Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Judas loved money. We may suppose that earlier he had hoped to make himself rich as Messiah Yeshu’s Chief Minister for Finance in Jerusalem.

But now he sees no hope for gain save in a small betrayal price.

When we firmly choose our own desires instead of Yeshu’s, he does not stop us from acting in a self-interested way. Rebellion against God causes bad karma of a kind from which there will be no escape unless we repent. (Read on for the meditation on verses 17-21)