Luke 22:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Though You beheld this, You endured the madness of those who acted unlawfully. Praise be to Your patience, O gracious Lord! Sold for so little—a price that allowed me, who was ensnared by sin, to be redeemed. I sing praises to Your humanity!

Christians, notice: 1) The severe evil of greed for money. A soul possessed by such avarice will stop at nothing to gain a vile profit. Judas was unafraid to betray Jesus, his Lord and Master, despite witnessing His glorious and miraculous works. Greed clouded his judgment. The origin of his unholy act was his love for silver. Beware, O Christian, of your own greed, for it can lead you into various forms of evil. 2) The actions of Judas echo in the hearts of the unjust leaders who sacrifice countless lives for money, doing great harm to their homeland. Corrupt judges resemble Judas when they sell truth for profit, rendering the innocent guilty and calling the guilty justified. False witnesses, too, follow his example, offering bribes for deceptive testimony. Others may also compromise the truth for material gain, profiting from their lies. 3) Those who slander their shepherds and speak ill of them, including children, servants, students, and others who defame their parents or mentors, walk the path of Judas. Such individuals betray their benefactors just as Judas betrayed his Master. Scripture warns us: “Whoever repays good with evil, evil will not depart from his house” (Proverbs 17:13). Be cautious, Christian, not to mimic the traitor Judas, lest you suffer his fate. 4) Judas, while betraying his Lord into the hands of the wicked, approached Him, greeting, “Hail, Rabbi!” yet his heart was filled with betrayal, marked by flattery. He signaled his betrayal, saying, “The one I kiss is the One; seize Him.” Immediately, he approached Jesus, exclaiming, “Rejoice, Rabbi,” as he kissed Him (Matthew 26:48-49). Oh, the humility of Jesus, who endured such treachery! Oh, the profane tongue of the traitor, unafraid to approach the Holy One. Such deceit persists among Christians who flatter others insincerely, speaking with sweetness while harboring bitterness. Beware, Christian, of speaking deceitfully to your neighbor, for you risk becoming a child of perdition like Judas. God examines the hearts and intentions of all (Psalm 7:10) and observes how you treat your neighbor, reflecting your true thoughts and feelings. 5) We observe how Satan first leads an individual into one sin, then into another, and subsequently into a cycle of sin. He instilled in Judas a love for money, which birthed his betrayal of the Lord, eventually plunging him into despair. He operates similarly today. Before tempting an individual towards idleness, he introduces numerous evil thoughts, drawing one into various sins. First, he plants avarice within, guiding them toward stealing, cheating, violence, deceit, murder, and other grave sins. The root of all these evils is covetousness (1 Tim. 6:10). This pride leads individuals to disdain and mistreat their neighbors. Consider this, Christian: Beware of one sin, for it can lead you to many others and into the depths of wickedness. 6) Judas, the betrayer, fell into despair and took his own life (Matthew 27:5). He recognized the magnitude of his sin but failed to understand the depth of God’s mercy. Many today mirror Judas, acknowledging their numerous sins but blinded to God’s abundant grace, and thus succumb to despair. Christian, the devil’s deadliest weapon is despair. He misrepresents God as merciful before sin but just after it—a clever deception. You must do the opposite: consider God's justice before sinning to avoid transgression, but when you fall, reflect on His immense mercy to prevent succumbing to despair. Regardless of how many or how grievous your sins are, God’s mercy far exceeds them. Repent and safeguard against sinning henceforth to avoid encountering God’s justice. 7) The anguish of an evil conscience is profound and burdensome. Judas could not endure his guilty conscience and chose death over its torment. His troubled conscience drove him to despair. Take heed, Christian, to avoid distressing your conscience, lest you suffer as Judas did. Guard your conscience fiercely, for nothing is worse than a guilty conscience. Avoid harming it through sin; rather choose to die than act against your conscience, for this is what your Christian duty requires of you. 8) If the torment of an evil conscience can lead one to prefer death over life in this world, imagine how excruciating it will be in the age to come for the condemned, when all their sins and God’s wrath will be laid bare before them! They will yearn for death yet be unable to escape it. This is the second death, the eternal separation (Rev. 20:6-14).

Notice how little the Jewish people esteemed Him who had conferred upon them so much goodness. The Evangelist Matthew references the amount the Jews placed upon Christ Jesus, echoing the words of the Prophet Zechariah. In the prophetic text, the Lord laments, "And they have set My price at thirty pieces of silver" (Zechariah 11:12). Thus, the Jewish people determined the price for the Messiah, the Lord Himself. This reflects how the Saviour of the world is regarded by humanity, in accordance with prophetic revelation.

Surely the Lord recognized in him the potential to be an apostle; otherwise, He would not have permitted him to share such close fellowship with Him, nor treated him in the same manner as the other apostles. This does not rule out the possibility that Judas possessed both commendable and flawed traits, and the Lord saw the potential for good alongside the presence of evil within him. The internal struggle between these opposing forces had yet to reach a conclusion, and there was hope that virtue would triumph over vice.

What then was the predominant sinful inclination in Judas that led to his betrayal? When searching for historical clues to answer this, it is natural to first consider his love of money; the Evangelist John notes that Judas handled the moneybag containing the shared resources of the Lord's disciples, and he was untrustworthy in his duties, pilfering from it for his own benefit. This aligns with the testimony of the first three Evangelists, who attest that Judas conspired to betray his Master to the Sanhedrin for a predetermined sum. From this, one might conclude that avarice had consumed him to the point where he would commit such a heinous act to fulfill his greed. However, it is challenging to accept this conclusion. If Judas's selfishness was so overpowering, it seems improbable that the Lord would have welcomed him among His group. Given His profound understanding of every person's heart and His ability to utilize each disciple for their greatest potential, how could He have appointed him as the keeper of the treasury? Additionally, if Judas acted solely out of greed, it raises questions as to why he would settle for a relatively paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver. One could argue that the Sanhedrin, aiming to seize Jesus before Passover, would likely have offered a higher amount if Judas had requested it. Perhaps the Sanhedrin lacked the resources or confidence to offer a greater price, or they anticipated that Jesus would not seek to escape capture, relying instead on His divine authority.

Regardless, it is clear that the small amount could not have been the sole incentive for Judas's actions. Whether the sum was insignificant or substantial, it must be assumed that a man who had shared such intimacy with his Master, who had at least recognized Him as the Messiah for a period, experienced a significant shift in his relationship with Him. This suggests that the lust for wealth was not the primary driving force behind the betrayal. Did Judas truly foresee the consequences of his actions? His tragic end and the despair he displayed upon witnessing Jesus condemned indicate that he did not anticipate such a fate. One may assume that he intended to accelerate the situation: by placing Jesus in a precarious position, he hoped to compel Him to assert His role as Messiah-King at once or to manifest His divine power to overcome all obstacles. When the circumstances diverged sharply from his expectations, Judas became overwhelmed with despair upon seeing the One to whom he had once been devoted condemned. Such actions cannot be seen as anything other than criminal. The ends do not justify immoral means, nor should the workings of God be treated lightly in this way.

What should we make of this conjecture? If Judas harbored such misguided intentions, even if they were unlawful, it seems unlikely that the Lord would permit him to be led astray to the point of oblivion. Furthermore, allowing for this interpretation, it is inconceivable that, knowing Judas's intentions to leave the supper, the Lord would have spoken to him in a manner that appeared to endorse his actions. It is reasonable to conclude that Judas approached the Lord, similar to the other apostles, with earthly aspirations and carnal hopes. However, his disillusionment with these hopes soon set in, leaving him indifferent to the cause he had once fervently embraced. A year before the Lord’s crucifixion, during a well-known discussion in the synagogue at Capernaum, when many had turned away from Jesus, the Lord mentioned that there was a devil among them, referring to Judas. Of course, Peter was similarly reprimanded: “Get thee behind me, Satan; you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23). Yet, Peter's heart was easily swayed toward repentance. In contrast, Judas’s heart was hardened. Detached from the fellowship of Jesus and bound only by material interests, Judas had long ceased to be a true disciple, merely awaiting the opportunity to abandon Him. The Lord tolerated Judas's presence, intending to influence his soul and possibly foreseeing the fate intertwined with his actions (Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray Him, John 6:64).

Now we must consider the final events of the Lord’s ministry. As the raising of Lazarus drew public attention, the Sanhedrin’s plot to eliminate Jesus solidified. They were still deliberating on how to carry out their plan, wanting to tailor their approach to the circumstances. At that point, it was uncertain whether Jesus would come to Jerusalem. However, contrary to the Sanhedrin’s expectations, Jesus not only entered Jerusalem publicly amidst threats to His life but did so with unprecedented majesty. The ruling Pharisees began to regret allowing the situation to escalate: “Look, the Pharisees said amongst themselves, all your meetings are in vain, and all the people are following Him. What shall we do now?” (John 12:19). They began devising a clever scheme to seize Jesus and eliminate Him (Matthew 26:4); it is unclear whether this involved the efforts of a concealed traitor, of which there were many at the time, or if they had already formulated a strategy to apprehend Him surreptitiously and subject Him to a disgraceful death under the guise of legality. However, it was already determined that this would not occur during the feast, but either before or after it, with the latter being preferred by all. It was then that Judas Iscariot, one of the Lord's disciples, offered his aid to them (Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6). They settled on a price with him, and he agreed to betray his Teacher and Lord.

What a stark contrast there was between good and evil, light and darkness! The holy Church sings of this sorrowful moment: "At that time, while the sinner offered the precious myrrh, the disciple conspired with the wicked; that one delighted in pouring out costly myrrh, while this one hurried to sell the Priceless One; that one acknowledged the Lord, whereas this one distanced himself from the Lord; that one was liberated, while this one became enslaved to the adversary." After abandoning the holy gathering in Bethany, Judas, having severed his spiritual ties, retreated to the sinister realm where the original enemy of God had long plotted. He asked the chief priests and leaders, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” This proposal quickly alleviated the Sanhedrin’s troubles in achieving their sinister goal. The closest disciple of Jesus, privy to His whereabouts and activities, could facilitate their plans to apprehend the despised Nazarene discreetly, away from the public eye. By capturing Him and promptly transferring Him to the Roman governor, they absolved themselves of any repercussions should the populace learn of their actions. The sacred Evangelists Mark and Luke clearly state that the chief priests and rulers rejoiced upon hearing Judas' offer, eagerly anticipating that the demise of the Nazarene would occur as they wished, with faithfulness and security. They readily agreed to compensate Judas with money, although they might have misled him regarding the amount, presenting him with thirty pieces of silver (a silver shekel, valued during Christ’s time at approximately 90 kopecks, meaning 30 shekels could be equated to about 30 roubles). This amount was the customary price for a slave, which according to Mosaic Law (Exodus 21:32), the master received in cases of a loss. By setting this price, possibly in disdain for the one being valued or due to the avarice of the traitor, who was easily satisfied with little, did Christ’s enemies think they were executing an ancient prophecy? The prophet Zechariah foretold, “They have valued My wages at thirty pieces of silver—a princely sum at which they have appraised Me! I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the treasury of the Lord for the potter’s field” (Zechariah 11:12, 13). After finalizing the price, the chief priests and the betrayer were unable to specify either the timing or method of the betrayal. Judas vowed to seize the first opportune moment to secretly hand over the Master, avoiding public scrutiny that might cause unrest among His fervent admirers. The ungrateful disciple, blinded by his lust for silver, failed to anticipate the dire consequences of his betrayal, not comprehending that he was condemning the innocent blood of his Master (Matthew 27:4), for which he would ultimately pay with his life and endure eternal sorrow (26:24). However, the pivotal action was taken, the unjust payment accepted, and the traitor was inexorably drawn deeper into malevolence, urged on by the spirit of darkness and his own wicked desires, seeking thereafter the perfect moment to betray the Lord.