It is very fitting that all this happened at the time of the Passover. The original Passover had seen the Israelites set free from Egypt. This Passover would see people set free from sin and death. The first Passover was just a shadow of what was to come. Just as the Israelites were protected by the blood of the lamb, so we are protected from judgement by the blood of Jesus.
Luke explains why the religious leaders wanted Judas. They were afraid of the people, and so wanted some sort of cover for what they were doing. If one of Jesus' disciples betrayed Him then they could say that one of His own handed Him over.
Note that it also says that Satan entered Judas. When we look at events we want there to be one answer: God did it, Satan did it, or a person did it. This leads us to all sorts of problems, misunderstanding predestination being one of them. The truth is that two or even all three can be involved. The whole matter of the cross was predestined by God, planned long ago. So God's plan was unfolding, and Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him. It is also true that Satan was involved and thought he was getting his way, and Judas was also responsible. God is the primary cause, Satan and Judas are secondary causes.
So Judas decided to betray Jesus and went to the chief priests, naturally they were delighted.
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