Betrayal. What is it? Judas betrayed Jesus. He visited the Jewish religious/political leaders and offered to betray Jesus for money. Jesus said that one of his inner circle would betray him. But I don’t understand exactly what it meant.
We know from the Gospels that the religious/political leaders were threatened by Jesus. They wanted him out of the way. That meant, they needed him killed. Even though he had not organized a movement, he led a loosely organized protest movement that could get out of hand at any time.
Then Jesus used theater (always a good protest movement tactic) to enter Jerusalem in the manner of a newly crowned king at the beginning of a holy time when the population was greatly expanded due to the presence of pilgrims in the city. Sort of like pouring gasoline on the flames. But the removal of Jesus had to be done quickly and quietly lest the pot get stirred any more.
Here’s what puzzles me. Jesus taught openly in the temple. He was arrested by the temple police. I cannot believe that the leaders of the police did not know who Jesus was. But, what we know about what Judas did was that he led the police to where Jesus was when he was away from the crowds, late at night, in a quiet place. He identified Jesus to the police and the arrest was made.
People have speculated about why Judas acted this way. John says it was because he was greedy and wanted money. I guess I’d believe a guy who was there rather than someone speculating about psychological motivations without ever meeting the person.
I guess the act of betrayal is one where someone trusts you and you act against them. I wonder how often I’ve let some need of mine get in the way of the needs of someone else. I wonder what would happen if we all acted in such a way that we noticed that we were about to betray a friend by gossiping about them or not being there when they need help or working to prevent them from doing something they want to do. Would we all get along better and live with more justice? Would God smile?
Faith Venture 
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