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n If there was one individual who gave the Christians anbit of a headache, it was Judas Iscariot. The Bible story tells how Judasnbetrayed Jesus with a kiss, leading eventually to the crucifixion. Judas wasnpaid thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus but he returned this fee and, fullnof remorse, he went off and hanged himself.
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| Caravaggio – The Taking of Jesus |
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nWhy is this a headache? Well, innthe first place, why did anyone need to identify Jesus? Surely he was wellnknown enough in Jerusalem at the time. He’d ridden into town on a donkey andnthe crowds had turned out in their numbers and waved their palm fronds at him.nHe’d preached to and taught these people, at an earlier stage he’d even fednfive thousand of them, he’d gone into the Temple and thrown out thenmoneylenders. He was hardly acting inconspicuously. So why on earth did it neednJudas to point him out?
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nSome will argue that it was because he was betrayed tonthe Romans, and they weren’t as familiar with the assorted Jewish messiahs whonwere doing the rounds at the time (there were quite a few about the place), sonthey needed someone to point out precisely which one it was that they wanted.nThat’s fair enough if you imagine that the Romans were merely a bunch ofnarmour-wearing, knuckle-headed thugs who thought that all those Jews looked thensame to them, but I think they were just a little bit more sophisticated thannthat.
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| Giotto – Judas Betrays Jesus – Scrovegni Chapel |
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nOther people will say that it was to satisfy an earlier prophecy, thatnthe messiah would be betrayed with a kiss and be sold for thirty pieces ofnsilver. Which is fair enough, if you believe in prophecies and in being able tontell the future, which smacks a little bit of special pleading to me. Ifnsomething is foretold, then it’s going to happen, no matter what. Whichninterferes somewhat with the notion of free will. And that’s where anothernheadache arises. If Judas’s future was already planned out for him, then he hadnno choice in the matter. He couldn’t have done any differently, even if he hadnwanted to. Which is a bit rough on Judas and his immortal soul. He was damnednbefore he was even born, which doesn’t really sit well with the idea ofnpersonal responsibility and divine mercy.
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| Judas and the Sanhedrin |
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nOn the other hand, if Judas had thenoption of not betraying Jesus, that knocks the prophecy business into ancocked-hat. It’s a headache. Either everything is planned out by God innadvance, in which case what’s the point of trying to live a good life, sincenyou’re damned whatever you do. Or, it’s up to you – if you don’t tear aroundnthe place doing whatever you feel like, if you don’t commit any sins, then younwon’t have done anything wrong and it would be a massive injustice if Godnstarts condemning the innocent.
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nSome of the later Protestant theologiansnthought they had an answer to this. No, they said, what matters is believing innGod and his Word, if you accept God into your heart, then you’re saved, but ifnyou don’t, then get ready for the eternal torments and so forth. But that, theynseem to have missed, also involves a choice. You’ve either got the option ofnbelieving or you haven’t. Is it free will or is it predestined? You can’t havenit both ways. You can nit-pick, hair-split and special plead all you want, butneither Judas had a choice or he didn’t.
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| The Life and Death of Judas Iscariot |
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nThen, there’s another problem. In Matthew’sngospel (27:5), Judas takes himself off and hangs himself. In the Acts of thenApostles (1:18), Judas falls headlong into a field, bursts open and hisnintestines spill out. You can’t have it both ways. Which one is it? No, no, saynthe Christians (Augustine, I’m looking at you), you’ve misunderstood. Judasnwent off and hanged himself but the rope broke and he fell down, which is whennthe splitting open happened.
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nRight, sure, whatever you say. It’s me that’s gotnit wrong. Surprising that. I’ve got it wrong when I take Matthew’s word for itnthat Judas went back to the Jewish elders with his thirty pieces of silver andnthrew them into the temple. As in,
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n“So Judas threw the money into the templenand left. [Matt. 27:5]”n
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nSo, St Peter isn’t fibbing in the Acts,nwhen he says,
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n“With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas boughtna field. [Acts 1:18]”n
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nYou can’t have it both ways. Which one is it?nDid he throw the money away or did he buy a field with it? No, no, is thenreply. You’ve got it wrong (again?). The Priests picked the money up and boughtnthe field on Judas’s behalf, because technically it was still his money, younsee. Well no, technically, I don’t see. It sounds to me like you’re cobblingnbits together that suit your argument and twisting them around until all thenkinks and wrinkles fall out. (How about this for a bit of wriggling? Judasnacted with Jesus’s knowledge and consent and he wouldn’t have been damned atnall if he hadn’t gone and committed suicide – that was the sin that did fornhim).
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nYou can either have a Bible that is the infallible word of God or you cannhave a book that has got some mistakes and inconsistencies in it. And if thatnsounds simplistic, it’s because it is that simple. It’s one thing or thenother. No ifs or buts, No becauses or howevers. No ‘it’s you don’tnunderstands’ or ‘you’re misinterpreting thats’. And it’s not thenonly time it happens. The Bible is packed with mistakes and inconsistencies.nThis is just a minor example. And it was just the same sort of examples likenthis that made people start to sit up and say, “Wait a minute, this bit herendoesn’t match with what it says there.” And this in turn started thenheadaches for some people and their vested interests.
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nOh Judas, what have younstarted? Or didn’t you get a say in the matter, after all?
