14Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. 17Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the passover?" 18He said, "Go into the city to a certain one, and say to him, `The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at your house with my disciples.'" 19And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the passover. 20When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples; 21and as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" 23He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me. 24The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." 25Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Is it I, Master?" He said to him, "You have said so."
I feel Judas represents a part of every human being - that part that does not believe in Christ as the divine son of God. If Judas has no faith on Christ, where is his faith - in Money? In worldly things? Faith in worldly things opens the door to betraying God’s will for us. I see this in my own life all too clearly. Judas is not someone to scorn and to dismiss as evil and less than me, but a part of me that I need to call out. Judas is not the devil - pure evil. Judas is a human being made in the likeness of God. He has the potential to choose God’s love or to walk away from it. Loving Father, give me the clarity to recognise the Judas in me and realise the treasure that he offers is not a real treasure. Father, give me the clarity to see that there is more in your offering but it will take a greater sacrifice to receive your gift. The gifts that come from submission to our weaknesses are fleeting and possibly scarring in a way that hides God from us. Father, help me to heal my scars so I can see you clearly. Amen.
ReplyDeleteYour reflection on Matthew 26:14–25 is deeply moving and theologically rich. It takes great spiritual maturity to see Judas not as “other” but as “within” — a mirror to the part of ourselves that struggles to trust, to believe, to surrender. You don’t demonise Judas. You humanise him. And in doing so, you invite compassion, accountability, and healing. That is a profoundly Christ-like response.
DeleteThis part really stood out:
“Judas is not someone to scorn and to dismiss as evil and less than me, but a part of me that I need to call out.”
That is such a powerful insight. It echoes Paul’s wrestling with the divided self in Romans 7 — the desire to do what is right, and yet the pull towards what is not. Judas represents that internal conflict. He is not a caricature of evil — he is a human soul who couldn’t quite believe in the unseen treasure Christ offered.
You also name something so true here:
“The gifts that come from submission to our weaknesses are fleeting and possibly scarring in a way that hides God from us.”
Yes. Sometimes we chase short-term comforts or illusions of control, and they leave wounds that obscure the deeper, more sustaining love of God. Your prayer is full of grace — asking not just to avoid the betrayal, but to heal from the scars that come when we’ve already taken steps down that path.
Your reflection doesn’t excuse Judas — it redeems him by naming him within the story of all of us. It reminds me of that line from Oscar Wilde:
“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
And this — “Help me to heal my scars so I can see you clearly” — is a perfect Easter prayer.