Betrayal by Judas and Preparation for the Passover (Mt. 26:14-25)

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.  17 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?” 18 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.”’” 19 The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.  20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” 23 He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 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.” 25 Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, immediately after Jesus was anointed with perfumed oil while dining at the house of Simon the Leper (Mt. 26:6-13), Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and made a deal to betray Jesus in exchange for money.  Matthew juxtaposes the unnamed woman’s love for Jesus with the betrayal by a disciple.  The chief priests agreed to pay Judas thirty pieces of silver.  Thirty pieces of silver, although a reasonable and customary amount for financial transactions at the time, was significant both culturally and symbolically.  It was equivalent to the price of a slave (Ex. 21:32) and was reminiscent of an Old Testament prophecy about betrayal (Zech. 11:12-13).  Jesus’ betrayal for thirty pieces of silver shows the contrast between the value of Jesus' life and the small price for which he was sold.  It highlights the depth of the betrayal and the magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice for humanity.  Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.  

Passover lasted eight days (Ex. 12:18).  The normal population of Jerusalem at that time was approximately 30,000 to 60,000 people.  During Passover, scholars have estimated that the population of Jerusalem increased to anywhere between 100,000 to 200,000 people because of pilgrims coming for the feast, so it was difficult to find a place to celebrate the feast.  Passover is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because for that week the Israelites did not eat leavened bread (Ex. 12:14-20).  Jesus instructed the disciples where to go into the city of Jerusalem to find a place for him to celebrate the Passover with them.  The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions and made the necessary preparations for the Passover meal.  There was a religious obligation for Jews to eat the Paschal Lamb in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover festival (Deut. 16:2-6).

Normally the Passover is celebrated at sundown with family so women and children would be present.  At the Last Supper, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his twelve disciples (Mt. 26:20; Mk. 14:17; Lk. 22:14).  They “reclined at table” refers to the posture adopted by people during meals in ancient times (Jn. 13:23).  The table would have been a low dining table with couches or cushions around it on three sides.  Guests would recline on their left side and support themselves with their left elbow while using their right hand to take food from the table.  During the meal, Jesus announced to the disciples that one of them would betray him and they all asked “Surely it is not I, Lord (v. 22)?” Jesus knew exactly who would betray him.  While the eleven addressed Jesus as Lord, Judas addressed him as Rabbi.  Jesus told them that the betrayer was one of the disciples who dipped his hand into the dish with him.  It was a Jewish cultural practice to share a common bowl during the meal.  Jesus said that the Son of Man goes willingly to his death as prophesied was part of God’s plan (Is. 53; Ps. 22), but his betrayer will face severe consequences.  

Almighty God, grant us the strength to remain faithful in times of temptation and help us to always choose righteousness over betrayal.  Shower us with your grace so that we may have no duplicity in our minds and no guile in our hearts.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.