Matthew 26:14-16

Matthew 26:14-16 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Things are much different today than they were during Jesus time. Today we know what important people look like because we’ve see them on TV or seen pictures of them in the newspapers or on the internet. But when Jesus was alive, many people had not even seen Jesus and would not recognize Him in a crowd. So the chief priests needed someone to actually identify Jesus so that the Roman soldiers would know who to arrest Him. And Judas was their man. Judas sold out Jesus for only thirty pieces of silver. And his secret signal to the soldiers was a kiss on the cheek. A kiss on the cheek was common in the Middle East where Jesus and Judas lived. Actually, they still kiss you on the cheek in greetings in Romania. It seems a little odd to me, but it is common and expected of anyone living in Romania. But how sad that Judas used a kiss to betray our Lord! What a hypocrite! He would soon regret his treachery, but it could not be undone. Once Jesus was arrested, Judas could not take back his kiss. He wished that he could, but it was too late.