Irony of the Handing Over

“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?’”

Matthew 26:14-15

Judas was one of the Twelve chosen, hand-picked by the Lord to walk with Him, be with Him, and witness all the works He would do and hear all the words He would speak. Jesus offered unto Judas a friendship, an intimate relationship, but that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted something else, something more tangible.

In exchange for this friend and relationship, Judas settled for 30 pieces of silver. Three years of walking together and journeying together was worth only 30 pieces of silver. The nature of this transaction was much more than just buying something from the store. Judas had to return to Jesus, acting like an informant, waiting for the perfect time to hand him over to the chief priests. I can just imagine a parent having to hand their child over to Child Services or to an orphanage. How can Judas do such a thing? And to do so with a gesture of love and intimacy: a kiss.

What was going on inside the mind of Judas? What drove him to the point where he would betray Jesus? Perhaps he had long ago left Jesus in his heart, but just went along. Brothers and sisters, our spiritual lives can be the same thing too if we do not invest time in talking with and listening to Jesus, and being with Him. If we do not tend to this most sacred relationship of ours, we will slowly drift away from the Lord, and maybe even to the point of handing Him over in our falling into temptation and sin.

Instead of going to Jesus to talk things out, Judas goes to the chief priests. Just like the prodigal son who after squandering all the money given to him by his father seeks employment with foreigner tending the swine, Judas instead of going to Jesus, to the One who has called him, goes to those who are in opposition to Jesus and he sells his Lord. But, the Father uses even this horrendous act of betrayal to bring about great good. While Judas delivers Jesus into the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver, Jesus delivers us from our sins with His own precious blood. Judas’ act of deliverance led to death but Jesus’ act of deliverance led to life, life that will never end.

Falling into Sin

“After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.”

John 13:27a

What a chilling verse of Scripture, “Satan entered him.” Judas had planned to betray Our Lord. He went to the chief priests and asked what he might get if he were to hand Jesus over. Judas’ action was not one of those “on the spur of the moment,” last minute nervous decisions. He knew what he was doing — handing over his Teacher, friend, and Lord. And when approached by the Lord at the Last Supper, Judas remained silent, took the dipped morsel from Jesus’ hand, and left. This departure from Christ was the moment Satan entered him.

When we choose to do evil knowingly, we choose to leave Christ. And when we do so, we allow the enemy to influence our thoughts, actions, and even desires. That is what happens when we fall into sin. For Judas we are told that Satan entered him. For us, we might even say something similar happens to us — we listen to his promptings and walk away from God. We fall into temptation and we walk into near occasions of sin. However, unlike Judas who did not choose to return to Jesus, we can. We are still here on the earth, and we can still make amends, running back to the Lord and seeking His mercy and forgiveness.

Unlike the angels (good or bad), the effects of our decisions are not instantaneously definitive. We can look back, reflect, and choose to do otherwise. Even after an act has been committed we can still choose to reconcile and do penance. This is the gift given to us so that Satan might not enter into us. We will fall, and at times we may even choose to leave Christ. But we must always remember that Christ never leaves us, and He is right there when we choose to run back to Him. Let us fall not into sin, but rather fall in love with Christ so that it is God Himself, and not Satan, who enters into our entire being.

Seeing the Light

“I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”

Isaiah 42:6b-7

In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we find four “Suffering Servant” songs where this mysterious servant speaks and God speaks to him. God seemingly calls this servant for a special mission, one that when reading today seems strangely familiar. “Set you as a covenant of the people.” Jesus is the new and everlasting covenant, by whose blood we have been redeemed. Jesus Christ is this Suffering Servant.

Jesus is the Light of the World who has brought light into the darkness, and He desires to bring light into the dark and hidden parts of our lives so that we might not live in shame, but rather allow those parts to bring about great fruit. After Lazarus died, who was then in the darkness, Our Lord went to him and called him out of the tomb. Lazarus was called from death to life, from darkness into light. The closed eyes of Lazarus were now opened again. And by this miraculous resurrection, the closed and skeptical eyes of many were also opened. Many also came to believe — light was brought into their lives, and their darkness was no more. But coming to see and living in the light brings its own consequences: persecution.

Because Lazarus has been raised from the dead, giving witness and credence to Jesus’ power and ministry, the people began to journey to see him. Who wouldn’t want to see a man who had come back from the dead? This caused some commotion and the Jewish leaders were not happy about it. “And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him” (John 12:10-11). Although Lazarus was brought back to life, his life is now at stake. Those who have been raised and have been touched by the light will always be the object of those in darkness. Those who have turned away from sin will always be a target of interest for the enemy. What is evil is always attracted to the good because evil is really the lack of something — that which is good.

Hence, as Christians we will always be persecuted and marked by the enemy and by all those who still sit in the darkness. But we must not allow that to stop us from shining forth the light of Christ that is within us. We must continue to bring light into the darkness of our world. We must also continue to allow the Lord to shine His light into our minds and hearts. Light conquers darkness, good triumphs over evil, and life always wins over death. Yes, as followers of Christ we may always be at the edge of darkness, but thankfully, we have the Lord, who is our light and our salvation. Indeed we have nothing and no one to fear, not even sin or death.