Devotional Thot

'Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, "How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?" And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for the right time and place to betray Jesus.'

What did Judas want? What was Judas’s motivation? He knew Jesus, spoke with him as one man speaks to another. Where Jesus went, Judas was welcome also. Judas heard the message, saw the miracles – Judas knew Jesus. What would motivate him to betray his friend?

The answer, I am afraid, does not appear to be profound – he wanted money. The priests who condemned Jesus to death were clinging to a religious worldview that they understood and had cherished for hundreds of years. The Romans who ordered his execution were protecting the stability of their empire; the soldiers who carried out the orders were men under authority. But Judas… Judas wanted money. I confess, it is not a desire that I can (even in abstract) understand. If it had been a misguided attempt to win favor; if he thought that he would be a hero to the Jews; if he were tired of living like a fox without a hole or a bird without a nest, any of these I could understand. Judas just wanted money.

I’ve been thinking a lot about humility lately. In the end, I think humility amounts to nothing more than having a genuine preference for God’s will; a lack of humility is something that I can understand. When, instead of choosing to follow God, I prefer my own will, then I am following in the footsteps of Judas, and the Romans, and the soldiers… When I choose to pursue my ambitions, satisfy my desires, ensure my own security; these are the things that would motivate me to betray my friend.