Say What?

Do you appreciate a good story with strong villains, someone diabolically evil to the core yet not recognized as evil? We have such characters in this account.

It is late in the earthly life of Jesus, the last week, centered in Jerusalem. Jesus has been teaching each day in the courtyard at the Temple where large crowds kept coming to hear Him. In the background, we have the Temple rulers, like the high priest, his relatives and those of the Jewish religious authority. While they had no authority over the Roman occupying forces that determined the legal system, they did have power over the practice of the Jewish religion and how it was practiced. Because of this power, they were able to influence the Roman governor and judges in much of the civil matters. Their ability to stir up the masses was of concern to the Romans who preferred civil order over the need to force the masses to behave.

Jesus has been a problem for the Sanhedrin (council of Jewish religious leaders) for their power rested in control over the practices of the Jewish religion according to the traditions they and their ancestors had developed. Jesus confronted these traditions with the Word of God pointing back to the LORD’s intent, not the letter of the Judaic traditions. ¹ The traditionalists did not appreciate the challenge that Jesus’s teachings on the intent of the LORD’s Word caused and sought to silence Him. This displeasure grew as Jesus’s popularity grew and when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the cheers of the masses, the Council moved deliberately to end this threat to their position:

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” ²

The Council was not without political savvy for they had spent decades balancing between Roman authority and their own sway over the Jewish masses. They tried to maintain favor with both sides while promoting their own agenda of power. Their problem with Jesus was that He was popular, that He taught the Word of the LORD with authority that resonated against their traditions and drew the masses toward the LORD in a way that lessened their influence. They also had the problem of optics, of appearing to be serving God while actually opposing the Truth of God. They were more committed to maintaining their position than serving the Truth of the LORD. This had first became an issue months before when Lazarus had been raised from the dead and the contrast between the Council and Jesus had become more stark:

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. ³

Did you notice the points of concern? ‘Everyone will believe in Him’ and ‘the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation’ have more to do with politics, position and power and very little to do with the LORD. Caiaphas’s concern was not about cooperating with the LORD but about losing position. It is one of those interesting sidelights that in spite of the Council’s intent to maintain their position apart from what the LORD was accomplishing, Caiaphas’s words were prophetic in a way he did not comprehend, that ‘Jesus would die for the nation and beyond.’

There is another discord in the behavior of the Council between intent and appearance. This wanting to kill Jesus but not be tainted by appearing to oppose God or ceremonial uncleanness appears twice:

…and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” ²

Intrigue often betrays the motives of the partakers. It is difficult to oppose righteousness and appear faithful at the same time. The Council has a problem but assistance comes from a surprising source. Judas had been one of the chosen Twelve disciples closest to Jesus, had journeyed with them for more than three years, Sometime between the Council’s plotting and the Supper Jesus would have with His Twelve, Judas goes to the Council with a suggestion:

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. ⁴

The Council’s plot is in place and now it is a matter of opportunity. Jesus and the Twelve go to an upper room and have a last supper together (no, only Jesus knew and even when He told the Twelve, they didn’t comprehend). Late in the supper, Jesus mentions His betrayal but each disciple is clueless as to His meaning. After sharing in what will become known as the Lord’s Supper, Judas Iscariot leaves the room, and while the disciples move to the Garden of Gethsamane, Judas knowing their destination goes to the Council and announces the opportunity, receives the contingent and leads them to Jesus.

While he [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him… ⁵

Jesus gives Himself into the custody of the cohort sent from the Council who then take Him to the High Priest’s house for the inquisition to get Jesus to make Himself guilty of something more than violating their traditions. As morning dawns,

Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ⁶

The group has two priorities: to kill Jesus and to remain undefiled so they could eat the Passover. Speaking of going in two opposite directions at the same time! They are both unable to clearly present charges against having only meaningless innuendo and the refusal to enter the governor’s headquarters so they would remain ceremonially clean. Filthy intent but appearance of cleanliness!

Somewhere in the midst of this—between the arrest at the Garden and the deliverance of Jesus to the Roman authorities, Judas Iscariot has a moment of clarity. Although his actions had been deliberate, he apparently at some point in that night realizes the consequence of his betrayal and tries to remove himself from responsibility:

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. ⁷

Did you notice how consistent the Council is? ‘It is not lawful to put the money in the treasury because it is blood money’ sounds a bit hypocritical being as they had only hours before paid that money as the cost of betrayal of the One they intended to see killed. You get the impression from the context that they thought the guilt would be upon Judas and not themselves, that through some legalistic maneuver they could make the guilt Judas’s and not theirs.

For me, the most interesting phrase in this text is,

“What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁸

Say what? Just how human is, “What is that to us?” the absolving of ourselves of responsibility by shifting it onto someone else. How do we take what we instigate and make it the responsibility of someone we convinced that it would accomplish their desired purposes? No, Judas is not without guilt no matter what his intention was. For mere money, he was willing to betray his relationship with Jesus and hand Him over to the custody of his conspirators. But when he has repented, recognized the consequences and sought to remedy his guilt by returning the price received, he finds he cannot undo his sin be mere repentance. It is telling that he is unwilling to be forgiven and live in the light of Jesus. But those priests and leaders who provided the opportunity to betray, who were willing to pay the blood money, who put the plot into practice and executed the plot… How do you absolve yourself of the guilt that underlies the entire plot and your motivation for securing your position at all costs?

There is an interesting side note that will play out before the afternoon is over. Part of the power of the High Priest was that he was the only one who could approach the LORD and even then only he could go behind the Curtain that separated the Holies and the Holiest of Holies. This was fundamental to his uniqueness and the need for him as a priest between man and God. Yet, before the afternoon was over Jesus had both died and opened the Way to the LORD:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁹

No more division between God and man by a curtain, God no longer veiled, not approached by a high priest but now available to all who are disciples of who He truly is. With the tearing of the Curtain, the barrier between, the priests had become irrelevant and the question, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁸ has become a freeing of each of us before the LORD that we need no other intermediary between ourself and the LORD than Jesus and His sufficiency. Amen