What could motivate any of us to betray someone close to us? Some of us have been betrayed in ways we rarely talk about, yet try to answer that question. No act of dishonor is a one time spontaneous thought. It would seem that big decisions are built on many smaller decisions of deception. Perhaps Judas had made several decisions regarding the disciples’ money purse. We don’t know for sure, but he may have had a selfish ‘what’s in it this for me’ attitude. How can we prevent ourselves from sliding down a slippery slope of wrong turns? I think of Jesus asking Peter three times, “Do you love me, Peter?” How humbling.
“The Bible does not spin the flaws and weaknesses of its heroes. Moses was a murderer. Hosea’s wife was a prostitute. Peter rebuked God! Noah got drunk. Jonah was a racist. Jacob was a liar. John Mark deserted Paul. Elijah burned out. Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal. Thomas doubted. Moses had a temper. Timothy had ulcers. And all these people send the same message: that every human being on earth, regardless of their gifts and strengths, is weak, vulnerable, and dependent on God and others.” - Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash a Revolution in Your Life In Christ
“The motive behind Judas’s betrayal is not addressed by the gospel writer. It is left to speculation. Was it money or disillusionment and anger or an attempt to force Jesus’s hand? Whatever the motive, his willingness to betray Jesus stands in sharp contrast to the woman’s love expressed in anointing Jesus. In these two stories, we see the contrast between the servant ways of the kingdom and the hierarchal, power-over ways of the world produced by the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford
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