Sometimes, we trust too much. Jesus told us to “be as cunning as snakes”. We should not believe everything we hear or read. Professional liars and exaggerators gain skill in manipulating us with cunning deceptions. Jesus identifies the steps of betrayal. Every Judas makes the same steps in betraying.
Step One: Judas’s betraying Christ began with the devil entering Judas. That is the beginning of every sin since Eve.
Step Two: Today’s Reading describes how the betrayer negotiates. The first negotiation is the unmentioned conversation the betrayer has with himself, or with the devil/demon who entered him. Judas knew that if he got enough to buy a slave, he’d be on his way into the middle and, even, upper classes. “I need enough to buy a slave!”, he said, first to himself, much as a counterpart today might tell himself, “I will sell my employer’s formula, but I need enough to buy my own seat on the stock exchange.”
When the rabbis offered Judas 30 pieces of silver, there was no haggling. The rabbis knew that “the price of a slave” would seal the deal. This is a valuable lesson. A big enough offer eliminated prolonged bargaining. We can assume they’d done this, before. When a first offer is as much as we wanted, we know there may be a problem down the road.
Step Three of a promised betrayal is the actual betraying. It is often preceded by pretensions that no betrayal is being contemplated.
Jesus gives us profound advice: the betrayer will pretend not to be a betrayer, and will subtly identify himself when treasonous activities are mentioned.
The betrayer says whatever the innocent say when the subject arises. In this case, the words were “Surely, it is not I.” When Judas said those words, Jesus knew he was lying. So, we want to keep our minds alert when people are saying things they may not mean. We should ask The Holy Spirit for guidance when listening to anyone providing advice.
So, let’s look at the Reading and remember: Jesus identifies the steps of betrayal.
Mat 24:14-25
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?” (STEP TWO)
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. (STEP THREE)On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“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 disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to Him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with Me
is the one who will betray Me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of Him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
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