“…Judas Iscariot who became a traitor” (NRSV, Luke 6:16)

Unlike the rest of the Apostles, who were Galileans, Judas Iscariot came from Judea.  The name of his home town was Kerioth, as we learn from his name Iscariot which means ‘man of Kerioth’.  The polished Judeans habitually looked down on the rough and ready Galileans, and no doubt Judas felt the same towards his fellow Apostles.  So probably from the start he was the odd man out among the Apostolic band.  He ended as the lone wolf in the flock.

Nevertheless, it is quite clear that to begin with he was a sincere and devoted follower of Our Lord.  He took part in the Mission of the Twelve and like the others he preached the Kingdom of God and performed miracles of healing.  These would have been an impossibility if his faith in Jesus at that time had not been unquestioning and absolute.

His downfall began when he was put in charge of the common funds.  He was probably singled out for the post of treasurer on account of his business ability, but from that moment Judas the Apostle began to change into Judas the Traitor.  Judas loved money and the temptation in handling the funds while living a life of holy poverty was too much for him.  As St John says, “…he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it” (NRSV, John 12:6).

When we recall that so many of Our Lord’s warnings were uttered in the presence of Judas, about whom Jesus had no illusions, they assume an added significance.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…” (NRSV, Matthew 6:19).

“You cannot serve God and wealth” (NRSV, Matthew 6:24).

“…consider whether the light in you is not darkness” (NRSV, Luke 11:35).

Those warnings, however, were without effect.  Judas’ appetite for riches, already sharpened by his misuse of the treasurership, was no longer to be satisfied merely by what he could embezzle: his mind turned to far grander designs.

Much of Our Lord’s teaching was about the Kingdom of God, and although he himself stressed its spiritual character, the disciples thought of it as a material Kingdom, soon to be set up in Palestine with Our Lord at its head.  Indeed, James and John went so far as to put in for the chief posts in the government.

While, however, the rest sweetened their present hardships with dreams of future greatness for Our Lord and for themselves, with Judas it dominated all his waking hours.  Perhaps he pictured himself as governor of his native Judea, in place of Pontius Pilate, living in a palace in Jerusalem with all the wealth and power and luxury he wanted.  It did not seem an impossible dream but its realisation hinged on whether Our Lord staged a coup and took over the country as its King.  All depended on that.

And so when after the Feeding of the 5000, Our Lord deliberately evaded the efforts of the Galilean patriots to make him King, Judas, seeing the ambitions on which he had set his heart tottering, felt that he had been duped.  The next day, when Jesus gave his discourse on the Blessed Sacrament in the synagogue of Capernaum, it became clear to his audience that Jesus’ concern was with spiritual nourishment and not with political power and rewards: and we read, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (NRSV, John 6:66).

Judas did not follow them, but he had already joined them in his heart.  And Our Lord, sensing unerringly the newborn hatred in the traitor, solemnly said, “Did I not choose you, the twelve?  Yet one of you is a devil” (NRSV, John 6:70).

Judas' hopes were raised by Our Lord’s triumphal and royal entry into the capital on Palm Sunday.  But when Jesus let so favourable an opportunity slip away, Judas at last knew that his dreams would never now be realised and, as he thought whose fault it was, his hatred became almost uncontrollable.

What finally decided him was the incident of the anointing of Christ’s feet at Bethany.  When he protested at what he considered a wicked waste of money, having his own ideas of what should have happened to it, Our Lord administered him a public rebuke (John 12:1-8).

His hatred now swamped even his avarice, for he actually allowed the chief priests to name their own figure, and he didn’t care how small it was.  “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” he asked (NRSV, Matthew 26:15).  When they offered him 30 silver pieces – the price of a sheep – he accepted it.

We have seen that Our Lord must have uttered many of his sayings with Judas in mind, hoping to keep the false apostle from the ruin into which he was slipping.  Now, in Holy Week, he did all he could to save him.  At supper on Maundy Thursday, while it was still possible for Judas to back out of his unholy bargain, Jesus revealed that he knew what was afoot.  Yet even then he did not name the traitor lest Judas should be set on by the others and his resolution be stiffened out of defiance.

When the rest had asked one by one, “Surely, not I?” Jesus solemnly declared, “…woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been better for that one not to have been born” (NRSV, Mark 14:19,21).  This attempt on Our Lord’s part to bring home to Judas the enormity of what he was planning to do, was met by the shameless question, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”  Even at that no word of scorn or anger or even condemnation came from Our Lord, only the soft answer, “You have said so” (NRSV, Matthew 26:25).

It was then that Satan took him over and he went at once to Our Lord’s mortal enemies.  And as St John says with tremendous meaning, “…it was night” (NRSV, John:13:30).

By the time Judas reached Gethsemane at the head of the armed mob, he was completely abandoned.  His mind had even conceived the plan of indicating Our Lord to the mob by giving him a kiss, thus turning what is the pre-eminent sign of affection into an instrument of the Devil.  Indeed, it was not even necessary, for Our Lord walked forward and made himself known.

But now every spark of goodness had for the moment been extinguished in the darkness which filled his soul, and he approached Our Lord to kiss him.  Even then Jesus still tried to recall the Apostle to what he was doing, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” (NRSV, Luke 22:47,48).  But the words of Jesus had no effect and Judas came up to him and said, “Hail, Master!” and kissed him.  Once more Jesus tried to help Judas understand what he was doing: “Friend,” he asked, “why are you here?” (Catholic edition RSV, Matthew 26:49,50).  For regardless of his own plight, Jesus was concerned only to make Judas realise the monstrous thing he was about.

But Judas realised that only when it was all over.  After the Crucifixion he made his way to the Temple, and flung the 30 pieces of silver through the doorway of the Holy Place, where only the priests were permitted to go.  Then, having thus rid himself of the mocking reward, he went and hanged himself.

“He was bad enough to do the deed of infamy, and good enough to be unable to bear the burden of its guilt”. (1)

“He acted like Satan, but like a Satan who had it in him to be an Apostle”. (2)

The sin of Judas has no parallel in history.  It was a sin against all bonds of discipleship and friendship, against light, against affection, against trust, against warnings, against his own promises and preaching.  Moreover, it was entirely deliberate and in no sense the result of a sudden temptation.  And it was contrived with a calculated skill and carried through to its conclusion with an unswerving tenacity.

Yet the case of Judas is unique only in its opportunity and form.  He is by no means the only follower of Christ who has turned traitor.  Let us always remember, Judas is a warning not to unbelievers but to disciples.  Our attention is so forcibly drawn to the part he played as traitor that we forget that once he was a loyal and devoted Apostle who had forsaken all for Our Lord’s sake.

As with many a Christian since, so it was with Judas: what he chose to regard as a small sin caused him to lose, first his faith in Our Lord and then his own soul.

In how many a lapsed Christian has this melancholy tale been repeated.  First there is the enthusiasm and loyalty of the Church member for whom religion in general and Our Lord in particular is a new chapter in life, supplying something that was lacking before.  All goes happily until an old sin reappears and becomes habitual: soon faith in Our Lord becomes weak and enthusiasm wanes.

Worship, once so regular when it sprang from love and loyalty, becomes fitful and grudging.  Holy Communion likewise is received less and less frequently.  Such a person at this stage has, in his or her heart, already left Our Lord just as had happened with Judas after Our Lord’s discourse on the Blessed Sacrament.  Finally, in spite of all the old associations with Our Lord and with his Church, both worship and Communions cease altogether.

There is now nothing to suggest that the person ever even belonged to Our Lord and to his Church.  The little leaven has steadily leavened the whole lump, and rejection of him has become complete.  The disciple has turned traitor.

And all Christians, however they begin, must always end either by being for Christ and with Christ or against Christ and without Christ.  There is no middle way.

During this Lent, therefore, let us take time to open our hearts to God and ask him to give us true self-knowledge, sorrow for our past disloyalties, forgiveness, and the grace to persevere as Christ’s faithful disciples to the end of our lives.

References

1. Bruce, A.B. (1831-1899) Training of the Twelve, cited in Hastings A. (ed) (1906) A dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, Vol I, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, p.912

2. Lavater, J.K. (1788-1799) Essays on physiognomy, cited in Hastings, A. (ed) (1906) A dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, Vol I, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, p.908