TODAY IN THE WORD
Marcus Junius Brutus secured his place in history when he joined the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar. Brutus and a number of other senators attacked the freshly appointed dictator for life because they feared his power had exceeded its appropriate bounds. The surprise attack as Caesar arrived at the Senate ended his life on the Ides of March.

But not even a century later, Brutus's act of treachery was surpassed. Judas Iscariot delivered Jesus into the hands of the chief priests who wanted Jesus killed. But this betrayal was unique in that Jesus wasn't at all surprised by it. From the very beginning of this passage, Jesus told His disciples He would be crucified. Ironically, He knew more about His death than His attackers did—they still didn't know how they could reach Him (v. 5).

In Matthew, the story of the woman (Mary) who anointed Jesus with perfume is out of sequence chronologically, but it is situated perfectly for showing the motivation of Judas. The anointing occurred the day before the Triumphal Entry (John 12:12; cf. Matt. 21). But the Gospel of John also informs us that it was Judas who voiced his displeasure for the so-called waste of perfume—he had been stealing from the disciples' money bag (John 12:6). After this incident Judas sold his allegiance to the chief priests and began looking for the chance to betray Jesus.

Again, Jesus knew what Judas was going to do before Judas did. He recognized that the hour of His crucifixion was drawing closer, but this did not excuse the betrayal. Jesus issued the most severe warning of woe to His traitor, and He pointed him out. The crime of selling Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver could not have been worse—but Jesus didn't stop it from happening. The table of the Last Supper presented a portrait that contrasted the ultimate obedient act and the most depraved sin. Both Jesus' obedience to the will of God and Judas's wicked submission to his own selfish desires would result in death. But one would translate into eternal life for all who believed. The other offered no help to anyone, not even Judas.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Judas's betrayal wasn't the only act that led Jesus to the cross. Judas didn't really have the power to take Jesus down. Our Lord gave Himself willingly to pay the price for our sins. That includes everything you've ever done wrong—and it includes what you'll be tempted to do today. It's a question with an obvious answer, but still worth asking: Whom do you want your actions to resemble? To be more like Christ than like Judas, we have to put other people's needs and desires ahead of our own. Begin as soon as you can.

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