Vigils Reading – Tuesday of Holy Week

One of You will Betray Me3

From a Commentary by Origen

There are many… who condemn Jesus and say, “Crucify him, crucify him,” and, “Away with such a one from the earth.” But to betray him was the work of one who had seen and observed him; for because he was acquainted with him as a teacher of such great and numerous teachings, which he had heard in private with the apostles, and because he knew him as Lord, when he betrayed him he betrayed his greatness, which he had known, something that one who had not beheld his greatness could not have done…

If Judas’ evil had been obvious to Jesus’ disciples it would have been known who was to betray the teacher, since Jesus had said, “One of you will betray me.” But now the disciples look “at one another, doubting of whom he spoke.” Perhaps indeed the apostles were ashamed to suspect anything wicked ofJudas because of his previous worthy deeds. It may have been, too, that Judas did not belong totally to evil, even though the devil had already put it in his heart that Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, should betray him. It was because there was still a remnant of good choice in him that, when he saw that Jesus wascondemned when “they bound him and lead him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor,” he repented and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” When they replied, “What is that to us?”… Judas, who loved money, threw the money down and “went and hanged himself.” He did not even wait to see the end of Jesus’ judgment before Pilate.

In Judas’ case neither was his repentance without error, nor his evil unmixed with something better. For had his repentance been pure, even as that of the thief when he said, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come in your kingdom,” he would have approached the Savior and would have done what was in his power to make atonement for the treason that had already taken place. On the other hand, if he had cast the thought of good from his soul completely, he would not have repented when he saw that Jesus was condemned, but in addition would have accused him and added words proper to his treason. And furthermore, as a lover of money… he would not have returned it to the chief priests and elders, nor would he have confessed before those very men, on the one hand accusing himself, [but on the other], praising the teacher in the statement, “I have sinned in betraying just blood.”

“It is He with Whom I shall Dip the Morsel”… Jesus said this, then, and “when he had dipped the morsel, he took it and gave it to Judas… To understand how the Lord gave a morsel to Judas, and Judas then laid aside something better that was in him, perhaps even peace, which returns to the speaker from the one who hears it and does not accept it, according to the words, “If there be a son of peace there, your peace shall rest upon him, but if there is not a son of peace there, your peace shall return to you”… Once his peace was removed, the one who was watching for opportunities to enter his soul [entered] Judas, who also gave him a place to enter. Now observe at the same time that Satan did not enter Judas earlier, but only put it into his heart “that Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, should betray the teacher.”… Wherefore, let us also be on guard that the devil may not put it into our heart by one of his fiery darts, for if he does this, he afterwards watches to enter himself