TEXT [Commentary]

3. Judas betrays Jesus (14:10-11; cf. Matt 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6)

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

NOTES

14:10 to betray Jesus to them. Judas decided to hand Jesus over to the leading priests. The Gr. verb for “betray” (paradidōmi [TG3860, ZG4140]) appears here and in 14:11, 18, 21, 41, 42, 44. Thus, betrayal is a major feature of the description of Judas’ action. It is the same verb used by Jesus in his predictions (9:31; 10:33).

14:11 they promised to give him money. Matthew 26:15 notes that the reward was thirty pieces of silver.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The religious leaders who wanted to arrest Jesus had thought that they could not do it during Passover because the people might riot. Their plans changed when Judas entered the picture. They were delighted that Judas approached them, because they could claim that Jesus’ activities had been exposed by one of his own. They could say, “We were just doing our duty.” They also had a chance to seize him away from the crowd.

In all of this, Jesus is depicted as the righteous sufferer (Ps 41:9; Lane 1974:495), for his death is triggered by one of his own. The doors were now open for Jesus’ arrest. Mark sets the Last Supper in the context of this betrayal. None of this caught Jesus by surprise, for he knew what was about to happen.