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Judas Iscariot, Partner in Jesus’ Fulfilling the Law

For a non-Judas apologists, see McGarvey.

(The following are loose notes taken largely from  Derek Nelson http://www.wabash.edu/bop/callimachus/issues/1999/Spring/judas.html (This link, apparently, is no longer available.) and John Shelby Sponge's Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes, chapter 16 (HarperCollins, 1996)

Scripture Pertaining to Judas  Historical, Cultural, and Geographic Background Derek Nelson Conclusion

    Jesus came to “fulfill the law.” He put the spirit back into the law.

"You have heard it said, 'Love your friends, but hate your enemies', but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

The Father and His Son  live by the laws they set. Under the Mosaic Law, an owner of land and animals is responsible for what happens on that land. If he digs a pit and doesn't cover it and a neighbor's animal falls into it and dies, the owner of the pit is liable. If someone builds a house with a roof and doesn't put up a railing and someone falls off, you must flee to a city of refuge until the death of the High Priest.

(EX 21:28-32) "And if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.
[29] "If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.
[30] "If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.
[31] "Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
[32] "If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

(Zech. 11:12,13)"If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
[13] Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

(MT 27:3-10) Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
[4] saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"
[5] And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
[6] And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood."
[7] And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers.
[8] For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
[9] Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel;
[10] AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER'S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME."

The Creator of the Universe must abide by His own Laws. He created Adam, placed him in a place where he could be deceived by a Serpent which the Creator also created. Adam and all his offspring fell into a pit and all died. In Adam all died, including you. According to the Mosaic Law, the Creator was responsible for Adam's death and must make restitution. Satan has deceived mankind time and time again. According to the Law, the owner of a beast that has been known to gore in the past, must die along with the beast. However, if a ransom price has been placed upon that man, he may be redeemed. The value the Priest of Israel placed upon Jesus was 30 pieces of silver, which Judas put into the temple. Lawfully, Jesus, who the Father gave all things to, and who all things are of, to, and through (Rom.11:36), must die because of allowing Satan to kill Adam and his offspring, but Jesus was redeemed with the 30 pieces of silver. Not only that, but the 30 pieces of silver purchased the Potter's field, which became the "Field of Blood," which became a proper burial place in the land of Israel for foreigners, gentiles, that is non-Israelites. This "field of blood" was located in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, known as "Gehenna" to the Greeks and better known as "hell" in many misleading Bible translations including the King James Bible. For those of you who want to translate Gehenna as "hell," you should know that Judas purchased that field called "hell."

God created us and He will restore, correct, balance, make good, reconcile, redeem, etc., etc., until every tear that has ever been shed in this world of sin is wiped away and every person who has been hurt, marred, or killed will be restored until the glory of the latter house be much greater than the glory of the former house.

 The Jews saw about 613 laws in the Mosaic system. The Jews added thousands of laws which were impossible to remember or keep. Some of the laws added actually made it possible to break Moses law' for self gain. For example, when making an agreement, one had to face Jerusalem and say twice "Amen, Amen." If one said "Amen" only once, the agreement was not lawful and therefore could be broken. Knowing the "Law" at this point in Israel's history actually became profitable. Many foreign people were swindled by these kinds of acts.

Jesus had to fulfill the Laws of Moses, not the laws of Rome. The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus guilty, not innocent. They would not declare the lamb innocent. So how was Jesus legally determined to be the "innocent" Lamb? The answer: Judas!

Judas was predestined just as Jesus’ being born at this time was predestined. Jesus chose Judas knowing his purpose; that prior to Satan entering Judas, his sins were really not much different than the other apostles

      Proper Sacrifice

Jesus was crucified in the Passover season.

A young goat was just as acceptable as a lamb? (2 Chron. 35:7, Lev. 22:19, Ex. 12:5)

In the original Passover, the lamb (or goat) was selected on the 10th day of the month of Abib. This month was to be their first month since that was the month they were delivered from Pharaoh. This lamb or goat was kept for 4 days and inspected to make sure it was spotless and without blemish. In subsequent Passovers, the Priest had to inspect the lamb or kid to make sure it was without blemish.

Recall Exodus and the Passover lamb. Israel was to put the blood of a lamb older than eight days and less than one year which was unblemished on the door of their house. The death angel or God was going to kill every first-born male in Egypt. Only those houses marked with the blood would be "passed over." But the death angel was not going to kill everyone in the unmarked houses, only the first born males. Later on, we find out that the God of Israel wanted every male that opened the womb as His own, whether it be from the domestic animals, or people. The first-born male children of Israel had to be redeemed, that is, bought back. In other words, when they were born, they belonged to Yahweh. The parent had to purchase him back from the Levites for a certain price.

Jesus Christ was the true Passover Lamb pointed to by the first Passover in Egypt and its commemorative Passovers which were to be kept each year by Israel.

Remember, on the Day of Atonement, Jesus was inspected by the Priests!  And they declared Jesus guilty of blasphemy which was punishable by death! How could Jesus be the innocent lamb  if they declared Him blemished with sin?

Orthodox Christianity puts it in the hands of the true secular authority of Israel which was Pontius Pilate. He asked Jesus a number of questions and after doing so found that Jesus was not guilty of anything worthy of the death penalty. (Matt. 27) He washed his hands of the whole affair and said he found no fault with Jesus and wanted to set him free. The people, prodded on by the priests, wanted Him to be crucified. Pontius Pilate made another attempt to free Jesus by using a tradition Romans used on special occasions. On certain important days they would release a prisoner as a sign of mercy or good will. Pontius Pilate gave Israel a choice of freeing Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of Yahweh, or Barabbas. Some ancient manuscripts called him Jesus Barabbas. Barabbas in Greek means Son of the Lord or Master. Abba in Aramaic means father. So the choice presented to Israel was a very interesting choice. Which do you want freed...Jesus (Yashua which means Yah saves or Yah's deliverance) or Barabbas (son of the Lord or Master or Father).

The people picked Jesus to be sacrificed and Barabbas to escape into the wilderness of humanity. At this point Pilate ceremoniously washed his hands of the whole thing and turned the whole thing over to the Jews. He said "You see to it." (Matt. 27:24). The people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." Do not forget the prophesy of Caiaphas the high priest. The chief priests and Pharisees gathered and were trying to determine what to do with this miracle worker who everyone was following. They were afraid of a rebellion, which would mean the Romans would come in and take away their place and the nation. Caiaphas said in John 11:49-52, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." John then said, "Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation."

(James 1:23,24,NIV) "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

(MT 16:21) From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

(MT 16:22,23) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."(NIV)

Please note that the text does not say "Satan entered him" as with Judas. Jesus directly called him "Satan," which means adversary. Peter was unwilling for the dark side of the Word to be fulfilled. Death must precede life. Peter was not "mindful of the things of God." Jesus being betrayed, becoming the Lamb slain, being valued at 30 pieces of silver, and the purchase of the "field of blood" was "being mindful of the things of God."

Peter was directly called "Satan." Satan had to enter Judas in order for him to fulfill the Scriptures. In other words, Judas was not capable of betraying Jesus by himself! He had to be taken over. Peter did not need the help of Satan to not be mindful of the things of God. It was perfectly natural for him. When Satan wanted to "sift" Peter, Jesus prayed for "Satan" Peter. Why didn't Jesus just pray for Judas? Because Judas had to do what he did to fulfill Scripture that the redemption of the whole world from its bondage to sin might be accomplished! Judas was not a hearer only, as Peter was, but a "doer of the word." Not only was he a doer, but Jesus hastened Judas along to get it done. "What you are doing, do more quickly." (John 13:27) Judas fulfilled his purpose for being born, and when we get to that grand banquet, he will have "returned to his own place." (Acts 1:25)

If there were no Jews, our sins would still have put Jesus on the Tree of Crucifixion.

Beginning

Scriptures pertaining to Judas

John 13:21-31
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,
28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.
30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.

Matt 26:45-50
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him."
49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.

John 18:2-9
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
5 "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them).
6 When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
8 "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go."
9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

Matt 27:3-10
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.
4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money."
7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners.
8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel,
10 and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

Acts 1:15-26
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
16 and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus--
17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."
18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, May another take his place of leadership.'
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen
25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."
26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (NIV) 

Beginning

Historical, Cultural, and Geographical Material

 Beginning

Conclusion

Jesus came to fulfill the Law. There is much mystery around Judas and even the writers of the New Testament seemed to have different stories about Judas. For example, Luke states the reason the field is called Akel Dama, that is, the Field of Blood, is because Judas fell there headlong and his intestines gushed out. (Acts 1:16, 17) Matthew says the field was called the Field of Blood because the money that purchased the field was "blood money." (Matthew 27:8)

Another example is found where Mark says, "Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely." (Notice the word "safely") "And as soon as He had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, 'Rabbi, Rabbi!' and kissed Him." (Mark 14:44,45) John gives a different account. "Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priest and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, 'whom do you seek?' They answered Him, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them 'I am He.' And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground." (John 18:3-6) Mark has Judas immediately kiss Jesus to identify Him and John has Jesus come forward to declare Himself as the "I Am" and knocked them all down.

Judas did the will of the Father and fulfilled the Scriptures. Peter tried to prevent Jesus' crucifixion and was called "Satan" by our Lord. Peter, who was not mindful of the will of God, was restored. Was it not Jesus who said, ""For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:50) Be careful about placing Jesus' brother, Judas, in Christendom's "hell." Peter denied Jesus three times in one night while Judas declared Jesus innocent in front of the High Priesthood. Judas had a very important job in the Kingdom of God. For three and one half years, as a Priest he inspected the Lamb of God as an unbiased man. He was not "one of them" a Galilean. He was the outsider. He did his job perfectly. If Judas really wanted to mess things up, he could have agreed with the High Priesthood and called Him a "blasphemer" who claimed to be the Son of God when He really wasn't. But Judas declared the Lamb spotless and unblemished, the Perfect  

Beginning 

Derek Nelson http://www.wabash.edu/bop/callimachus/issues/1999/Spring/judas.html (This link, apparently, is no longer available.)

So, generally, Mark’s theory on Judas is that Iscariot is the unfortunate man who must provide the link between good and evil. Judas is the tragic friend of Christ destined to play the pivotal role in the story of the Crucifixion, without which the entire New Testament has absolutely no meaning. Judas is destined to bear the colossal burden of appearing the villain; he must "hand over" Christ to the Jewish priests, ensuring the condemnation and subsequent crucifixion of the Messiah.

Klassen sums it up very well:

Compared with Peter or with the other disciples, Judas comes out very well. Mark provides us with no evidence that there was any alienation between Judas and Jesus. Judas was a faithful disciple of Jesus, he was one of the twelve, and, as such, he obeyed Jesus. As a fellow member of the family of God, ‘one who was appointed to be with him,’ (3:14) he delivered Jesus up into the hands of God’s appointed servants, the priests of God. (Klassen, 91)

Of course, reasons for Matthew’s treatment of the story in this way are purely speculative. Klassen asserts that it has to do with the author of Matthew’s sense of community. "Matthew’s need to sharpen the lines of difference between Christians and Jews in the early life of the church was a factor in the way Judas is portrayed. Nevertheless throughout his account there shine many examples of the portrait of Judas as disciple and as apostle, but most notably as friend of Jesus." Thus in Matthew we have an intermediary between the benign approach to Judas and Judaism taken in Mark and the antipathetic anti-Jewish nature of Luke and John, the latest written Gospels.

But there is an even more interesting "first" in the Gospel of Luke; it is in this book that the first indication is made that there are, in truth, two men named Judas. Luke implies that there is a man named "Judas the son of James" (Matthew 6:15, NRSV) who was originally a member of the twelve disciples. This obviously reflects a need felt by Luke to reconcile the good deeds and favored relationship of a man named Judas with Jesus Christ and the terrible act of traitorousness committed by the man named Judas Iscariot. Luke had undeniably read Mark, and was aware of the close relationship that Mark avowed between Christ and Judas, but could not admit that it was plausible that this was the same person who had handed Christ over to the authorities.

By way of recapitulation, Mark essentially implies that Judas had no external motivation for handing Jesus over to the priests; he was simply a tragic instrument of fate. Matthew expands this theory and clearly outlines a motivation by greed at work in Judas’ acts. The theme of fate still applies, but Judas is not completely excused from complicity in Jesus’ death because his avarice somehow desecrated the nobility of the story of Christ’s passion. Luke adds yet another element of motivation to Judas’s betrayal: Satan. The theme of fated, necessary death for Jesus accomplished through Judas’ betrayal is diminished to nearly nothing. Greed remains a major reason for Judas going to the high priests, but at least equally as important is the fact that Judas was impelled by Satan to do it (Nicole, 66).

The most severe implication of the introduction of Satan into the picture is how close it brings the devil to Jesus. In the Luke narrative Judas remains at the Last Supper for the entire time, whereas the previous two versions describe Judas leaving the other twelve, presumably to alert the authorities to their whereabouts. But Luke insists that Judas, while filled with the spirit of Satan, communes with the inner circle at the most crucial and dramatic point of the entire New Testament (Luke 22:14-38, NRSV). This is a very alarming inference on the part of Luke. It empowers Satan to an extraordinary level. He becomes so powerful as to invade the sanctity of Christ’s chosen, effecting even so terrible a result as the death of the Son of God.

Regardless of whether too much power is ascribed to Satan via this version of events, the take-home message of Luke is undoubtedly one of Christ’s eventual victory over him. Satan’s indirect presence at the Last Supper got him, after all, nowhere. The tone taken in Luke is not one of the death of Christ as a narrative tragedy, but an epic victory of Christ over Satan, good over evil, pure over corrupt and, by extension, Christian over Jew.

Klassen suggests a review of the common elements in the Judas narrative before drawing any final conclusions about the overall biblical narrative. He offers a poignant grouping of the Matthew, Mark and Luke renditions of one common theme in the Judas story - Judas’ identification of Christ to the authorities by kissing him at Gethsemanee. The essential differences in tone among the three versions become clear when read side-by-side:

Mark 14:43-46
Now the informer had previously agreed with them on a sign, saying: "Whomever I kiss, that’s the one. Bind him and remove him safely." At once when he arrived he said to him: Master" and he kissed him.

Matthew 26:48-49
And the informer gave them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, that’s the one. Bind him." And when he had come to Jesus he said, "Greetings, Master," and he kissed him.

Luke 22:47-48
The one called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them, and he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him: "Judas, with a kiss you hand over the Son of Man?"

The trend in the Synoptic Gospels is clear. Judas, the loving servant of Jesus and tragic effector of the necessary ends transforms into a greedy, evil manipulator, who selfishly betrays Christ for a trifling of money due in part to an occupation by the devil.

What, then, could the cause have been for this evolution? As hinted at earlier, the Church at the time of the writing of these Gospels was going through a division. There was a great controversy over how much of the old Jewish tradition needed to be kept and applied to this new religion of Christianity. The members of the Jerusalem church were obviously pushing that the amount remain very high. Gentiles in the Pauline church were in favor of a new beginning; the new teachings of Jesus served to abolish the Torah and all its law. Though the eventual end was a compromise, it only makes sense that the deeper into this rift the Pauline Church (which produced the Gospels) fell, the more polemic the rhetoric supporting its marginally anti-Jewish position became. Unfortunately, this led to the obvious consequence of anti-Semitism. While there is certainly not enough room in this paper for a full treatment of the implications of the Judas narrative on anti-Semitism, a brief description may be enough.