Et tu, Judas?

Alright, I am going to preface this by saying that I am by no means a theologian or expert on the subject so please do not judge me too harshly on this next sentence. Are we being a little too hard on Judas? Oh no, I said it. It’s out there now on the internet where the words can now forever be held against me…the least you can do is hear me out.

Stories of betrayal give us some of the most remembered and despised villains in human history. Any American who makes it through middle school social studies classes can tell you the legacy of the turncoat, Benedict Arnold, even if they cannot recall any other major events of the Revolutionary War. And there is no question that I will always remember how Julius Caesar met his demise at the hands of 40 of his own senators, but can’t tell you much else about the events leading up to or immediately following his assassination.

Of all betrayals though, Judas Iscariot takes the cake. He wasn’t turning his back on a group of revolutionaries or an overzealous dictator. He turned against his friend, and worse, his Lord and Savior. A person who gave Judas his complete trust and let him into his inner circle of closest friends. Why would anyone betray God?

Fortunately for me, I have the benefit of 2,000 years of hindsight and a completely Catholic upbringing. So it’s easy for me to think, “of course I never would have done that.” I can listen to this gospel every year and accept the depiction of Judas as a wretched abomination of human history and leave it there, but I think that I would be missing the point of this story. Writing this blog post challenged me to put myself in Judas’ story and for the first time in my life I looked for empathy towards Judas in this passage. Peter may have denied Jesus, Thomas doubted Him, and hundreds of people stood in the crowd yelling “crucify him.” But despite all of this, and the gospels message to let those without sin cast the first stone, Judas is the one we have never forgiven.

It is unknown what motivated Judas to betray Jesus so all we can do is speculate. Was it his greed that led him to accept 30 pieces of silver? Was it pride or jealousy stemming from disagreements within the group? Did he experience doubt in who Jesus claimed to be? Or was it fear of what might happen next if he stayed with the disciples? During Jesus’ short time in Jerusalem, it becomes clear that the tides were turning against them. The disciples must have known that just by associating with Jesus they could be put to death. Jesus talked openly about his upcoming suffering and death, and the disciples would have known what would follow for them when things inevitably went south. William Barclay, a believer of universal salvation, theorized that maybe it was Judas’ belief in Jesus that led him to the betrayal. Barclay claims Judas may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand through his actions, and as the promised Messiah, it would lead Jesus to bring peace and free them from the Romans.

While all of these theories seem feasible, they are still only theories. We will never know. It may be possible that Judas did not even completely understand why he did it. How often do we act rashly, letting our emotions get the best of us, while not really understanding what we have done until we are faced with the consequences? When looked at in this way, the story of Judas becomes upsettingly relatable. It doesn’t, in fact, matter what emotions (greed, pride, jealousy, doubt, or fear) motivated Judas because it is the recklessness of his actions, the control by his emotions, and the surrender to temptation that make us all like Judas in our own ways. Of course, we will never be faced with a choice to give up Jesus to the high priests for 30 pieces of silver. We are, though, faced with opportunities to turn away from God daily, and that is where the Easter season gives us hope. The first reading today says, “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.” Through good and bad, easy and hard, right and wrong, the Lord is my help. He helps us to do what seems impossible. The message of the gospels, and especially of Holy Week, is that through all of the flaws of humanity, our God is a God of love and forgiveness. Through his death on the cross, we learn that even the worst of us deserves salvation. So maybe the story of Judas is not a story of “what not to do,” instead a challenge to do what is most difficult for us: to forgive.

Author: TJ Howard, Science Department