Matthew 27:2-5

Continuing on in the drama they tie up Jesus. Surely they don't think Jesus is a flight risk or a physical threat to them, but I'm sure that they wanted to make a more dramatic presentation to Pilate.
Judas realizes that they are going to kill Jesus and feels remorse, gives back the money, and goes off to hang himself. I wonder what he thought that they were going to do with Jesus. But here Judas has a chance to redeem himself. To go and stand by Jesus but he is too ashamed and goes off to kill himself.
Jesus always wants to restore our relationship with God, that's kind of his whole mission here on earth, but so many times we feel that we are too far gone. That God can do nothing with us because of what we've done. Yet all Jesus wants from us is our commitment irregardless of our history. JM

Matthew 26:49-50

Man, Jesus is mean. I never noticed what he said to Judas after Judas had kissed him: "Friend, do what you came to do." Why not just say do what you came to do. But he called him friend. I bet that haunted him for his last few days. I bet he heard it echoing in his mind. He had spent so much time with Jesus. He really was Jesus' friend. Or he should have been, but he missed it. He didn't get it. Everybody else did, but somehow Jesus didn't get it and he betrayed his friend.
People always talk about wanting to sit down with Jesus, or Peter, or Paul or something, but I think Judas is one of the most fascinating people in the Bible. I'd love to talk to him. JM

Matthew 26:47-48

I always used to wonder why the pharisees needed Judas to kiss Jesus. I'm sure it's symbolic and everything, but didn't they know which one Jesus was. They had seen him tons of times. He was probably in their nightmares. But the pharisees didn't come for Jesus. Instead they sent "many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders of the people."
It was all a setup. They sent these people to get Jesus and bring him before their council as if they had nothing to do with it. It's a smart little plan. It worked. They ended up getting Jesus crucified.
It's just interesting to really see what happened. JM

Matthew 26:17-25

Morale is a tricky thing. You want to encourage your team and make sure that they are pumped up. But at the same time you need to face the reality that sometimes you must make difficult decisions and address grave situations. It's interesting to see Jesus handle this. I love the reaction of Judas when he's like, oh not me. Uh..... JM

Matthew 26:14-16

Judas is one of the most interesting people in the Bible to me. He hung out with Jesus constantly. He witnessed it all. He was there just like the rest of the disciples. And yet he didn't get it. Experiencing the same events as everyone else, he had a radically different reaction. It's kind of refreshing that someone that close to Jesus didn't get it. I look back at all of the students that have come through my ministry and didn't get it and I wonder what I did wrong. How did I not communicate God's love and truth in a way that changed their life. Seeing Judas helps me to realize that some people refuse to get it for whatever reason.
This is also an interesting little passage. Judas was taking money from the treasury bag of Jesus ministry. If he turned Jesus in, then he would be losing his source of income. So he would have to turn Jesus in for a large sum to make up the difference. But he didn't get a large sum, so there must have been something else Judas was looking for. Either he wanted to be accepted by the Pharisees or he didn't like Jesus. That's going to take some research to figure out. JM