And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
Read Chapter 26
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Cons. Ev., ii, 78: The order of the narrative is this. The Lord says, “Yeknow that after two days will be the feast of the Passover; . then assembled together the Chief Priests and Scribes; . then went one of the twelve.”Thus the narrative of what took place at Bethany is inserted by way of digression, respecting an earlier time between that, “Lest there be an uproar,” and, “Then one of the twelve.”.
Quaest Ev., i, 41: That the Lord was sold for thirty pieces of silver by Judas, denotes the unrighteous Jews, who pursuing things carnal and temporal, which belong to the five bodily senses, refuse to have Christ; and forasmuch as they did this in the sixth age of the world, their receiving five times six as the price of the Lord is thus signified; and because the Lord’s words are silver, but they understood even the Law carnally, they had, as it were, stamped on silver the image of that worldly dominion which they held to when they renounced the Lord.
Non. occ.: Having described the occasion of his treachery, the Evangelist proceeds to recount the manner of it.
non. occ: He adds his distinctive appellation, “Scarioth,” for there was another Judas.
The wretched Judas would fain replace, by the sale of his Master, that loss which he supposed he had incurred by the ointment. And he does not demand any fixed sum, lest his treachery should seem a gainful thing, but as though delivering up a worthless slave, he left it to those who bought, to determine how much they would give.
Joseph was not sold as many, following the LXX for it could not be that the servant should be more valuable than his Master.
Knowing this, then, let us also not intermit to do all things unto them that sin and are remiss, warning, teaching, exhorting, admonishing, advising, though we profit nothing. For Christ indeed foreknew that the traitor was incorrigible, yet nevertheless He ceased not to supply what could be done by Himself, as well admonishing as threatening and bewailing over him, and nowhere plainly, nor openly, but in a concealed way. And at the very time of the betrayal, He allowed him even to kiss Him, but this benefited him nothing. So great an evil is covetousness, this made him both a traitor, and a sacrilegious robber.
Hearken, all you covetous, you that have the disease of Judas; hearken, and beware of the calamity. For if he that was with Christ, and wrought signs, and had the benefit of so much instruction, because he was not freed from the disease, was sunk into such a gulf; how much more shall you, who do not so much as listen to the Scripture, who are constantly riveted to the things...
“Then,” when, that is, he heard that this Gospel should be preached everywhere; for that made him afraid, as it was indeed a mark of unspeakable power.
“One of the twelve,” as much as to say, of that first band who are elected for preeminent merit.
When the woman who was a stranger and a harlot had shown Jesus such honor, then it was that His own disciple departed to betray Him. For it was not without meaning that the evangelist says, "Then went...," but in order to show the shamelessness of Judas. He adds the name "Iscariot" to better identify him. For there was another Judas who was also called Lebbaeus (Mt. 10:3 and Lk. 6:16). The betrayer, however, was from a certain village named Iscara. "They covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver," that is, they agreed, they determined an amount to give, and not as many think, that they weighed out and paid the money. "He sought an opportunity" to betray Him to them when He was alone, for they feared the multitude, and for this reason they paid Judas to inform them when Jesus would be alone.
