Holy Week with Judas – Holy Monday – Watching and Hoping

Greetings Dear Reader,

Mark 11:15-18
When they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers' tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. He would not let anyone carry anything across the temple courtyard. Then he taught them by saying, "Scripture says, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,' but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves." When the chief priests and scribes heard him, they looked for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because he amazed all the crowds with his teaching.
What must it have been like?

We are first introduced to Judas in the list of apostles in Matthew 10:4. “…and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.” From the outset he is labeled as a villain in our Dramatis Persona. If one does not know the story of Christ and is encountering Judas for the first time, he is already branded as a betrayer.

As a writer the element of drama here is amazing. Unfortunately we lose something in the translation. The word “betrayed” here is paradidomi. According to the finest of Greek scholars one must dive deep into the meaning of the word to find any treachery. We will discuss this more later but for now, I want to be clear that I do not think that Judas’ actions were treacherous. What he sees on Monday, after watching on Sunday the triumphant entry into Jerusalem gives us a clue as to his motivation.

Each night Jesus and the apostles would leave the city and each morning they returned. Each day they went to the temple and Jesus would teach and perform miracles in the temple court. On this day, however, what Judas witnessed drove home that something big was about to happen.

Since the beginning Judas had watched and waited for the carpenter to act like a King. He had seen the power that Jesus wielded and he had yearned for Jesus to use it to overthrow Rome. He believed. He wanted Jesus as king and wished not to wait.

So as Jesus takes the lengths of rope and binds them into a scourge Judas watches. As Jesus overturns the tables and spills the money Judas watches. As he drives away all those who defile the Temple of God, Judas watches. When Jesus declares that his Father’s temple is a house of prayer and not a den of thieves Judas hopes.

Jesus spends the day teaching at the temple and the priests dare not move against him. They hear the Anointed Savior speak words of hope. Judas takes it all in as the Son of God, his leader, speaks of the kingdom and of the life his people can lead. Judas sees that the hope of his beloved nation rests on the actions of his leader, Jesus. The apostle realizes that Jesus has the loyalty and the passion of the people. He watches and hopes for him to act. He also knows that the priests want to kill them all. Gathered in that collection of facts we have the seed bed of what is to come.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."