On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ”
So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

Jesus did not have any animosity towards Judas. He did not show any real emotion about his betrayal here that I can tell. He knew that all of this was fulfilling prophecy and he was on a rescue mission.

Judas just happened to be the one who chose to betray him. He was already a thief and now he adds betrayer.

If we think about it, Jesus could have changed his routes to different places. He could have changed the disciples meeting place. He could have gone into hiding. There are all kinds of things he could have done to make it difficult for Judas to betray him.

But instead, he trusted God and allowed everything to unfold. I can’t imagine how hard this would have been.

Then we have Judas. His heart has become corrupted. He pretends that he is not the betrayer. Who knows what his motivation was? Was it money? Did Jesus not become the type of king he wanted, with power and position on this earth around him?

This begs the question when we follow other people, what are we really looking for? Are we looking for some benefit, are we following them to gain something for ourselves? When we follow Jesus, we don’t have to worry about being taken care of in this world, because he guarantees us that we will be with him for eternity.

Lord, thank you for this interesting passage about your interaction with Judas. You treated your betrayer so well. You loved him though he was a wretched sinner. Help me to understand how much you love me, even when I fall. And I pray that you will teach me the art of calm and peace, even when I have been wronged or others treat me poorly.