Key Scripture Readings: Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6
Fast Facts
- We don’t have much information regarding what Jesus did on the Wednesday before His crucifixion. It could be that He continued to teach in the temple. It is more likely that He used most of the day for prayer, rest, and solitude with His apostles.
- We do know that Jesus reminded His disciples of the coming Passover and how, on that day, He would be handed over to His enemies to be crucified (Matthew 26:2).
- Meanwhile, the chief priests and elders were gathering together in the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas. They were plotting together on how they would seize Jesus and put Him to death (Matthew 26:3-4). They did not want to do it during the Passover feast because they feared a riot would start (Matthew 26:5).
- The enemies of Jesus found an avenue to seize Him through the use of one of His disciples – Judas. Judas went to the chief priests, saying, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him to you?” (Matthew 26:15). The chief priests were glad when Judas came to them with this proposition. They then weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver.
- After seeing how much they were willing to pay him, from then on, Judas began seeking an opportunity to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:16).
- It is crucial to note the work of Satan in all of this. Judas formed this desire to betray the Lord because he allowed Satan to enter his heart (Luke 22:3). Satan continues to try to enter the hearts of God’s people today (Acts 5:3; 1 Peter 5:8).
- Judas was ultimately used to give the enemies of Jesus access to Him when He was alone and away from the crowds. While the enemies were eventually able to accomplish this through their use of Judas, it is important to note that they were only able to because Jesus allowed it. The Lord could have stopped them in their tracks at any time, but then He desired to be the sacrifice for our sins (Matthew 26:53-54; John 10:17-18).
- Jesus’ betrayal by the hands of a close friend was foretold hundreds of years in advance by the prophets (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12-13).
Study Questions
- What did Jesus likely do on the Wednesday before being crucified?
- What did Jesus remind His apostles of in Matthew 26:2?
- Where were the chief priests and elders gathered? What were they doing behind the scenes?
- Why did Judas go to the chief priests? How did the chief priests respond to this?
- Why did the chief priests want to use Judas to get access to Jesus?
- How much money was offered to Judas to betray Jesus? Also, how did Judas respond to the offer?
- What did Satan do to Judas?
- Why didn’t Jesus stop all of the evil going on behind the scenes to kill Him?
- Where in the Old Testament were Judas’ actions foretold?
