e disciple did not heed the warning. Perhaps it was at
this stage that he commenced to steal from the bag which he carried.
He felt that he must have some tangible reward for following Christ,
and he justified his peculation by saying to himself that what he was
taking was infinitely less than he had been led to expect. He regarded
himself as an ill-used man.

Under the practice of this secret sin his character could not but
rapidly deteriorate. Jesus dropped a word of warning now and then; but
it had the reverse of the desired effect. Judas knew that Jesus knew;
and he grew to hate Him. This was by far the worst aspect of the case.
The other disciples were becoming more and more attached to their
Master, because they felt increasingly how much they owed Him; but
Judas did not feel that he owed Him anything: on the contrary, his
feeling was that he had been betrayed. Why should he not betray in
turn? There may even have been an element of scorn in selling Christ
for so little.

More than one of the Evangelists seem to connect the treachery of Judas
directly with the scene at Bethany in which Mary anointed Jesus with
costly ointment. Apparently this beautiful act brought all the evil in
his heart to such a head that an outbreak could no longer be deferred.
His spite found vent in the angry contention that the money ought to
have been given to the poor. It was a large sum, off which he could
have taken an unusually large slice of booty. But probably there was
more in the occasion to incense Judas. To him this feasting and
anointing, at the moment when the crisis of Christ's fortunes had
obviously come, appeared sheer folly; as a practical man he despised
it. It was manifest that the game was up; a leader loitering and
dreaming in this fashion at the crisis of his fate was doomed. It was
time to get out of the ship, for it was clearly sinking; but he would
do so in such a way as to gratify his resentment, his scorn and his
love of money all at once.

Thus the master-passion of Judas was nourished from potent springs.
But, indeed, avarice in itself is one of the most powerful of motives.
In the teaching of the pulpit it may seldom be noticed, but both in
Scripture and in history it occupies a prominent place. It is
questionable if anything else makes so many ill deeds to be done.
Avarice breaks all the commandments. Often has it put the weapon into
the hand of the murderer; in most countries of the world i