Garry spoke this morning about how Joseph and Jesus were both sold for silver. Selling a person seems abhorrent to us; although modern slavery still exists, it goes against all our values to see a human being sold for a price. Joseph was sold for 20 shekels of silver to Ishmaelite traders; Jesus was betrayed by Judas for the price of 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:14-16), which was the price laid down for a slave.

We struggle to understand the level of betrayal involved in both these cases. Brothers are meant to be close friends and allies, not enemies. The disciples of Jesus were his closest friends, like family to him. We wonder how these people can have come to the place of betrayal. Clearly, Joseph’s brothers were jealous of their father’s favouritism and irked by Joseph’s youthful arrogance. Their hatred had simmered for a long time and they fed off each other’s animosity. Later, they would suffer great remorse as they saw their father’s anguish and grief and lived with the consequences of their actions.

We know very little about the motivation of Judas Iscariot, but it seems, like most people, he expected the Messiah to be political, someone who would throw off Roman oppression and establish the kingdom of God on earth with force. He had experienced spiritual power (see Matt 10:1-4), but he was clearly interested in money and the power it brought more than he was in doing things God’s way. Later, he too experienced remorse, realising that Jesus was not going to fight off his arrest and establish a military kingdom, but for him, this never led to repentance and he committed suicide. (Matt 27:3-5)

Betrayal goes against the trust and love which are the foundation of all human relationships. Both Joseph and Jesus show us, however, the power of forgiveness when betrayed and wronged and how to keep on loving those who betray us.