In Defense of Judas

We are approaching the time of year when Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, gets a bad rap.

"Bad, wicked, naughty Judas for handing Jesus over to be killed."

I think Judas understood the script that Jesus was preaching over and over-- "The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinners.  They will kill him, but he will arise on the third day."

Judas willingly became the one to hand Jesus over.  His listened to his Rabbi and did what Jesus said.  It's as simple as that.

If anything, we should be looking askance at the Eleven.

"When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.  And as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me."  And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after the other, "Is it I, Lord?"-- Matthew 26:20-22

Sorrowful?  They should have been climbing over one another to volunteer for the job!  I think they didn't believe Jesus, especially that "rising on the third day" bit.  To them the death of Jesus would be the end of Jesus.

I can understand, perhaps even sympathize a bit.  I don't want anyone to die.  I would also have a hard time believing that a person who was killed by my hand would rise from the dead.

I think it took faith and massive courage for Judas to do what he did.  The story would have turned out much differently if he didn't.  In fact, using the word "betray" shows the anti-Judas bias of our English Bible translations.  We don't like betrayers, so using the word almost guarantees that we will see Judas as the bad guy who did the dastardly deed.

Try reading the Passion Narratives without an anti-Judas bias and see if that's a more satisfying way of understanding the texts.

I'm on Team Judas!