Wednesday: The Betrayal Begins
MATTHEW 26:14-16
14Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over."
REFLECTION
Somewhere in the middle of Holy Week, while Jesus moves steadily toward the cross, one of the twelve slips away to make a deal. Thirty pieces of silver. A plan to hand over the One he had followed for three years (Matthew 26:14-16).
The Gospels do not soften this detail. Betrayal this close is not a small thing. And yet even this is not outside the story God is writing. The thirty pieces of silver echo Zechariah’s prophecy (Zechariah 11:12-13), and Jesus Himself will say that the Shepherd is about to be struck for the sake of the sheep (Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 26:31). Nothing here is spiraling out of control.
What is worth sitting with is that human failure, even at its worst, cannot undo the faithfulness of God. In the darkest irony of history, the betrayal becomes part of how the rescue happens at all.
PRAYER POINTS
- Jesus, I praise You for Your steadfast love and obedience that never falter, even when You are rejected.
- Jesus, shape my heart to be faithful to You, guarding me from compromise and divided loyalty.
- Jesus, work through my prayers and my life to call wanderers, skeptics, and prodigals back to the care of the Good Shepherd.
FAMILY CONVERSATION
Even when someone close to Him betrayed Him, Jesus remained faithful.
- Why do you think staying faithful can sometimes be difficult?
- What helps us stay close to Jesus when we’re tempted to go our own way?
- Family Prayer: Jesus, help our family stay faithful to You and follow You with our whole hearts.