Wednesday during Holy Week, April 13, 2022

Matthew 26, 14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.  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.”

A common question people ask at this time of year when the Passion narratives are read at Mass concerns Judas.  They hear the Lord say about his betrayer, “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”, and they wonder if Judas was predestined to hand Jesus over to his enemies.  But Judas acted freely of his own accord.  The prophecies regarding him do not cause him to act as he would; they only foresee the actions he would perform.  Any doubts about this are set aside when we consider the number of opportunities the Lord gave Judas to change his mind, even up to the last possible moment.  Here, the Lord declares at the dinner that someone will betray him.  Judas, hearing this, should have realized that the Lord somehow knew of his plans and that it would be better for him to call off his plan for now or to reconsider whether he really wanted to do this.  It is amazing that he does not leave the dinner table at this point because of the danger that Jesus would alert the other Apostles about him.  He stays, evidently thinking it safer to try and bluff his way through.  Jesus gives him another chance to change his mind when he directly tells Judas that he knows he is his betrayer: “You have said so.”  The other Gospels provide further examples of the chances Jesus gave Judas.  Even in the Garden when Judas leads the guards to him, Jesus says to him, “Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”  Judas could have turned back to the guards and told them that he was mistaken, Jesus was not among this group of men.  Finally, even after the betrayal when Judas came somewhat to his senses, he could have gone to the Lord and asked his forgiveness.  He could have interrupted the hearing before Caiphas and Annas and testified to the Lord’s innocence.  He does neither.  St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Commentary on the St. Matthew’s Gospel, states that Judas had seven opportunities on Holy Thursday to change his mind but even in the face of potential exposure and mortal danger, Judas betrayed the Lord.  

No one is forced to sin, to betray Jesus by committing a mortal sin.  In times of temptation, we always have the ability to say no and to go on serving the Lord.  We ourselves receive many chances to avoid each sin we commit, and throughout our lives we have so much time in which we could repent.