22. Peter turned to discover who was following him, and when he saw it was Judas, he shouted: It would be better for you not to have been born.
Mark 14:21;
Matt 26:24
23. Judas felt betrayed. He had not run away when the Master was arrested.
24. He had not, like Peter, denied Jesus three times, just as the Master had foretold. Why was he the only one to be branded as a sinner?
25. Judas returned to the courtyard and waited hour upon hour for the Master to reappear.
26. Priests continued to enter and leave the home of Caiaphas so that the latest scraps of information could be
passed on to willing ears that only wanted to hear bad news.
see
Mark 14:62–64;
Matt 26:65–66;
Luke 22:70–71
27. Jesus of Nazareth is claiming that he is the Son of God.
28. The Sanhedrin has found him guilty of blasphemy. He is a sinner.
29. The word quickly spread that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.
30. ‘Name him,’ shouted a well-placed onlooker.
31. The Scribe immediately stepped forward. ‘Judas Iscariot,’ he declared so that all might know his name.
32. Judas bowed his head as the crowd began to chant: ‘Betrayer, betrayer, betrayer.’
33. Judas turned to the Scribe and pleaded with him to confess what had actually taken place.
34. The Scribe smiled and, pointing to Judas, declared: ‘Behold the betrayer.’
35. Judas wept.
Chapter 23
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
1. Jesus emerged from the house of Caiaphas bound but unbowed, his face covered in spittle.
2. He was led away to the Governor’s fortress, where the Chief Priest handed their prisoner over to Pontius Pilate.
3. The Scribes and the Pharisees did not want to be seen passing judgment, as they had no desire to have Jesus’ death laid at their door.
4. If anything were to go wrong, they would insist that it was the Romans who had made the final decision.
5. A large and boisterous crowd was assembling at the fortress gates. They were being whipped up into a frenzy as they waited for Pilate’s judgment.
Mark 15:14;
Matt 27:22;