Webelieve the events in this chapter take place on Thursday of Passion Week, theweek that Jesus Christ will be crucified.
Thiswas the time of Passover. There were three major feasts on the Jewish calendar:Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. All Jewish men were expected to go toJerusalem each year to celebrate these, as stated in Deuteronomy 16:16. ThePassover commemorated the time when the people of Israel left Egypt, when thelamb was killed, and the firstborn could live when the blood was sprinkled onthe doorpost and lintel. God had ordained that every year the people of Israelwere to commemorate and celebrate this time of deliverance out of Egypt. Duringthis time, the leaven was taken out of the houses, and the houses were cleansedfor Passover and the Passover meal. This meal will take place on Thursday withJesus and His disciples, and then He’ll be crucified on Friday.
TheFeast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover, as noted inverse one of chapter 22. In verse two, the chief priests and scribes sought howthey might kill Him, for they feared the people. The very people who shouldhave accepted Christ and acknowledged Him, understanding the Scriptures andthat He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah,were full of hypocrisy. Remember that Jesus warned His disciples of the leavenof the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Their hypocrisy is revealed: theycleansed the leaven in their houses but not the leaven in their hearts. TheBible says in John 8:44 that the devil is a murderer from the beginning, didnot abide in the truth, and there is no truth in him. My friend, these peoplewere motivated by satanic powers to do what they did.
Inverse three, “Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered amongthe twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests andcaptains about how he might betray Jesus to them. " The Pharisees, scribes, and chiefpriests were delighted when Judas was going to do it secretly, and they gavehim money.
Judaswas motivated and energized by Satan (John 13:2, 27), for he never was a truebeliever in Jesus Christ. His sins had never been cleansed by the Lord (John13:10-11), and he had never believed and received eternal life (John 6:64-71). Yetnone of the other Apostles had the least suspicion that Judas was a traitor. Wehave every reason to believe that Judas had been given the same authority asthe other men and that he had preached the same message and performed the samemiracles. It shows how close a person can come to God's kingdom and still belost (Matt. 7:21-29).
Whydid Judas betray the Lord Jesus? We know that he was a thief (John 12:4-6) andthat money played a part in his terrible deed. But thirty pieces of silver wasnot a large payment for such a great crime, and there had to be something moreinvolved. It is possible that Judas saw in Jesus the salvation of the Jewishnation and, therefore, he followed Him because he hoped to hold an office inthe kingdom. Keep in mind that the Twelve often argued over who was thegreatest in the kingdom, and Judas, the treasurer, surely participated in thoseimportant discussions.
WhenJudas understood that Jesus would not establish the kingdom but rather wouldsurrender to the authorities, he turned against Him in bitter retaliation. The"leaven" in his life grew quietly and secretly until it produced"malice and wickedness" (1 Cor. 5:6-8). When you cooperate withSatan, you pay dearly, and Judas ended up destroying himself (Matt. 27:3-5).Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and he reproduced himself perfectlyin Judas.
Today,we need to beware of the leaven, the unconfessed secret sins and the proud anddeceitful motivations that lie hidden in our hearts. Only the blood of Jesuscan cleanse us as we confess our sins ask forgiveness (1 John 1:7-10).
Godbless!
