It is a well known fact that sheep follow each other. They aren’t very smart animals. They will follow each other off of a cliff if the one in front goes that way. But sheep won’t necessarily follow people or dogs. That is why it was difficult to get them to willingly go to the slaughter house. These facilities were usually high story factory-like places where the killing is done on the top floor and the processing is done as you go down. So how can you get the sheep to go all the way up to the top floor of this place?
The answer is to use goats.
Sheep will follow goats, so people learned how to train goats to lead the sheep to the top floor. The goat was given a cigarette for compensation. All you had to do was get the goat addicted to nicotine and teach it how to get its next cigarette. The name given to this type of animal was the Judas goat, after the infamous character in the bible. It is a fitting title for the animal that literally led the lambs to slaughter.
What do we know about Judas? Well, he was one of the twelve disciples, which means he was chosen personally by Jesus. He kept the money for the group. And he used this position to take a little off the top, so to speak. We get this information from John’s gospel:
John 12:1-6
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
I wonder how the author of the gospel knows about this. Was it common knowledge that Judas was stealing money from the group? And if it was, why would Jesus allow it?
We also know that he sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver.
Matthew 26:14-16
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Did you ever wonder why this amount was the going price for treachery? I don’t really know myself, but I do find it curious the parallel with the Old Testament here:
Exodus 21:28-32
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels[f] of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
Thirty “pieces” of silver is the price of a slave. Let that sink in for a minute.
We also know that Jesus was aware of Judas’ plan. Jesus calls him out during the Last Supper:
Mark 26:20-25
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
Now imagine you are one of the twelve disciples. You are eating the Passover meal with Jesus. During the meal Jesus says that one of you will betray him. You ask him if that person is you and Jesus says yes. What would you do?
The only explanation the bible gives for Judas’ betrayal is this one: the devil made him do it.
Luke 22:3
3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
I don’t know about you but this makes me ask some serious questions. Can the Devil make people do things? And if the Devil can make you do it, is it really your fault? Could Judas have changed his mind? Did he really have a choice in this story? If Judas didn’t have a choice what does that say about our faith?
Here is my take on this. Judas was just as confused as the rest of the disciples. No one really understood the plan except for Jesus, not even his own disciples. Many people were looking for a Messiah that was to be like King David of old, a military ruler that would restore the kingdom to its former glory. Maybe this is what Judas was waiting on. Maybe he wanted to bring things to a head with this act. If he sold out Jesus then perhaps the coup could begin and Jesus would start his rule by force.
If that was what Judas was thinking he almost succeeded.
Luke 22:49
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
This act could have been the one to spark a revolution. Swords were drawn. Jesus was in the middle of it. It was time to usher in the kingdom and Judas put the events in motion.
Only Jesus didn’t play along. He puts a stop to all of it immediately and heals the man struck by the sword. Jesus allows himself to be taken and the disciples scatter.
History may be too hard on Judas. After all what would the Easter story be like if it weren’t for him? We like to shake our heads and condemn him, but that may only be because we have the luxury of knowing the rest of the story. We know that Jesus had a plan all along, and that plan included him being arrested and killed as a common criminal. Jesus was after bigger goals than a military coup. He had death itself to deal with.
Judas teaches us that we make terrible decisions when we don’t understand what God wants. Maybe one day we will learn and put far more of our energy into finding out what God is all about.
God Bless