Daily Devotional For Thursday, March 5, 2026
Good morning Southside. If you have been following these devotionals, you know we are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Today we are picking where we left yesterday in Matthew 26, where it takes a dark turn. Here’s our passage for today – Matthew 26:14-16:
“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests (15) and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. (16) From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus” (NASB).
You have to wonder and ask, “What would make one of Jesus’ own disciples willing to betray Him to the Jewish leaders?” We are not told the exact reason for Judas’ motives other than his lust for money. I think Judas felt as one of Jesus’ disciples he would be given a position in Jesus’ earthly kingdom, if Jesus were to establish one. We can probably speculate this based on Matthew 20:20-28.
Maybe Judas thought if Jesus did establish an earthly kingdom, he would have a high position in it. We really do not know. I think that when Mary poured the expensive perfume all over Jesus (yesterday’s devotional), he began to perceive that Jesus’ kingdom was not going to be physical or political or one ruled by a military, but something else. Or, he got nervous and disappointed in Jesus when Jesus started talking about suffering and dying rather than taking on a leadership role to free Israel from Rome.
It is possible as Judas began to sense the atmosphere of opposition against Jesus, that he decided to tuck, run and save himself. It is possible Judas was trying to force Jesus’ hand. He had seen the kind of power Jesus had and knew that no one, not even Rome was a match, that maybe he could push Jesus to lead a rebellion against Rome, overthrow Rome, set up His earthly kingdom and then position His disciples as VPS or generals over certain districts or areas.
Judas knew the opposition was building against Jesus from the religious leaders. He also knew that the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, could arrest Jesus. So, this is where he started. He would betray Jesus to satisfy his lust for money. So, put yourself in the shoes of the Jewish Sanhedrin. They now have an insider to Jesus’ inner circle. We know the Jewish leaders had trouble trying to decide how to arrest Jesus (see Matt. 26:3-5).
So, when an offer came from one in the inner circle of Jesus, they jumped right on it. Notice the arrogance and greed in Judas’ question to the Jewish Sanhedrin, “‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’” It is as if Judas felt he had some ownership of Jesus, like a master does over a slave. Thirty pieces of silver was the going rate to buy or sell a slave. If they paid Judas in Temple shekels, that was the equivalent of 120 days wages. Judas knew Jesus’ routine and the Sanhedrin did not. So, from that point on, Judas is nervously seeking the ideal time while keeping the Jewish Sanhedrin updated.
Judas said to them, “Let’s make a deal” and the Jewish Sanhedrin agreed. Jesus from the mid-point of His ministry had been telling and preparing His disciples for His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and death. Jesus said he would “suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law (see Matt. 16:21). Later, Jesus said someone would betray Him to death (see Matt. 17:22). Later, Jesus told His disciples that the Jewish religious leaders would turn Him over to be beaten, scourged and crucified (see Matt. 20:19). Because Jesus predicted His death, this means He was in control and calling the shots – not the Jewish Sanhedrin and not Judas. There is a lot of irony here in the Pharisees wanting Jesus dead. New Testament scholar Daniel M. Doriani tells us Why?
- They had no authority to kill anyone. Only Rome could execute anyone. And as leading citizens, it is probably unlikely they would stain their hands with the blood of Jesus through murder.
- For all the differences they had, the Pharisees and Jesus did agree on certain truths such as God wanted His people in a personal covenant relationship with Him. They just saw it differently. The Pharisees saw this through adherence to the Mosaic Law and Jesus saw it through a personal relationship to Him as God in human flesh.
- We know that after the Resurrection, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem for 40 days. The Apostle Paul states that one time up to over 500 people saw the Resurrected Jesus (see 1 Cor. 15:6). Some of these repented, confessed Jesus as Lord and joined the church in Jerusalem (see Acts 15:5) – (Source: Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Bible Commentary, “Matthew Vols. 1 & 2,” p. 422).
At first the Pharisees seemed interested in Jesus but as His ministry and popularity grew, as well as Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees, so did their support. The chief priest never cared for Jesus. The chief priests and Jesus wanted to save the nation of Israel, but for different reasons and in different ways. The chief priests were unwilling to give up their positions of power and authority, even to God. They were the aristocrats, the elite, the politicians and the ones who loved Rome. Jesus appeared to be such a threat to this group that they convened a secret meeting to discuss on how to get rid of Jesus (see John 11:47-48)
What disorder in John 11:47-48 is uncertain? Maybe they feared that as Jesus’ reputation and popularity grew, Rome might feel threatened and send in the troops. This would mean that the chief priests would get caught in the cross fire and might lose their own positions of power. Whatever their real motives were, they all agreed – Jesus must die. What this shows us is our capacity for self-deception. We see this in Judas and in the chief priests and other religious leaders.
Reflection Assignment: What does it take for you to sell out against Jesus? Before you are quick to say, “Oh, PK, not me!” Is it a position at your work? Your marriage and/or family? Your service at your local church? What demands more and more of your time so that you choose not to give that time to God each day in personal alone time with Him? Is it a combination of things? Most of the time it is very good things and that is the problem. We are blind to it. What gets you that God does not?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, forgive me when I lust for things more than I love You. Forgive me when I can justify being bought out against You even for good things. Lord, I do not want my heart stained with the sin of betrayal of You. I want to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness before anything else. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly
.