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Gospel Reading for April 01, 2026 – Matthew 26: 14-25
SILENCED FOREVER
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“ The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
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Judas was the treasurer of their group—yet he was the one who sold their leader to the enemy. Imagine being betrayed by a friend, treated as though you were nothing more than an object to be traded.
What could drive a person to do something so despicable? Could it be Greed? Or perhaps a misguided expectation—that Jesus would finally use his power against his enemies? Whatever the reason, the act itself reveals how far the human heart can fall when it loses sight of what is right.
When we need money, we usually earn it through honest work or by selling something we own. When that is not possible, we borrow. But to sell a person—as Judas did to Jesus—is to strip away their dignity, much like the selling of slaves in the past. The difference is that slaves were sold into forced labor without pay or freedom, while Jesus was handed over to be SILENCED FOREVER by those who found Him threatening, especially in His interpretation of the Law of Moses.
What did Judas intend to do with the thirty pieces of silver? When Jesus was arrested, he realized he could not live with what he had done and tried to return the money—but by then, it was too late, and even the chief priests refused to take it back (Matthew 27:3–5).
And what about us?
What do we do with money meant to help those who suffer endlessly from floods? What do we do with funds intended for healthcare, especially for those who cannot afford it? What do we do with the profits from the sale of weapons—profits that often bring more suffering and death to innocent lives than peace?
It is often said, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” and such love can lead us down a path of destruction—blinding us, just as it did Judas, to the true value of what we are willing to exchange for it.
Lord, teach us to value money only as a means to sustain our daily needs, and never to desire more than what is truly necessary!
