John Chrysostom, On Judas's Betrayal

and of so much light. For that the evangelist hinted at this, he says: They had torches and a light, and they did not see him. And every day He reminded him, both by deeds and by words, showing that he who was betraying him would not be unnoticed. And He neither rebuked him openly before all, so as not to make him act more shamelessly; nor was He silent, lest, thinking he was unnoticed, he should attempt the betrayal without fear, but He continually said, "One of you will betray me;" yet He did not make him manifest. And He went through many discourses concerning Gehenna, and many concerning the kingdom, and He showed his power for both, the one in punishing sinners, and the other in honoring those who do right. But he evaded all these things, and God did not draw him by force. For since He made us masters of the choice of both evil and good deeds, and wishes us to be good willingly, for this reason, if we are not willing, He does not force or compel; for to be good by compulsion is not to be good at all. Since, therefore, he too was master of his own will, and had the power not to be persuaded and not to incline towards the love of money, for this reason his mind was blinded, and he betrayed his own salvation; and he says, "What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?" Therefore, the evangelist, rebuking the blindness and despair of his mind, says: At the time of the attack, Judas was standing near them, he who had said, "What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?" And not from this alone is it possible to see the power of Christ, but also that when He uttered a mere voice, they went back and fell to the ground. But since not even so did they desist from their shamelessness, He then gives Himself up, as if to say: I have done all My part, I have revealed My power, I have shown that you are attempting impossible things. I wished to put a stop to your wickedness; but since you were not willing, but persist in your madness, behold, I give Myself up. But these things have been said by me, so that some may not accuse Christ, saying: Why did He not change Judas? Why did He not make him temperate and good? How should He have made him good? By necessity, or by will? If by necessity, he would not even so have been better; for no one could become good by necessity. But if by will and choice, He brought to bear all things that could correct choice and will. But if he was not willing to receive the medicine, the fault is not the physician's, but his who rejected the cure. See, therefore, how many things He did, so as to reclaim and save him. He taught him all philosophy through deeds, through words, He made him superior to demons, He enabled him to work many miracles, He frightened him with the threat of Gehenna, He exhorted him with the promise of the kingdom; He continually rebuked his secret counsels, but in rebuking He did not make them public; He washed his feet with the others, He shared salt and table with him; He left out nothing, small or great; but he willingly remained uncorrected. And that you may learn that, being able to change, he was unwilling, but the whole thing came of his own indolence, listen. For when he had betrayed Him, he threw down 49.378 the thirty pieces of silver, and says: "I have sinned by betraying righteous blood." What happened? When you saw Him working miracles, you did not say, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood;" but, "What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?" But when the evil had advanced, and the betrayal had reached its end, and the sin was completed, then you recognized the sin. What then do we learn from this? That when we are indolent, not even exhortation benefits us; but when we are zealous, we can rouse ourselves even on our own. For this man too, when the Teacher was exhorting him, did not listen; but when there was no one to exhort, his own conscience rose up, and with no teacher present he changed, and condemned what he had dared, and threw down the thirty pieces of silver. "What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?" And they weighed out for him, it says, thirty pieces of silver. They paid a price

καὶ φωτὸς τοσούτου. Ὅτι γὰρ τοῦτο ᾐνίξατο ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, φησί· Λαμπάδας εἶχον καὶ φῶς, καὶ οὐχ ἑώρων αὐτόν. Καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπεμίμνησκεν ἡμέραν, καὶ δι' ἔργων, καὶ διὰ ῥημάτων, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐ λήσεται προδιδούς. Καὶ οὔτε φανερῶς αὐτὸν ἤλεγχεν ἐπὶ πάντων, ὥστε μὴ ἀναισχυντότερον αὐτὸν ἐργάσασθαι· οὔτε παρεσιώπα, ἵνα μὴ νομίζων λανθάνειν, ἀδεῶς ἐπιχειρῇ τὴν προδοσίαν, ἀλλὰ συνεχῶς ἔλεγεν, Εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με· οὐ μέντοι φανερὸν αὐτὸν καθίστη. Πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ περὶ γεέννης διῆλθε λόγους, πολλοὺς καὶ περὶ βασιλείας, καὶ τὴν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα δύναμιν ἐπεδείξατο, τὴν ἐν τῷ κολάζειν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ τιμᾷν τοὺς κατορθοῦντας. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ἐκεῖνος παρεκρούσατο, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς βίᾳ οὐχ εἵλκυσεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ κυρίους ἡμᾶς ἐποίησε καὶ τῆς τῶν φαύλων καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων αἱρέσεως, καὶ ἑκόντας εἶναι βούλεται καλούς· διὰ τοῦτο, ἂν μὴ βουλοίμεθα, οὐ βιάζεται οὐδ' ἀναγκάζει· τὸ γὰρ βιασθέντα εἶναι χρηστὸν, οὐκ ἔστιν εἶναι χρηστόν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν κἀκεῖνος γνώμης κύριος ἦν, καὶ ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ μὴ πεισθῆναι, καὶ πρὸς φιλαργυρίαν μὴ ἀποκλῖναι, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπετυφλώθη τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προέδωκε· καί φησι, Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν παραδώσω αὐτόν; Ἐλέγχων τοίνυν τοῦ νοὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν τύφλωσιν καὶ τὴν ἀπόνοιαν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, φησίν· Ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐφόδου ὁ Ἰούδας εἱστήκει ἐγγὺς αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖνος ὁ εἰπών· Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν παραδώσω αὐτόν; Οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν δὲ μόνον ἔστι θεάσασθαι τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ φωνὴν ἀφέντος ψιλὴν, ἀπῆλθον καὶ ἔπεσον χαμαί. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφίσταντο τῆς ἀναισχυντίας, λοιπὸν ἑαυτὸν παραδίδωσι, μονονουχὶ λέγων· Ἐγὼ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ ὅλον ἐποίησα, τὴν δύναμιν ἐξεκάλυψα τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ, ἔδειξα ὅτι ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρεῖτε πράγμασιν. Ἠβουλήθην καταστεῖλαι ὑμῶν τὴν πονηρίαν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἠβουλήθητε, ἀλλ' ἐπιμένετε παραπαίοντες, ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμι ἐμαυτόν. Ταῦτα δέ μοι εἴρηται, ἵνα μὴ κατηγορῶσί τινες τοῦ Χριστοῦ, λέγοντες· ∆ιὰ τί οὐ μετέβαλε τὸν Ἰούδαν; διὰ τί οὐκ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν σώφρονα καὶ ἐπιεικῆ; Πῶς ἔδει ἐπιεικῆ ποιῆσαι αὐτόν; ἀνάγκῃ, ἢ γνώμῃ; Εἰ μὲν ἀνάγκῃ, οὐδ' οὕτως ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι βελτίων· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀνάγκῃ γένοιτ' ἂν ἀγαθός· εἰ δὲ γνώμῃ καὶ προαιρέσει, πάντα τὰ δυνάμενα διορθῶσαι προαίρεσιν καὶ γνώμην εἰσήνεγκεν. Εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐβουλήθη δέξασθαι τὸ φάρμακον, οὐ τοῦ ἰατροῦ τὸ ἔγκλημα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ τὴν θεραπείαν διακρουσαμένου. Ὅρα οὖν ὅσα ἐποίησεν, ὥστε αὐτὸν ἀνακτήσασθαι καὶ διασῶσαι. Ἐδίδασκεν αὐτὸν πᾶσαν φιλοσοφίαν διὰ πραγμάτων, διὰ ῥημάτων, ἀνώτερον αὐτὸν τῶν δαιμόνων ἐποίησε, θαύματα ἐργάζεσθαι πολλὰ παρεσκεύασεν, ἐφόβησε τῇ τῆς γεέννης ἀπειλῇ, προετρέψατο τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπαγγελίᾳ· ἤλεγξε διηνεκῶς τὰ ἀπόῤῥητα αὐτοῦ βουλεύματα, ἐλέγχων δὲ οὐκ ἐδημοσίευε· τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔνιψεν, ἁλῶν αὐτῷ καὶ τραπέζης ἐκοινώνησεν· οὐδὲν, οὐ μικρὸν, ἢ μέγα ἐνέλιπεν· ὁ δὲ ἑκὼν ἔμεινεν ἀδιόρθωτος. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι δυνατὸς ὢν μεταβαλέσθαι οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ ῥᾳθυμίας τὸ πᾶν ἐγένετο, ἄκουσον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν, ἔῤῥιψε 49.378 τὰ τριάκοντα ἀργύρια, καί φησιν· Ἥμαρτον παραδοὺς αἷμα δίκαιον. Τί γέγονεν; Ὅτε θαυματουργοῦντα εἶδες, οὐκ ἔλεγες, Ἥμαρτον παραδοὺς αἷμα ἀθῶον· ἀλλὰ, Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν παραδώσω αὐτόν; Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ κακὸν προεχώρησε, καὶ ἡ προδοσία τέλος ἔσχε, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀπήρτιστο, τότε ἐπέγνως τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Τί οὖν ἐντεῦθεν μανθάνομεν; Ὅτι ὅταν μὲν ῥᾳθυμῶμεν, οὐδὲ παραίνεσις ἡμᾶς ὠφελεῖ· ὅταν δὲ σπουδάζωμεν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν διαναστῆναι δυνάμεθα. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτος, ὅτε παρῄνει μὲν ὁ διδάσκαλος, οὐκ ἤκουεν· ὅτε δὲ οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ παραινῶν, τὸ οἰκεῖον συνειδὸς ἐπανέστη, καὶ μηδενὸς ὄντος διδασκάλου μετεβάλετο, καὶ κατέγνω τῶν τετολμημένων, καὶ ἔῤῥιψε τὰ τριάκοντα ἀργύρια. Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν παραδώσω αὐτόν; Καὶ ἔστησαν, φησὶν, αὐτῷ τριάκοντα ἀργύρια. Τιμὴν κατέβαλον