Sin Is Betraying Jesus

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟎: 𝟒-𝟗𝐚

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟗: 𝟖-𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟐, 𝟑𝟏, 𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟒 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟐𝟔:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟓

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟏) 

        Was there a time when you felt betrayed by someone close to you, a friend  whom you trusted perhaps. Or by someone in your family whom you loved. Or even those in the workplace, one of your co-workers or in school by one of your classmates who is particularly close to you.

        How did you feel? This happened to me both ways. I felt betrayed when my former business partners cheated me in one of our transactions and, in the same way I also betrayed a very dear friend who trusted me with her life.

        Oftentimes we look at betrayal as something that is just part of our life. It happens and most of the time we get over it. We move on especially when forgiveness flows. But is betrayal something that is as simple as an error in judgment?

        We may tend to look at betrayal as just a part of a tear in our relationship with others but if you reflect deeply on what betrayal really is you will be astounded to find that betrayal is something deeper that emanates from what fills our souls that affects our decision-making spirit.

        We tend to simplify betrayal but it is actually a form of sin with grave consequences as it causes frayed relationships, anger, disillusionment, depression, hatred and at times a complex and painful psychological injury we know as betrayal trauma.

        The betrayal of Jesus by one of his trusted disciples – Judas Iscariot – has become the subject of many debates and numerous assumptions have been made as to why Judas did it. And to this day, no one can exactly say why Judas betrayed Jesus, and it would probably remain as the world’s greatest secret.

         For one, this act of betrayal can only be explained by Judas himself but whatever the reason was he carried it with him to his grave. Another reason why it will remain thus is because no one among the 11 remaining Apostles talked about it. Even Jesus upon his Resurrection never raised the issue with his disciples.

         While the betrayal was recorded by all four Gospel writers (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟔:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟓; 𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟕-𝟐𝟏; 𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟐:𝟑-𝟔; 𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟏-𝟑𝟎) the aftermath was only recorded by Matthew who wrote: “𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟕:𝟑-𝟒)        

        Perhaps the Apostles thought it was no longer necessary to even discuss it among them. It was also possible they were embarrassed that Jesus was betrayed by one of the 12 Apostles who comprise his inner core of disciples.

         From among the numerous assumptions related to the act of betrayal the most plausible that could be nearer to the truth was the view that it was not the intention of Judas to see Jesus die on the cross. The fact that he was seized with remorse (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟕:𝟑) adds weight to this perception.

        Some scholars also hold the view that if Judas really intended to see Jesus die, he could have sold him for a much higher price. As it was, the thirty pieces was not much even in those days and the fact that he returned it to the chief priests only shows that his motive was not money.

         The general sentiment to which we tend to agree was that Judas must have felt that Jesus was proceeding too slowly and not acting aggressively enough in setting up his messianic kingdom. Judas may have thought that his arrest would compel Jesus to act in accordance with the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah that God promised and who would save the people of Israel from bondage. The undoing of Judas was that he became impatient and refused to accept Jesus as he was.

         Origen, a 3rd century bible scholar and one of the Early Church Fathers said: “𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘴’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.” [𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵 78.]

        And in order for us to appreciate the beauty of this event when Jesus ate the Passover meal with his 12 Apostles, we need to harness our creative minds and look beneath the Gospel reading itself. Jesus knew what would befall him and as he ate the Passover meal with his Apostles, he told them: “𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟏)        

        Imagine the surprise of the Apostles who reacted in unison: “𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐈, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝?” (𝐯.𝟐𝟐) and Jesus gave a clue as to who will betray him when he said: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟑)        

        But John’s account, I believe, captures the mood and atmosphere at that very moment when Jesus said: “𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟔) Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟕).

         Since not everything that Jesus did was written (𝐉𝐧 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟓) let us try to explore this moving event. As Jesus knew that his earthly ministry was coming to an end, it was probable that Jesus and Judas were in a time capsule by themselves with the other Apostles unaware of what was with Jesus and Judas.

         Being the God that he is, Jesus could have stopped this act of betrayal if he wanted to but he did not. What Jesus did was he tried to reach out to Judas not just by giving him the piece of bread but also by saying that he knew there was one among the 12 who will betray him. This would have been enough to stop Judas from his plan.

         And for the Master to break bread and give it to Judas was an expression of his great love for Judas. This act was a last-minute appeal of Jesus for Judas to abort his plan but this was how far God will go as he also respects the free will of man. The rest is history as they say and we all know that Judas went to the Sanhedrin and betrayed Jesus.

         What this Gospel passage is telling us is that the circumstances that moved Judas to betray Jesus are still present today. And Paul saw its influence on the people of Galatia – sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, and orgies (𝐆𝐚𝐥 𝟓:𝟐𝟐). 

         Today, we can add the proposed bill on abortion and divorce by the two houses of the Philippine Congress as an act of betrayal in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. And now the same Judases in Congress are now floating proposals that they will also be filing bills aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage. Add to these the sin of avarice, greed, disobedience and the insatiable appetite to accumulate wealth by any other means that permeate in our society today highlighted by the now infamous “maleta” scandal. 

          When we refuse to accept Jesus, it is when we are at our weakest and like Judas this is when Satan influences our will that will lead us to commit these sins that St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians.

          As we journey with Jesus through this Holy Week, let us be aware that we also are guilty of betraying God whenever we sin. The Good News is that God’s compassion and forgiveness are readily available to those who will repent of their sins. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 1, 2026)