I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 27-28

Matthew’s description of Judas’ actions after Jesus’ arrest shed a different light on Judas than John’s account.  I have heard several speakers examine Judas’ motives.  Matthew’s account leads us to conclude that Judas thought he had reasons other than pure greed for betraying Jesus.  Also, we need to compare Judas’ betrayal to Peter’s denial.  What do we know about Judas’ betrayal?  We know that he did so for thirty pieces of silver and, from today’s passage, that he did not expect Jesus to be executed.  Further we know that Judas was among the Twelve when they were sent out with the power to heal the sick and cast out demons.  This leads us to why I think it important for us to think about Judas’ motives.  He had experienced God’s power first hand.  While I am sure that the money played a role in Judas’ decision to betray Jesus, I am also sure that he justified his betrayal on some other basis.  Perhaps he thought that by betraying Jesus he could force Jesus to start “The Revolution” which would overthrow Rome and bring in God’s Kingdom (as Judas perceived it).  Or, perhaps Judas thought that Jesus was about to start a revolt against the Romans and wanted to keep that from happening by getting Him locked up until after the Passover (after all, the Jewish authorities did not have the authority to execute Him).  Whatever his motive, Judas removed the option of forgiveness by killing himself.  Whatever his motives, Judas’ betrayal reveals a loos of faith and his suicide reveals the deep depression which results from that loss of faith.