condition
and take to Himself His great power and reign; only they left the time
and the means in their Master's hands, not venturing to criticise His
proceedings. Judas was not so patient. He was a man of energy and
practicality, and he allowed himself to believe that he had discerned a
defect in the character of his Master. Jesus was too spiritual and
unworldly for the enterprise on which he had embarked--too much
occupied with healing, preaching and speculating. These would be well
enough when once the kingdom was established; but He was losing His
opportunities. His delay had turned against Him the authoritative
classes. One vast force, indeed, was still on His side--the enthusiasm
of the populace--but even of it He was not taking advantage. When, on
Palm Sunday, He was borne into the capital by a crowd throbbing with
Messianic expectation, He seemed to have in His hand what Judas
supposed to be the object of His life; but He did nothing, and the
crowd dispersed, disappointed and disheartened. What Jesus required
was to be precipitated into a situation where He would be compelled to
act. He lacked energy and decision; but, if He were delivered into the
hands of the authorities, who were known to be seeking His life, He
could hesitate no longer. When they laid hands on Him, He would of
course liberate Himself from them, and His miraculous power would
exhibit itself in forms so irresistible as to awaken universal
enthusiasm. Thus would His kingdom be set up in magnificence; and the
man whom the king would delight to honour would surely be the humble
follower by whose shrewdness and audacity the crisis had been brought
about.

II.

Even if this were the true history of Judas, his conduct would not,
perhaps, be as innocent as it looks. In the course of His life our
Lord had frequently to deal with persons who attempted, from what
appeared to themselves to be good motives, to interfere with His
plans--to precipitate Him into action before His time or to restrain
Him when His time had come--and He always resented such interference
with indignation. Even His own mother was not spared when she played
this part. To do God's will exactly, neither more nor less, neither
anticipating it nor lagging behind it, was the inner-most principle of
the life of Jesus; and He treated any interference with it as a
suggestion of the Evil One.

Still the theory will not hold water. The Scriptures know nothing of
it, an