Top photo caption: An image of the Last Supper, found in Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Hamilton. The fifth apostle, shown from top left, is Judas, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Monitor file photo
By Father Garry Koch
Gospel reflection for March 29, 2026, Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord
As we begin our journey through Holy Week, and listen to the Gospel proclamations, especially the reading of the Passion – from Matthew this Sunday and from John on Good Friday – we are introduced to several individuals who are involved in these events in different ways than we saw them in earlier in the ministry of Jesus. We meet Pontius Pilate, Ciaphas, Simon of Cyrene, and Joseph of Arimathea; deal again with Herod Antipas, see a different side of St. Peter and; encounter Mary Magdalene. But there is one more person whose role becomes prominent, though he was largely obscure before, and that is Judas Iscariot. The Gospels list him among the 12 and yet refer to him as: “the one who betrayed him.” John mentions that he was the bursar for the group, and it is he who is outraged at the amount of money a different Mary had spent on perfume as she anointed the feet of Jesus. Now, this otherwise silent and minor disciple comes to the forefront, and certainly not for a good reason.
While it is Peter who shocks the reader, and certainly the remaining disciples, by his three-fold denial of even knowing who Jesus was, it was Judas who did the unthinkable, committing the unforgivable sin of betraying Jesus to his enemies.
How easy was it for one of the twelve, who had walked with Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry, to betray him for a mere 30 pieces of silver? The thought of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot is still a jarring moment; one that gives us pause. How easy it is to turn our back on faith, to walk away from the gift handed on to us at Baptism and nurtured by our families. Judas failed to understand Jesus, and the necessity of the passion. While Peter struggled, and denied that he knew Jesus, it is the failure of Judas that is a warning to each one of us on our faith journey.
What we do not have in the Gospels is any insight into Judas and his evolution – and subsequent devolution – as a member of the Twelve. So at best we can only speculate as to what drew him to separate himself from the others and then, ultimately, to make the decision to turn Jesus over to the Jewish authorities.
Some, who are more sympathetic to him, suggest that he was an ardent zealot who believed that the arrest of Jesus would inaugurate the messianic war leading to the overthrow of the Romans and the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom. In that scenario, Judas is seen as a misguided disciple who, believing that Jesus was the messiah, thought that he was advancing the cause. His subsequent death by his own hand then is used to support this argument.
Some are quick to simply dismiss Judas as a greedy man, suggested by John’s Gospel where it is stated that he stole from the common treasury of Jesus and the disciples. Thus, the thirty pieces of silver were so attractive to Judas that he turned his back on the mission to which he had committed this period of his life and handed Jesus over.
It is also easy to speculate that perhaps Judas was on the edges; that he was unconvinced by the miracles and the teachings of Jesus. Some speculate that he believed that Jesus was becoming dangerous and, seeing the threats around them, he decided to betray Jesus for his own good.
Each one of these approaches, and there are others as well, has their own strong points and weaknesses. What is interesting in them is that today people abuse their faith, or abandon their faith, for specific reasons.
Our individual faith journey involves growing in our understanding of Jesus, and our ability to seek his will for our lives. The proliferation of many preachers of an errant interpretation of the Gospel message can lead us to greed, to believing that we can manipulate the hand of God to do our will pretending it is his own, or to doubt the efficacy of our tradition, liturgy, and the sacraments.
I doubt that Judas made a rash decision to betray Jesus. His was likely a calculated act that emerged over time. Doubt, selfishness, and misunderstanding Jesus, led to his need to bring Jesus down. Even if he thought he was doing the right thing, he failed to grasp who Jesus is.
We learn that it is much easier than we can imagine it is to deny or betray our faith. The failure to be consistent in prayer, the tendency to give in to sin instead of remaining faithful, and unresolved doubts and struggles in faith, can lead one down a path where Judas becomes the example of our lives instead of Jesus himself.
Holy Week is our time to recommit ourselves to living as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We walk with Jesus to the cross, carrying that cross with him as does Simon of Cyrene, we are not the ones who hand Jesus over to the authorities shouting “crucify him.”
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.