Introduction
We come now to one of the darkest moments in the history of the world, which is simultaneously one of the brightest moments in the plan of God. The machinery of our redemption required some foul instruments, and Judas Iscariot steps onto the stage here to play his appointed and infamous part. This is not a slip-up in the discipleship program. This is not an unforeseen tragedy. This is the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, working through the wicked hands of men (Acts 2:23). The treachery of Judas was as necessary for the cross as the nails and the wood. And in this, we see a profound mystery: God's absolute sovereignty does not negate man's absolute responsibility. Judas was not a puppet, but a willing traitor, and his sin was entirely his own, even as it served the perfect will of his Creator.
Mark 14:10
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.
Mark is brief and to the point. He identifies the traitor first by name, Judas Iscariot. This name will forever be synonymous with treachery. But Mark adds a detail that should shock us, though we have grown accustomed to it. He was "one of the twelve." This was not an outsider. This was not a Roman soldier or a hostile Pharisee. This was a man from the inner circle. He had walked with Jesus for three years. He had seen the miracles, heard the parables, and had his feet washed by the Lord Himself. The blackest sins are often committed by those who were closest to the light. Proximity to grace, without reception of grace, only hardens the heart.
He "went away to the chief priests." This was a deliberate act. He separated himself from the company of the faithful to join the council of the wicked. Sin always involves a turning away from fellowship with God and His people. The chief priests were the very men who were orchestrating the murder of the Messiah. They were the religious establishment, the guardians of the temple, and they were filled with a venomous hatred for the Son of God. Judas, one of the twelve, found common cause with them. This is what the love of money does. It makes a man blind to all spiritual reality and makes him comfortable in the presence of God's enemies.
His purpose was simple and foul: "in order to betray Him to them." The word "betray" here is paradidomi, to hand over. Judas was going to hand the Lord of Glory over to His murderers. He was treating the Son of God as a commodity, a piece of property to be exchanged for cash. This is the ultimate outworking of a covetous heart. When you love money, you cannot love God, and you will eventually sell out whatever stands between you and your idol.
Mark 14:11
And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.
The reaction of the chief priests is telling. "They were glad." The prospect of getting their hands on Jesus brought them joy. This is the joy of the wicked, which is fleeting and founded on malice. They were glad to be rid of the one who exposed their hypocrisy. They were glad to silence the voice of truth. We should never be surprised when the world rejoices at the persecution of the righteous. It is the nature of the seed of the serpent to hate the seed of the woman.
And so, "they promised to give him money." Matthew tells us the price was thirty pieces of silver, the price of a gored slave (Ex. 21:32). The rulers of Israel valued their Messiah at the price of a common slave. This was their official assessment, and it was a fulfillment of prophecy (Zech. 11:12-13). Judas's greed met their hatred, and the deal was struck. The transaction was sordid, but it was sealed. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and here we see it bearing its most bitter fruit.
The verse concludes with Judas's new occupation. "And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time." Having made his pact with darkness, he now becomes a hunter. He is looking for the right moment, a "convenient" or "opportune" time. He wants to do it away from the crowds, to avoid a riot. He is now a strategist for the enemy, using his insider knowledge to destroy the one who called him "friend." This seeking for an opportune time is a dark parody of the faithful servant waiting for his master's return. Judas is waiting too, but he is waiting for an opportunity to sin. This is where a life of compromise and hidden sin leads: to actively seeking the moment to commit the final act of apostasy.
But even in this, God is sovereign. Judas sought an opportune time, but the time was ultimately God's time. The cross was not an accident. It was not a tragedy that could have been avoided. It was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world, unfolding at the precise moment He had ordained. The opportune time for Judas's sin was the appointed time for our salvation.