Chapter 19—Judas
The Jewish rulers had been anxious to get Jesus into their power,
but for fear of raising a tumult among the people they had not dared to
take Him openly. So they had sought some one who would secretly
betray Him, and had found in Judas, one of the twelve disciples, the
man who would do this base act.
Judas had naturally a strong love for money, but he had not always
been wicked and corrupt enough to do such a deed as this. He had
fostered the evil spirit of avarice until it had become the ruling motive
of his life, and he could now sell his Lord for thirty pieces of silver
(about $17.00), the price of a slave. (
Exodus 21:28-32
.) He could now
betray the Saviour with a kiss in Gethsemane.
But he followed every step of the Son of God, as He went from the
garden to the trial before the Jewish rulers. He had no thought that the
Saviour would allow the Jews to kill Him, as they had threatened to
do.
At every moment he expected to see Him released and protected by
divine power, as had been done in the past. But as the hours went by,
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and Jesus quietly submitted to all the indignities that were heaped upon
Him, a terrible fear came to the traitor, that he had indeed betrayed his
Master to His death.
As the trial drew to a close, Judas could endure the torture of his
guilty conscience no longer. All at once there rang through the hall a
hoarse voice, which sent a thrill of terror to the hearts of all present:
“He is innocent. Spare Him, O Caiaphas. He has done nothing
worthy of death!”
The tall form of Judas was seen pressing through the startled crowd.
His face was pale and haggard, and large drops of sweat stood on his
forehead. Rushing to the throne of judgment, he threw down before
the high priest the pieces of silver that had been the price of his Lord’s
betrayal.
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