Matthew 26:14-25

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34

Matthew 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,

went to the chief priests and said,

“What are you willing to give me

if I hand him over to you?”

They paid him thirty pieces of silver,

and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

the disciples approached Jesus and said,

“Where do you want us to prepare

for you to eat the Passover?”

He said,

“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,

‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;

in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’”

The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,

and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,

he reclined at table with the Twelve.

And while they were eating, he said,

“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this,

they began to say to him one after another,

“Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply,

“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me

is the one who will betray me.

The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,

but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,

“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

He answered, “You have said so.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, from all eternity you knew you would call and commission your Beloved Son to expiate the sins of your people and restore them to communion with you. Help me to trust always in your divine plan and follow your will as your beloved child and servant.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Thirty Pieces of Silver: The Gospel of Matthew sets up a contrast between the woman who anointed Jesus at Bethany (Matthew 26:6-13) and the betrayal of Judas (Matthew 26:14-16). The unnamed woman was so generous that she lavished an entire jar of expensive oil – worth a year’s salary – on Jesus to anoint him. Judas was so greedy and miserly that he was willing to betray Jesus and hand him over for a handful of thirty coins. The thirty pieces of silver recall the story of the brothers of Joseph selling him for twenty pieces of silver to an Ishmaelite caravan headed to Egypt. They also recall Zechariah 11:12, where the work of the prophet Zechariah, envisioned as one of the Lord’s faithful shepherds, was valued by sheep merchants at the paltry sum of thirty shekels of silver. The prophet was subsequently commanded to throw the coins into the treasury in the house of the Lord (Zechariah 11:13). Matthew sees a messianic fulfillment of this episode from Zechariah when the chief priests pay Judas Iscariot thirty pieces of silver to betray, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, into their hands. “But after learning of Jesus’ condemnation, Judas rejects the silver coins and throws them down in the Temple (Matthew 27:2-10). For the evangelist, the prophet prefigures Jesus as the Good Shepherd who is despised and valued at a mere thirty shekels; at the same time, he foreshadows Judas in receiving the payment and casting it into the sanctuary” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 1619).

2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Matthew tells us that on Thursday morning, “the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” Jesus’ disciples asked him where he wanted to eat the Passover in the evening. “Technically, the Passover meal was eaten on the first day of the weeklong Feast of Unleavened Bread (called Nisan 15). However, in popular speech the day before Passover was referred to by the name ‘Unleavened Bread,’ perhaps because the ritual removal of leaven from every Jewish home was conducted then” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 333-334). Jesus, it seems, had made prior arrangements to use a guestroom (katalyma), traditionally identified as the house of John Mark (Acts 12:12). There, the disciples prepared the Passover meal, bringing unleavened bread, wine, and bitter herbs, and roasting the sacrificed lamb.

3. One of You Will Betray Me: When we read the Gospel, we sometimes think we would never betray Jesus like Judas. Yet every time we choose disordered pleasure over God, or choose money over God, or choose ourselves over God, we act like Judas. None of us is perfect. We have plenty of sins, faults, and mistakes to be sorrowful for. Will we be like Judas and remain indifferent to Jesus’ warnings? Or will we be like the repentant thief who calls out to Jesus for mercy? Will we be like the Pharisees who plot against Jesus and think they know better how to be righteous? Or will we be like the humble tax collector who beats his breast and asks for mercy?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to embrace the mystery of redemptive suffering. Help me to see how I can suffer with you and offer myself as a pleasing sacrifice to the Father.

Living the Word of God: Does the attraction of money, wealth, and possessions lead me astray? How can I be victorious when I am tempted in the future? When I look back over my life, when was I happiest? When I gave into temptation or when I served my brothers and sisters out of love and empowered by grace?