To betray means, "To deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty; to deceive; mislead" (Random House). This is what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus, and his name has become synonymous with treachery and betrayal. The designation Iscariot cannot be defined with certainty but may be based on a Hebrew term for "false one," or perhaps a similar word meaning "a deliverer," translated as "the one handing over."

Iscariot, then, distinguished this Judas from others of the same name as "the one who betrayed Him" (Anchor Bible Dictionary, III 3–1091). Essentially, he was a traitor whose disloyalty added to the pain of Christ’s already difficult last days. What would lead him to turn against someone who had treated him so well?

The immediate explanation is the resentment he felt as a result of Christ’s gentle rebuke for his criticism that Mary had foolishly wasted money on fragrant oil in an expensive flask. He argued that it would have been better to have given the money to the poor. Other disciples agreed and all may have thought that Jesus would support their position.

He did not. Jesus saw in Mary’s gift a symbol of deep gratitude for what he had done for her. He responded by declaring, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me" (Mark 14:6 RSV). The dissonance between Judas and Jesus was there from the start and had been festering. Judas came to Jesus in the first place because he was convinced that he was the promised Messiah. He sought a high position in the new kingdom, which he was convinced Christ would soon establish, with all the wealth and power this would bring. Jesus tried to discourage this hope by emphasizing his own poverty. "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matt. 8:19, 20 RSV), Jesus pointed out.

Other disciples, such as James and John, were also motivated by a desire for wealth, position, and power. All of them, including Judas, had opportunity to observe Christ’s self-sacrificing ministry. All listened to his teachings and watched him heal, comfort, and restore. Judas was impressed with the beauty of Christ’s character but he would not give up his selfish ambition. In contrast, John, who had many of the same characteristics as Judas, did yield to the influence of Christ’s teaching and example, allowing this truth to transform his own life into Christ-likeness.

Judas found some aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry disturbing, including events at the Last Supper. He reasoned that if Jesus was willing to wash the disciple’s feet, including his own, he could not possibly be Israel’s promised king. Clearly, Judas did not understand the character of Christ’s kingdom or the nature of its power. He was disappointed and impatient with Jesus for taking so long to openly acknowledge his kingship and for passing up wonderful opportunities to establish himself as king. Judas wanted to make something happen that would end the delay. He came up with an idea.

Judas reasoned that if Jesus were to die, as he himself had foretold, then his own action in handing him over would not change the result. However, Judas was sure Jesus would deliver himself as he had done at other times and perhaps be forced to establish his kingdom in the process. If so, Judas would receive credit for having placed the king on David’s throne, which, in turn, should secure for him the first position in the new kingdom. In either case, he would have made a little money. So, motivated by pride, ambition, greed, and a desire to avenge Christ’s rebuke for his comments about Mary, he conferred with "the chief priests and captains on how he might betray Him to them" (Matt. 22:3, 4).

After identifying Jesus with a kiss, Judas was surprised and disturbed to see the Lord allow himself to be bound and led away for trial. He was sure Jesus would soon surprise his enemies by revealing his power, but he did not. Toward the end of the trial, Judas was deeply troubled by the direction things were going and by what he had done. He cried out, "He is innocent; spare Him, O Caiaphas!" Rushing forward, he threw down the pieces of silver, begging Caiaphas to release Jesus and declaring, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." The priests were confused for a moment by this exposure of their own duplicity but quickly responded, "What is that to us? See to it yourself" (Matt. 27:4 RSV). Judas so despised what he had done that he went out and hung himself.

There are valuable lessons in the story of Judas. However, the account is not so much about Judas as it is about Jesus and how he related to his betrayer. From the moment Judas asked for a place in the inner circle of disciples Jesus treated him with respect, even though he knew his true character and the betrayal that lay ahead. Christ would not "repulse this soul while even one desire was reaching toward the light" (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, 294).

In his teaching, Jesus described the "ugly character of greed," hoping that Judas would take this to heart, but he never treated him unkindly or rebuked him for his covetousness. Rather, with divine patience he put up "with this erring man, even while giving him evidence that He read his heart as an open book. He presented before him the highest incentives for right doing; and in rejecting the light of Heaven, Judas would be without excuse" (ibid., 295).

Jesus even entrusted the group’s money to Judas, but did not let the others know that he was embezzling a portion of these funds for himself. Jesus could easily have exposed this dishonesty when Judas charged Mary with wasting money, but Christ spared Judas this embarrassment.

At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer and shared bread and wine with him. When the disciples asked who of their company was going to betray him, Jesus responded in a way that shielded the guilty one. After Caiaphas refused Judas’s appeal to free Jesus, Judas turned to him pleading that he deliver himself. Even then Jesus did not reproach him. Jesus longed to help him but could not because Judas felt no true repentance, only "an awful sense of condemnation and a looking for of judgment" (ibid., 722).

Jesus’ generous treatment of Judas reveals the character of God and how he treats all of us who have betrayed him. He is that good and generous. Through the dark hours at the end of his life Jesus looked ahead to the time when he would be with his friends again in the earth made new—in spite of their failures that night. He transformed the Lord’s Supper from a commemoration of his final agony and ghastly death into an ongoing reminder of a bright future together when he returns. He even promised not to drink of the fruit of the vine again until he drinks it with all of us in his Father’s kingdom saying, "As often as you eat this bread, and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26 RSV).

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