But by then it seemed that Judas had become convinced of the sunk-cost fallacy, that, with such effort invested, there was then no turning back.
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
When circumstances seem to be spiraling out of control let us listen to the words of Jesus who will remind us that none of this is unforeseen by him. It can all be made to serve his plan. We must remember that we don't actually know better than him, lest we form our own plans as Judas did, imagining them to be superior. It is chilling to know that an excessive focus on efficiency and results can eventually lead to such a place. The circumstances often will look bleak. But if we listen to Jesus he will subtly show us that providence is always at work. He will inspire us to get through even the worst darkness of Holy Week so that we too may arrive at the resurrection.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
No comments:
Post a Comment