Discourses on the Betrayal of Judas #
St. John Chrysostom
Today, my beloved, a little needs to be said to you; a little, not because you weary of much preaching—for no other city is so fond of listening to spiritual discourses. We speak briefly today not because we tire you with much preaching, but because there is an important reason to shorten our speech: I see that many of the faithful are hastening to partake of the Dread Mysteries. Therefore, so that they are not deprived of this banquet and do not miss out on that one, it is necessary to distribute the nourishment proportionally, so that you benefit from both sides, and leave, equipped on your journey with this banquet and our words, and approach the fearful and awesome communion with fear, trembling, and proper reverence.
Today, beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed; this coming evening the Jews took Him away. But do not despair when you hear that Jesus was betrayed; or rather—despair and weep bitterly, but not over the betrayed Jesus, but over the betrayer Judas. For the Betrayed saved the universe, while the betrayer destroyed his own soul; the Betrayed now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, while the betrayer now resides in hell, awaiting inevitable punishment. Weep and sigh over him, and mourn as our Lord wept over him. Seeing him, it is written [in the Scriptures], “He was troubled… and said: …one of you will betray Me” (John 13:21). Oh, how great is the Master’s mercy: the Betrayed grieves for the betrayer! Seeing him, the evangelist writes, “He was troubled… and said: …one of you will betray Me.” Why did He grieve? To demonstrate His love and also to teach us that we should constantly lament not the one who suffers evil, but the one who causes it. The latter is worse than the former, or better to say—the first, i.e., suffering evil, is not evil, but causing evil is evil. To suffer evil is to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven; to cause evil subjects us to Gehenna and punishment. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:10). Do you see how those who suffer evil receive reward and recompense—the Kingdom of Heaven? Listen to how those who cause evil are subjected to punishment and vengeance. Paul, speaking of the Jews, said they “killed the Lord and the prophets… and drove us out” (1 Thess. 2:15), adding: “on them the wrath has come to the utmost” (2 Thess. 1:8). Do you see how the persecuted inherit the Kingdom, while the persecutors inherit divine wrath?
This is said not without purpose, but to ensure we do not become angry with enemies but pity, weep for them, and empathize with them: they indeed suffer evil by being hostile toward us. If we adjust our soul accordingly, we can also pray for them. That is why I have been discoursing with you for the fourth day about praying for enemies, so that this instructive word is firmly assimilated, having taken root in you from constant indoctrination. That is why I incessantly pour forth in words, to cool the inflammation of anger and calm the irritation, so that one approaching prayer may be free of anger. Christ commanded this not only for enemies but also for us, forgiving their sins, as you gain more than you give by ceasing your anger at an enemy. How do you gain more? If you forgive your enemy’s sins, your transgressions against the Master will be forgiven. These are incurable and unforgivable, but for those, there is great relief and forgiveness. Listen to what Eli told his sons: “If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” (1 Sam. 2:25) Thus, this wound is not easily healed even by prayer; but, not being healed by prayer, it is healed by forgiving sins to a neighbor. Therefore, Christ called sins against the Master thousands of talents, but sins against a neighbor a hundred denarii (Matt. 18:23–35). Forgive a hundred denarii, so that thousands of talents may be forgiven to you.
However, enough has been said about praying for enemies; let us return, if you please, to the discourse on betrayal and see how our Lord was betrayed. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?’” (Matt. 26:14–15) These words appear clear and imply nothing more; but if one carefully examines each of these words, many subjects for reflection and a great depth of thought are found. First—the timing; it is not in vain that the Evangelist specifies it, he did not simply say: “went,” but added: “then went.” “Then”; tell me, when? And why does he specify the timing? It is not said in vain: “then”—the one speaking by the Spirit does not speak in vain or without purpose. What does this “then” mean? Just before that time, before that hour, a sinful woman came, “having an alabaster flask of ointment,” and poured this oil on the Lord’s head (Matt. 26:7). She showed great service, demonstrated great faith, great obedience, and reverence; she changed her previous life, became better and more chaste. But when the sinful woman repented, when she gained the favor of the Master, then a disciple betrayed the Teacher. Therefore, it is said: “then,” so you do not accuse the Teacher of weakness when you see that a disciple betrays the Teacher. The Teacher’s power was such that it drew even sinful women to obey Him.
Why then, you say, could the one who converted sinful women not attract the disciple to Himself? He could have attracted the disciple to Himself, but He did not want to make him good by necessity and to draw him to Himself by force. “Then went.” This word “went” also contains an important subject for reflection; not being summoned by the high priests, not being compelled by necessity or force, but of his own accord he devised treachery and undertook such an intention, having no one as a partner in this iniquity. “Then one of the twelve.” What does “one of the twelve” mean? In these words: “one of the twelve” the greatest condemnation against him is expressed. Jesus had other disciples, numbering seventy; but they occupied a secondary place, did not enjoy such honor, did not have such boldness, did not participate in so many mysteries as the twelve disciples. These were especially distinguished and formed a choir around the King; it was from here that Judas fell. Thus, that you may know that it was not just any disciple who betrayed Him, but one from the highest order, the evangelist says: “one of the twelve.” And St. Matthew was not ashamed to write this. Why was he not ashamed? So that you would know that the evangelists always speak the truth in everything and hide nothing, even what seems humiliating, because even this seemingly humiliating thing demonstrates the humanity of the Master: a betrayer, a robber, a thief, He honored with such goods and tolerated him until the last hour, reasoned with him, admonished him, and took every care for him. If he did not listen, the Lord is not to blame; the sinful woman is a witness to this—she was attentive to herself and was saved. Therefore, do not despair, looking at the sinful woman; and do not be self-assured, looking at Judas. Both are deadly: self-assurance makes the standing fall, and despair does not allow the lying to stand up. Therefore, Paul also advised: “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). You have examples of both—how a disciple, seeming to stand, fell, and how a sinful woman who had fallen rose up. Our mind is prone to falling, our will is easily bent; therefore, we need to guard and protect ourselves from all sides. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot.” Do you see from which choir he fell? Do you see what teaching he neglected? Do you see what evil—carelessness and negligence—are? “Called Judas Iscariot.” Why do you tell me his city? Oh, if only I did not know it! “Called Judas Iscariot.” Why then do you name his city? There was another disciple—Judas, called the Zealot. Lest there be any mistake due to the similarity of names, the evangelist distinguished one from the other; he called this one by his good quality: “Judas the Zealot,” and he did not call that one by his evil quality—he did not say: “Judas the betrayer.” Although he should have, as he called this one by his good quality, so he should have called that one by his evil quality and said: “Judas the betrayer”; but, to teach you to keep your tongue clean from condemnation, he even spares the betrayer. “Went, he says, one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, and said, ‘What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?’” Oh, these wicked words! How did they burst forth from the lips, how did the tongue move? How did not the whole body become numb? How did not the mind darken?
“What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” Is this what Christ taught you? Was it not for this reason that He said: “Acquire no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts” (Matt. 10:9), restraining your inclination to greed in advance? Was it not to this end that He constantly persuaded you and at the same time said: “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5:39)? “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” Oh, madness! For what? Tell me. What great or small thing do you have to accuse Him of, that you betray the Teacher? For giving you power over demons? For giving you the power to heal diseases, to cleanse lepers? For giving you the power to raise the dead, for making you lord over the power of death? For these benefactions do you give such payment? “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” Greed produced all this evil; captivated by it, he betrayed the Teacher. Such is this evil root; it drives souls madder than the devil when it takes hold of them, produces forgetfulness of everything—in oneself, in others, in the laws of nature, it deprives of the very sense and causes madness. Look how many things it erased from the soul of Judas: communion [with Jesus Christ], affection, participation in the meal, miracles, teaching, admonition, instruction; all this then greed cast into oblivion. Therefore, Paul rightly said: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” The immensity of the madness of these words. Can you really, tell me, betray Him Who holds all, reigns over demons, commands the sea, is the Master of all nature? And to tame his madness and show that, had He Himself not wished, He would not have been betrayed, listen to what [the Lord] does. At the very moment of betrayal, when they came against Him “with lanterns, torches, and weapons,” He says to them: “whom do you seek” (John 18:3–4)? They did not know Him Whom they intended to seize. Thus far was Judas from being able to betray Him that he did not even see the presence of Him Whom he intended to betray, while there were lanterns and so much light. This indication is also given by the evangelist, saying: they had “lanterns and torches,” and did not see Him.
Every day the Lord reminded him both by deeds and words, suggesting that the betrayer would not hide [from Him]; He implicitly reproached him before all, so that he would not become more shameless, and He did not keep silent, so that he, thinking he was hidden, would not approach betrayal fearlessly, but often said: “One of you will betray Me” (John 13:21), however, he did not make him known. He spoke much both about Gehenna and about the Kingdom, and in both he showed His power, both in the punishment of sinners and in the rewarding of the virtuous. But Judas rejected all this, and God did not force him. Since God created us masters of the choice of both evil and good deeds, and wished us to be good by our own will, He does not compel and does not force if we do not want to, because being good by compulsion does not mean being good. Therefore, since Judas was the master of his thoughts and it was in his power not to obey them and not to succumb to greed, he obviously blinded his own mind and refused his own salvation: “What will you give me, he says, and I will deliver Him to you?” Reproaching the blindness of his mind and his madness, the evangelist says that at the time of their arrival Judas stood near them, saying: “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” And not only from this can one see Christ’s power, but also from the fact that at the utterance of a simple word by Him they drew back and fell to the ground. But since even after this they did not abandon their impudence, He finally delivered Himself, as if to say: I have done everything on My part, I have shown My power, I have shown that you are undertaking an impossible task; I wanted to curb your malice; but since you did not want this, but remained in your madness, then, behold, I deliver Myself. This is said by me so that someone does not condemn Christ, saying: why did He not change Judas? Why did He not make him prudent and good? How should He have made him good? By compulsion, or by will? If by compulsion, then in this way he could not have become better, because no one can be good by compulsion; if by will and free decision, then He [Christ] employed all measures that could test the will and intention. And if he did not want to accept the treatment, then the fault is not in the Physician, but in the one who rejected the treatment. See how much Christ did to incline him to His side and save him: He taught him every kind of wisdom, both by deeds and words, placed him above demons, made him capable of performing many miracles, frightened him with the threat of Gehenna, persuaded him with the promise of the Kingdom, constantly reproached his secret thoughts, but, reproaching, did not expose him to everyone, washed his feet along with the other [disciples], made him a participant in His Supper and Meal, omitted nothing—neither small nor great; but he voluntarily remained incorrigible. And that you may be convinced that he, having the opportunity to change, did not want to, and that everything happened because of his carelessness, listen. Having betrayed Christ, he threw down thirty pieces of silver and said: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4). What is this? When you saw Him performing miracles, you did not say: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” but: “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?” And when evil succeeded and betrayal reached its fulfillment, and the sin was complete, then you recognized this sin? What do we learn from here? That when we indulge in carelessness, then exhortation does not benefit us; but when we are attentive, then we ourselves can rise. So also he: when the Teacher admonished him, he did not listen; but when no one admonished him, his own conscience awakened, and without any teacher he changed, condemned what he had dared, and threw down thirty pieces of silver. “What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you? And they, says the evangelist, set for him thirty pieces of silver” (Matt. 26:15); they offered a price for the Blood that is beyond price. Why do you, Judas, accept thirty pieces of silver? Christ came to shed this Blood freely for the universe; but you make shameless contracts and terms about it with ungrateful Pharisees. Indeed, what could be more shameless than such a contract?
Then “the disciples approached” (Matt. 26:17). “Then”; when? When that happened, when the betrayal was accomplished, when Judas destroyed himself, then “the disciples approached Jesus, saying to Him: where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” Do you see the disciple? Do you see the [other] disciples? That one betrays the Master, and these care about the Passover; that one makes terms, and these offer service. That one and these enjoyed the same miracles, the same instructions, the same power; whence then such a change? From the will; it is always the cause of all goods and evils. “Where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” It was this evening; the Master had no home, and therefore they say to Him: “Where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” We have no fixed abode, no tent, no house. Let those who live in splendid houses, in wide porticos, in spacious enclosures, know that Christ had nowhere to lay His head. Here [the disciples] ask: “Where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” Which Passover? Not this—our Passover, but still the Jewish one; that is what the disciples prepared, and this—our Passover—He Himself prepared, and not only prepared it Himself, but also Himself became the Passover. “Where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” This was the Jewish Passover, which had its origin in Egypt. Why then did Christ partake of it? To fulfill everything required by the law. When He was baptized, He said: “For thus it befits us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15); I came to redeem man from the curse of the law; for “God sent His Son, …born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,” and to end the law itself (Gal. 4:4–5). Lest anyone say that He therefore destroyed the law because He could not fulfill it, as being difficult, arduous, and inconvenient to fulfill, He first fulfilled it completely, and then abolished it.
Therefore, He also performed the Passover, because the Passover was prescribed by the law. And why did the law prescribe eating the Passover? The Jews were ungrateful to their Benefactor and immediately forgot the commandment of God after the benefactions. Thus, when they left Egypt, even seeing the sea that parted and then came together again, and other countless miracles, they said: “Let us make gods who shall go before us” (Ex. 32:1). What do you say? The miracles are still before you, and you have already forgotten the Benefactor? And so, since they were so insensible and ungrateful, God connected the memory of His gifts with the establishment of feasts; therefore, He commanded to slaughter the Passover lamb, so that, when your son asks you, He says, what does this Passover mean?—you would say that our ancestors in Egypt once anointed the doors with the blood of a lamb, so that the destroyer, coming and seeing, would not dare to enter and would not inflict a blow (Ex. 12:27–28). Thus this feast became a constant reminder of salvation. And they received not only the benefit of it reminding them of ancient benefactions, but another, greater, from the fact that it prefigured the future. That lamb was an image of another Lamb—a spiritual one, the sheep—of the Sheep; that was the shadow, this is the Truth. When the Sun of righteousness appeared, then the shadow finally disappeared, for when the sun rises, the shadow hides. Therefore, on this very table both the typological and the true Passover are performed—how painters on one and the same board draw lines and depict the shadow, and then overlay it with true colors, so Christ did: on one and the same table He both outlined the typological Passover and added the true one. “Where do You want us to prepare to eat the Passover?” Then there was the Jewish Passover; but when the sun rose, let the lamp no longer appear; when the truth came, let the shadow already disappear.
I say this to the Jews, since they think they are performing the Passover; and, uncircumcised in heart, with shameless intent, they offer unleavened bread. How, tell me, Jew, do you perform the Passover? The temple is destroyed, the altar is annihilated, the Holy of Holies is desecrated, all kinds of sacrifices have ceased; why then do you dare to perform these lawless deeds? You once went to Babylon, and there your captors asked you: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion” (Ps. 136:3); but you did not agree. David expressed this, saying “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept… on the willows in the midst of it we hung up our lyres” (Ps. 136:1–2), i.e., the psaltery, the zither, the lyre, and others, which they used in ancient times and through which they sang psalms. Having gone into captivity, they took them with them, to have a reminder of life in their homeland, not to use them. “There, says [David], our captors asked us for words of songs”; but we said: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil?” (Ps. 136:3–4) What do you say? You do not sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil, but you perform the Lord’s Passover on foreign soil? Do you see the ingratitude? Do you see the lawlessness? When the enemies compelled them, they did not dare even to recite a psalm on foreign soil; but now of their own accord, at a time when no one compels or forces them, they wage war against God. Do you see how unclean the unleavened bread is, how lawless their feast is, how the Jewish Passover no longer exists? There once was a Jewish Passover, but now it is abolished, and the spiritual Passover, which Christ then imparted, has come. When they [the disciples] were eating and drinking, He, it is said [in the Gospel], “taking… bread,… broke it… and said: this is My Body, …broken for you for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:26–27). Those initiated into the mysteries understand what has been said. Similarly, taking the cup, He said: “This is My Blood, …which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). And Judas was present when Christ said this. “This is My Body,” which you, Judas, sold for thirty pieces of silver; “this is My Blood,” about which you recently concluded shameless terms with the ungrateful Pharisees. Oh, the humanity of Christ! Oh, the madness; oh, the frenzy of Judas! This one sold Him for thirty silver pieces, but Christ, even after that, would not refuse to give His very sold Blood to the seller “for the remission of sins,” if he had wished. For Judas was present and partook of the Sacred Table. When Christ washed his feet along with the other disciples, so also did he partake of the Sacred Table so that he would have no pretext for justification if he remained in his iniquity. Christ said and employed everything on His part, but he stubbornly remained in his wicked intent.
However, it is already time to approach this Dread Table. Let us all approach with due modesty and attentiveness; and let no one be a Judas, let no one be evil, let no one hide poison within themselves, bearing one thing on their lips and another in their mind. Christ stands now, Who established that Table, the same now arranges this one. It is not just a man who transfigures the offered [gifts] into the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ Himself, crucified for us. Presenting His image, the priest stands, uttering those words; but the power and grace of God act. “This is My Body,” He said. These words transform the offered [gifts], and as that utterance: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28), although spoken once, still gives our nature the power to procreate; so this utterance, spoken once, from that time to the present and until His coming, makes the sacrifice complete at each Table in the churches. So let no one approach deceitfully, let no one—filled with malice, let no one—have poison in their thoughts, lest they partake “unto condemnation.” And behold, after receiving the offered [gifts], the devil entered Judas, despising not the Lord’s Body, but despising Judas for his shamelessness, that you may know that those who partake unworthily of the divine mysteries are especially attacked and constantly entered by the devil, as then into Judas. Thus honors benefit the worthy, but those who use them unworthily are subjected to greater punishment. I say this not to frighten, but to warn. Let no one be a Judas; let no one approaching have the poison of malice within them. This sacrifice is spiritual food. Bodily food, when falling into a stomach that has bad juices, further aggravates the ailment, not by its own property, but by the disease of the stomach, so it usually happens with spiritual Mysteries. And they, when communicated to a soul filled with malice, rather do more harm and destroy it, not by their own property, but by the disease of the receiving soul.
Let no one, therefore, have evil thoughts within them, but let us cleanse the mind; we approach a pure sacrifice,—let us then make our soul holy; and this can be done even in one day. How and in what way? If you have something against an enemy, then leave anger, heal the wound, end the hostility, so that you may benefit from this Table, because you are approaching a Sacred and Dread Sacrifice. Be ashamed of that which underlies the very offering of this sacrifice. Christ lies slain before [you]. Why was He slain and for what? To reconcile the heavenly and the earthly, to make you a friend of the Angels, to reconcile you with the God of all, to make you a friend from being an enemy and adversary. He gave His soul for those who hated Him; and do you remain hostile against a fellow servant like yourself? How then can you approach the Table of peace? He did not refuse even to die for you; and do you lack the strength to leave anger at a fellow servant like yourself? What forgiveness can this merit? He offended me, you say, and took much from me. So what? The loss is only in money—he has not yet hurt you as Judas hurt Christ; yet Christ gave His very Blood, which was shed, for the salvation of those who shed it. What can you say equal to this? If you have not forgiven your enemy, then you have not harmed him but yourself; often you have harmed him in this life, but you have made yourself unworthy of forgiveness and defenseless on the future day. Nothing is so repugnant to God as a resentful man, as a haughty heart, and an irritable soul. Listen to what He says: “If… you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember” beforehand, standing before the altar, “that your brother has something against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23–24). What do you say: shall I leave (the gift)? Yes, for peace, He says, with your brother this sacrifice is offered. Therefore, if this sacrifice is offered for your peace with your brother, and you do not make peace, then you participate in this sacrifice in vain, the benefit becomes useless for you. First do what this sacrifice is offered for, and then you will use it beautifully. For this the Son of God came down, to reconcile our nature with the Master; and not only did He Himself come for this, but [He was also concerned] to make us, performing this, partakers of His name. “Blessed, He says, are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). What the Only Begotten Son of God did, do also you in human measure, becoming the cause of peace both for yourself and for others. Therefore, He calls you, a peacemaker, a son of God; therefore, also with respect to the time of the sacrifice, He mentioned no other commandment except reconciliation with a brother, expressing that this is more important than all. I wanted to continue the discourse further, but enough has been said for the attentive, if they will remember. Let us, beloved, constantly remember these words, and the sacred kisses, and the dread greetings, which we give one another. This unites our souls and causes that we all become one body, as we all partake of one Body. Let us unite into one body, not combining bodies with each other, but binding souls among themselves with the bond of love; thus we may boldly taste of the offered Table. And though we may have countless righteous deeds, if we are resentful, then all is in vain and futile, and we can derive no fruit for salvation from them. Realizing this, let us cease all anger and, cleansing our conscience, approach Christ’s Table with all humility and meekness, with Whom, to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be all glory, honor, and power for ever. Amen.