Scripture Daily

Context No. 227 of 4322 · Luke

Context · Reflection

Luke 22:1-6: in context

1Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 2The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people. 3Satan entered into Judas, who was also called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve. 4He went away and talked with the chief priests and captains about how he might deliver him to them. 5They were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6He consented and sought an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.

It is the run-up to Passover, when Jerusalem fills with pilgrims and the population multiplies. The chief priests and scribes have already decided that Jesus has to die, but they are stuck on one thing, and Luke states it without dressing it up: they are afraid of the people. Jesus is popular, and arresting him in the open during the feast could set off a riot.

So they need a way to take him quietly, and the way arrives from inside. Luke says Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, and then adds the phrase that carries the weight: who was counted among the twelve. This is not an outsider or a stranger. It is one of the men who had eaten with Jesus and been sent out in his name. What Judas actually does is procedural. He goes and talks with the priests and the temple guards about how he might hand Jesus over, they are glad and settle on a price, and he begins looking for an opportunity to do it away from the crowd.

Luke lets the horror sit in how ordinary it looks. There is a conversation, an agreement, money changing hands, and a man watching for the right quiet moment. The betrayal that undoes everything moves through a trusted friend and a business arrangement, not a dramatic break. What have I been willing to arrange quietly, in the absence of the crowd, that I would never do where everyone could see?

Sources