Wednesday of Holy Week 2023
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
-Matthew 24:14-16
Judas Iscariot is one of the most controversial and confusing figures in the New Testament. While his actions are fairly straightforward (as told in the Gospel proclaimed today), the questions about his motives, who he understood Jesus to be, what his ultimate goal might have been, and even Judas’ moral freedom and actual guilt—based on certain theological traditions the Jesus’ death was God’s will—can never be answered in any satisfactory way.
I admit that I am also at something of a loss when I reflect on today’s Readings and the mystery of “Spy Wednesday.” Are the Readings proclaimed today simply positioned to move the Passion narrative forward? What else might we discern as we reflect on the story of Judas?
Judas Iscariote by James Tissot (1886-1894)
In a 2006 General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke at length about Judas, offering a scholar’s perspective. Pope Benedict observed that even Judas’ name raises questions:
The meaning of the name "Iscariot" is controversial: the more common explanation considers him as a "man from Kerioth", referring to his village of origin situated near Hebron and mentioned twice in Sacred Scripture (cf. Genesis 15: 25; Amos 2: 2). Others interpret it as a variant of the term "hired assassin", as if to allude to a warrior armed with a dagger, in Latin, sica.
Lastly, there are those who see in the label a simple inscription of a Hebrew-Aramaic root meaning: "the one who is to hand him over". This designation is found twice in the Gospel: after Peter's confession of faith (cf. Jn 6: 71), and then in the course of the anointing at Bethany (cf. John 12: 4).
Benedict continued:
Why does he betray Jesus? The question raises several theories. Some refer to the fact of his greed for money; others hold to an explanation of a messianic order: Judas would have been disappointed at seeing that Jesus did not fit into his program for the political-militaristic liberation of his own nation.
In fact, the Gospel texts insist on another aspect: John expressly says that "the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him" (Jn 13: 2). Analogously, Luke writes: "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve" (Luke 22: 3).
In this way, one moves beyond historical motivations and explanations based on the personal responsibility of Judas, who shamefully ceded to a temptation of the Evil One.
The betrayal of Judas remains, in any case, a mystery. Jesus treated him as a friend (cf. Mt 26: 50); however, in his invitations to follow him along the way of the beatitudes, he does not force his will or protect it from the temptations of Satan, respecting human freedom.
In effect, the possibilities to pervert the human heart are truly many. The only way to prevent it consists in not cultivating an individualistic, autonomous vision of things, but on the contrary, by putting oneself always on the side of Jesus, assuming his point of view. We must daily seek to build full communion with him.
And it is here that we can conclude our reflections on Judas. First, we recognize that even Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is itself part of the Paschal Mystery. And, moreover, it is ultimately not our place to know the heart of another. Judgment belongs to God alone.
The invitation for us today is to not keep our focus on Judas and the questions that his story raises for us. Rather, I believe we would do well to take a cue from Pope Benedict’s reflections: Take time today to reflect on where you are in relation to Jesus.
Are you standing beside the path, a bystander, prepared to watch events unfold, simply a spectator to these terrible and wonderful days? Or are you at Jesus’ side, prepared to journey with him into the mystery of the Cross, living in that spirit of true communion we are called to as disciples?
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for Wednesday of Holy Week
