Mark 14 excerpts
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him...
...17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”...
...43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
The story of Judas Iscariot stands in the Scriptures as a dread warning about the awful possibilities and ultimate issues of sin. All the available evidence points to the fact that the tragedy of Judas was not a sudden unpremeditated disaster, but something which grew and developed gradually and imperceptibly over a period of time. As James says in his Epistle (1:13-15), 'sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death'. But in the meantime, its slow, insidious growth, like a cancer, gradually undermines the soul, until the final crash comes. With Judas it developed over the three years during which he companied with Jesus, and it was within the context of a life bright with promise that the hidden corruption took place, a life which heard Jesus speak as never man spake, and witnessed the works of power and grace performed by His mighty hand. The verdict of Scripture is that covetousness proved his undoing, and one sees, in this respect, our Lord's emphasis about the danger of riches, as personal warnings, almost, against the secret idolatry within him. Jesus saw its growth, even if he was unaware of it himself. Doubtless Judas didn't mean to let it go nearly as far as it did - no man does. But sin is deceitful, and invariably gets out of control in the long run, so that it cannot be contracted out of. The urgent lesson we are taught here is: Resist beginnings! Once the frontiers of the mind are crossed all may be lost. It was so with Judas Iscariot, and in the end he went out, and it was night.