Letter: Why Judas threw back the silver

Sir: Judas threw back the 30 pieces of silver that he had received for betraying Jesus and went and hanged himself ('Was there a traitor at the Last Supper?', 6 April).

The most likely explanation is that he engineered this confrontation between the Jewish authorities and Jesus in the belief that Jesus would assert his authority and take over the leadership of the Jewish people. When this did not take place, he was in despair. The Romans went ahead with the execution because they feared Jesus, who was indeed a threat to their authority.

Yours faithfully,

G. T. BROWN

Kingston upon Thames, Surrey