Holy Week--Betrayal

Lent Day 37: Wednesday in Holy Week, March 31

Theme for the Week: The Passion of Christ according to Saint Luke

Passage for the Day: Luke 22:1-6

¹Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. ² The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. ³ Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; ⁴ he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. ⁵ They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

Reflection:

The Gospel of Luke sets up the time of Jesus’ death as being at the time of the Passover, one of the high, holy holidays of the Jewish calendar. The chief priests and scribes are described as looking for a way to put Jesus to death because they are afraid of the people. This is not the first time that Luke mentions this. Three chapters earlier, after describing Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the temple and his teaching of the people, Luke writes: “The chief priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him, but they did not find anything they could do because the people were spellbound by what they heard.” Now again, a few days later the leaders, again, want to kill him, but they are still afraid of the people.

We are not really certain why the chief priests are afraid of the people, but we can speculate. Great crowds of people would gather in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover, as faithful Jews came to make the required sacrifices in the temple. Perhaps the priests and leaders are afraid that Jesus will get these crowds of people all riled up and that the leaders will be the targets of their rage, or that the Roman ruling authorities will hold the leaders responsible for the out-of-control mob.

They find their way around the problem of how to get rid Jesus, when Judas steps into the picture. Satan, who, we heard in Luke Chapter 4, had departed from Jesus after the 40 days in the wilderness to await an opportune time, indeed finds this so-called opportune time with Judas. Satan enters into Judas, who then agrees to conspire with the chief priests as to how to betray Jesus.

What does Satan do when he enters into Jesus? What hold does Satan have on Judas? Is Judas tempted by the money offered by the priests or the power he holds over Jesus’ fate? Luke has set the scene for Jesus’ death: in Jerusalem, at the time of the Passover, and betrayed by one of his own disciples, Judas Iscariot. Imagine Jesus’ pain in knowing that one of his own is the trigger for his murder. The wheels are in motion, the inevitable must occur, Jesus must die.

Prayer Themes:

In this Holy Week, thank God for Jesus’ great sacrifice. Pray that I might be able to witness to Jesus death and resurrection. Pray that Satan might not enter into me, tempting me with offers of power and wealth. Pray for those in positions of authority that they might not abuse their power.