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Even the first time he appears, Judas’ name is associated with the betrayal which makes him infamous and immortal in history. We have two accounts of how he met his end: St Matthew tells us he hanged himself in a fit of shame and remorse; in Acts, Luke tells us ‘Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.’ He has become the epitome of the false friend. Why did he do it?
The Synoptic Gospels agree that Judas was bribed. Greed then, 30 pieces of silver; was it for this that the Saviour of the World was handed over to the torturers? John goes further, telling us that Judas ‘was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.’ He objected to Mary using expensive, scented oil to anoint the feet of the Lord, giving us one of the few other insights we have into his behaviour.
One of the most powerful moments in John’s Gospel comes in the sixth chapter when many of His followers turn away, being unable to accept the literal fact that Jesus is telling them that they will eat His flesh and drink His blood. We concentrate much on Peter’s weakness sometimes, but here he stands firm and when Christ asks if he is not going to follow suit he says “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answers gnomically: “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
That brings us up against the paradox at the heart of Judas. He was the Son of God, and He chose the twelve and He knew one was going to betray Him. Christ knew human weakness well. Judas had free will. He had made his choice. Like so many of us, he would find it impossible to live with it.
It is a sign of our times that so many seem fascinated by Judas. Goodness is a quality we seem to find hard to handle, the corruptions and ambiguities of treason fascinate us. If moral relativism had a patron saint, it would be Judas. He judged by the standards which came naturally to him. It was wrong to waste money which could and should be used on the poor; Jesus was not going to bring the social and political change that were needed; Judas reasoned according to the ways of this world and he handed over the Lord of Creation to His enemies.
Judas and Caiaphas were men of this world, as I have tried to illustrate on Neo’s blog, and they followed its reasoning. For the one, Jesus was a danger because he threatened the existing order, for the other, a disappointment because He didn’t. Faced with the Truth, like Pilate they didn’t know what it was, let alone that it was a person – the person whom they condemned.
That night at Gethsemane, nearly everybody fell below the level of events. Peter would also betray Jesus, something Christ had foreseen as clearly as He had the betrayal of Judas. Peter, however, would feel his shame and it would drive him to work tirelessly for the Risen Lord and to ‘feed mu sheep’. Judas, however, reasoned as men do and hung himself. To the end, he preferred his own judgment to obedience to the command to repent and preach the Gospel.
All Along the Watchtower 
An excellent post. Thank you.
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Thank you – your own this morning was excellent 🙂 x
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I’ve often wondered whether Judas was one of those who thought Jesus was to be the reinstatement of the earthly kingdom, and finding that it was not so embittered him. This may of course be very shallow as this is my busy season and so my studying at this time of year has been sketchy at best.
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It wouldn’t be surprising if he were – he was certainly angry at the waste of money represented by Mary’s use of the oil.
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He surely was. It was simply something that has occurred to me over the years and C’s post brought it to the forefront again.
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Me too 🙂 x
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I like it when that happens 🙂 x
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Good, isn’t it? 🙂 xx
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It is very good. 🙂 xx
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🙂 xx
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🙂 xx
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I find Judas the strongest believer in Christ, more then Peter. He knew he was the son of God. He had faith, but he was mistaken, as we are that our aims, are God’s aims.
I think he wanted Jesus to act as the Messiah he knew He must be. He was helping his nation, and forcing Christ to perform his role. He believe in the power of the Lord, He would come down from the Cross and rescue the nation, all Jesus needed a little help and a little pressure.
When Jesus died, Judas’ faith died and the darkness took him.
Bad men, never think what they do is evil, they will always tell you they work for the good, many times the means do not matter only the end.
It is a lesson of the 20th century that we can not know the end, but we realize that death is the not the worse thing that can happen to us, but sinning in the means is.
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A very profound thought Tom 🙂 x
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It is impossible to know the inner workings of any particular soul and is the reason that the external Church (the men and women of this world and its governance) never makes an evaluation of such – even for Judas. The interior disposition of the soul we are told must, to be in perfect compliance to the supernatural mystical body must have faith, hope and charity. Whether Judas lost 1 or more of these theological virtues is speculative though we have good circumstantial evidence that he did. It is why the earthly governance of the Church has never solemnly declared whether Judas was forever condemned though the narrative lead us to think it is highly probable. Did he have contrition and regain his faith etc. at the last instance of life? Seems improbable but not out of the question. Judas, like many, was a practical man and looked for practical answers. My own thought is that he, like the rest of the disciples that no longer walked with Christ, saw that as a sign that Christ had lost His mind. Eating and drinking the flesh and blood of a man was repulsive to Jews of that era if understood they way most of them understood it. Perhaps that began the events that had him questioning all that he had come to believe sending him into great despair. But, we only know the accounts as given and they do not speak to his inner disposition at all; just to the actions.
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Very true, dear friend. But I think you are right, and that he may well have begun to fall away when so many others did.
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Indeed, despair at least in contemporary psychology is often precipitated by great disappointment. Judas gave up everything to follow the Messiah and the disappointment he must have felt when Christ spoke of doing the unspeakable must have made him feel like he had been duped and that his world was now in utter confusion. Despair quickly followed and his practicality thought it expedient that Christ be exposed. His betrayal of Christ quickly turned to guilt and drove him, quite literally, insane. At least that is how I see his human foibles unfolding.
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That seems a compelling and convincing account, dear friend 🙂 x
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I don’t know how convincing it is to others but it has been a sufficient answer to my own curiosity. 🙂 x
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It seems pretty good to me, dear friend, and makes a lot of sense – as ever with you 🙂 xx
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You’re making a grown man blush. 🙂 xx
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I mean it – I learn so much from you, and it is greatly appreciated 🙂 x
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Dittos, my dear. 🙂 x
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Thank you – it is fun sharing and learning – what learning ought to be and so often isn’t 🙂 x
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Your site is one of the best for exchanging ideas in a comfortable (and at time forgiving) venue. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 That is so kind and so nice to know 🙂 x
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Another in a long line of thought provoking posts, Jess. Situation Normal for this site. 🙂
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Thank you so much for the encouragement – it really does help a lot :)x
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Judas is so universally known for his deed. I wonder if we should have empathy for him. He was chosen as far as God’s Plan is to perform this act. Imagine the agony anyone one would feel to be so destined as part of God’s Plan. To be the appointed one to commit the act. I have also wondered why this is labeled a betrayal as Jesus was such a public figure , He would be easily recognized by just about anyone in the area.
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This is pure speculation–
I adhere strongly to the Latin proverb “the best, corrupted, becomes the worst,” so it comes as little surprise (though when I first learned of this, it was a bit surprising) that Judas was both traitor and money-holder. I mean, that he held the money of the group would seem to indicate that at one point he was the most trustworthy and clear-headed of the group. We don’t give our valuables to someone we don’t trust, nor that we think don’t have a good head on their shoulders. As the most trust-worthy, when corrupted, he became a traitor.
And yet, perhaps gradually, he started to go down the slippery slope. Taking a little here, a little there, “I’ll put it back at some point.” Maybe he even did it out of good intentions, like small investments that he put elsewhere for the group. “We’re using so much to give to the poor–how can we help them if we ourselves are poor!” But the path to Hell is paved with good intentions…
Then, as SF points out, Christ went a little mad hatter. It probably seemed too much for Judas as a practical man.
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Yes, that seems very plausible to me. I hope you have a holy Easter 🙂
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You as well, God bless.
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He sings the best songs in “Superstar”
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