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Mark!!

Lesson*#15*

Judas,*the*Betrayer*

(Mark*14:*1926)*

1!Judas,!the!Betrayer!

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Lesson!#14!focused!on!the!Olivet!Discourse!(13:!1;37),!where!Jesus!

spoke!of!a!Cme!of!great!tribulaCon;!the!destrucCon!of!the!Temple,!

the!coming!of!the!Son!of!Man;!and!of!the!“end!Cmes.”!!!!

TradiConally!read!as!eschatological!prophecy,!we!learned!that!

Mark’s!Olivet!Discourse!mirrors!the!turbulence!of!the!Roman!

Empire,!A.D.!64;70,!the!very!Cme!Mark!was!composing!his!Gospel:!!

• The!Great!Fire!of!Rome!burned!a!large!porCon!of!the!city!on!18!July!A.D.!64,!and!the!

Emperor!Nero!blamed!the!destrucCon!on!Rome’s!ChrisCans;!

• Consequently,!Nero!(A.D.!54;68)!launched!the!first!state;sponsored!persecuCon!against!the!Church,!A.D.!64;68.!!Both!Peter!and!Paul!were!martyred!during!this!Cme,!

along!with!“a!great!mulCtude”!of!others,!as!the!historian!Tacitus!writes;!

• Nero!commi^ed!suicide!on!9!June!A.D.!68;!

• Civil!war!broke!out,!and!four!Emperors!followed!in!quick!succession,!three!of!whom!

were!assassinated!or!commi^ed!suicide;!and!

• In!A.D.!66!the!Great!Jewish!Revolt!began!in!PalesCne,!resulCng!in!the!destrucCon!of!the!Temple!on!29/30!July!A.D.!70,!the!death!of!1.2!million!Jews!by!the!end!of!the!

revolt,!and!the!Diaspora!that!lasted!nearly!2,000!years.!

!!!! 2!Judas,!the!Betrayer!

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Review,!cont.!!

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These!turbulent!Cmes!greatly!inform!our!understanding!of!Mark’s!

Gospel,!especially!his!version!of!the!Olivet!Discourse,!amplifying!the!

tension!and!urgency!that!Mark’s!audience!in!Rome!would!have!felt!

while!reading!his!Gospel.!

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In!Lesson!#15!we!conCnue!our!story!as!we!explore!the!

character!of!Judas!the!betrayer,!drawing!on!Ma^hew,!

Luke!and!John—and!a!few!outside!sources—for!

addiConal!informaCon.!!

Judas!is!a!much!more!complex!character!than!he!is!

typically!portrayed.!!A!disciple!from!the!start,!Judas!was!

with!Jesus!for!his!enCre!3;year!public!ministry;!Judas!

witnessed!Jesus’!teaching,!preaching!and!healing;!Judas!

was!present!at!Peter’s!confession!of!faith;!and!he!firmly!

believed!that!Jesus!was!the!Messiah.!!!!

So!why!does!Judas!betray!Jesus?!!In!Lesson!#15!we!

explore!his!moCves.!!!!!!!!!


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So,!who!is!Judas!Iscariot

—really?!!And!why!would!

he!betray!Jesus?!

!!I’ve!ofen!

wondered!that!

myself.!

5!Peter's!Confession!of!Faith!

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Let’s!begin!by!reading!

Mark’s!version!of!the!

story!in!14:!1;26.!!

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7!Excursus,!Mark's!Roman!Empire!

Here’s what we know about Judas from Scripture

• Judas Iscariot’s name: Judas (Hebrew = “Judah,” Jacob’s 4th son); Iscariot (probably from the Hebrew Îš-Qrîyôth, “man of Kerioth,” a village about 10 miles south of Hebron, mentioned in Joshua 15: 25 as one of the cities in Judah. If that is the case, Judas is the only one of Jesus’ 12 disciples not from Galilee. !

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8!On!the!Road!to!Jerusalem!

Hebron!!!

Dead!Sea!!!

Jerusalem!!!!

Kerioth!!!!

Masada!!!!

Kerioth!(el;Kureitein)!archaeology!

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• Judas is the son of Simon Iscariot (John 6:71; 13:26).

• Judas is always listed last in the list of Jesus’ twelve disciples.

• His motives for betraying Jesus are unclear in the Gospel accounts, opening the door to considerable speculation.

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• John tells us that Judas “held the money bag and used to steal the contributions” (John 12: 6).

• Satan “enters” Judas, prompting him to act (Luke 22: 3; John 13: 27).

• Judas went to the chief priests: “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” (Matthew 26: 15); and he is paid 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26: 14-16).

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• When Jesus is condemned and sentenced to death, Judas returns to the chief priests in remorse, saying: “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood,” and he flings the money back at them (Matthew 27: 4-5).

• Judas then “went off and hanged himself” (Matthew 27: 5).

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The*Tree*of*Judas,!(woodcut!from!Wynkyn!de!

Worde’s!1499!ediCon!of!Mandeville’s*Travels).!!

“The*tree*of*Eldre,*that*Judas*henge*him*self*upon,*for*despeyr.”*

! ! ! ! !!The*Travels*of*Sir*John*Mandeville,!c.!1360.!

“Judas*he*japed*

with*Jewen*silver*

and*sithen*on*an*Eller*

hanged*hymselve.”*

!The*Vision*of*Piers*Plowman,!!

c.!1370!

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!30!Pieces!of!Silver!!

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Mark!doesn’t!specify!the!amount!of!money!Judas!was!given,!but!Ma^hew!does.!!

The!Greek!word!in!Ma^hew!26:!15!is!arguria,!“silver!coins,”!not!specifying!what!

type!of!coins!they!were.!!The!best!guess!is!Tyrian!tetradrachms,!commonly!called!

“Tyrian!shekels.”!!A!drachma!is!about!a!day’s!wages!for!a!skilled!laborer,!so!30!

tetradrachms*would!equal!about!four!months!wages,!a!lot,!but!not!an!exorbitant!

sum.!!The!above!“Tyrian!shekles”!were!minted!in!Tyre!between!18!B.C.!and!A.D.!68.!

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Carl!Heinrich!Bloch.!!The*Last*Supper*(oil!on!copper),!1876.!!!

Museum!of!NaConal!History,!Frederiksborg!Castle,!Hillerød,!Denmark.!

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Gio^o.!!Judas*Betrays*Christ!(tempera!on!panel),!1304;1306.!!!

Arena!Chapel,!Padua.!

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Maka!PreC.!!Tribute*Money*(oil!on!canvas),!c.!1640.!!!

Brera!Art!Gallery,!Milan,!Italy.!

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InteresCngly,!the!Hebrew!

Scriptures!foreshadow!

Judas!receiving!30!pieces!

of!silver!and!then!

throwing!them!back!into!

the!treasury.!!

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Then!I!took!my!staff!Delight!and!snapped!

it!in!two,!breaking!my!covenant!which!I!

had!made!with!all!peoples.!!So!it!was!

broken!on!that!day.!!The!merchants!of!

the!flock,!who!were!watching!me,!

understood!that!this!was!the!word!of!the!

Lord.!!Then!I!said!to!them,!“If!it!seems!

good!to!you,!give!me!my!wages;!but!if!

not,!withhold!them.”!!And!they!counted!

out!my!wages,!thirty!pieces!of!silver.!!

Then!the!Lord!said!to!me,!throw!it!in!

the!treasury—the!handsome!price!at!

which!they!valued!me.!!So!I!took!the!

thirty!pieces!of!silver!and!threw!them!

into!the!treasury!in!the!house!of!the!

Lord.!! ! !Zechariah!11:!10;14!

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“The!Kiss!of!Judas!Iscariot”!(colored!engraving)!from!Heures*de*Charles*

d’Angoulême,*c.!1503;1508.!!Bibliothèque!NaConale!de!France,!Paris.!

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Here’s!what!we!know!from!

Scripture!and!from!later!

thinking!about!Judas’!

moCves!and!acCons.!!!

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• Throughout Scripture Judas is called “the betrayer”: Matthew 10: 4, 26: 21-25, 26: 46.

• The Apostle John clearly does not like Judas: he calls him a hypocrite, a thief (John 12: 4-6) and a betrayer (John 18: 5). !

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• Judas has been viewed throughout Church history as an avaricious and dishonest man who’s sole motive for betraying Jesus was greed and the furthering of his own ends. • In his Divine Comedy Dante clearly sees Judas as the archetypical traitor, placing him in the very pit of Hell in the jaws of Satan, where he is chewed upon and clawed by Satan for all of eternity, along with Cassius and Brutus, the assassins of Julius Caesar.

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Upon!seeing!Satan!

encased!in!ice!in!Hell’s!

9th!circle,!Dante!

writes!.!.!.!!

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Bokcelli.!!Dante*Alighieri*(tempera!on!canvas),!

1495.!!Private!CollecCon,!Geneva.!

Oh,!how!amazed!I!was!when!I!looked!up!

!and!saw!a!head—one!head!wearing!three!faces!!

!One!was!in!front!(and!that!was!a!bright!red),!!

the!other!two!a^ached!themselves!to!this!one!

!just!above!the!middle!of!each!shoulder,!

!and!at!the!crown!all!three!were!joined!in!one!.!.!.!!

In!each!of!his!three!mouths!he!crunched!a!sinner,!

!with!teeth!like!those!that!rake!the!hemp!and!flax,!

!keeping!three!sinners!constantly!in!pain;!!

the!one!in!front—the!biCng!he!endured!

!was!nothing!like!the!clawing!that!he!took:!

!someCmes!his!back!was!raked!clean!of!its!skin.!!

“That!soul!up!there!who!suffers!most!of!all,”!

!my!guide![Vergil]!explained,!“is!Judas!Iscariot:!

!the!one!with!head!inside!and!legs!out!kicking.!!

! ! ! ! !Divine*Comedy,!“Inferno,”!!

! ! ! ! !Canto!34:!37;42;!55;63.!

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• Others—Thomas de Quincey, for example, in his 1852 essay “Judas Iscariot”—sees Judas’ sole motive as compelling Jesus to reveal himself as Messiah and get on with the business of liberating the Jews from Roman rule and establishing a new kingdom, one under God.

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During the Middle Ages—in the manner of rabbinic midrash—legend developed to fill in Judas’ meager biography. Jacobus de Voragine (1228-1298) tells the tale in his Golden Legend, one of the most popular works of Medieval literature. Here’s a summary of the legend:

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• Judas was born of the tribe of Ruben (first son of Jacob, who betrayed his father by having sex with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, as we read in Genesis 35: 22.

• Before he was born, Judas’ mother, Cyborea, had an Oedipusian dream that he was destined to kill his father, commit incest with his mother, and sell out his God.

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Aieeee!*

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• As a result of the dream, at his birth Cyborea put Judas into a chest and cast it into the sea; he drifted ashore in a foreign land and was brought up at the royal court; in a moment of passion as a young man he committed murder and fled; he arrived in Judea where he entered the service of Pontius Pilate as a page.

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Once in Judea, Judas unknowingly murdered his father and had sex with his mother; his heinous acts revealed, he sought out Jesus the Prophet, who people said could forgive sins. Judas was put into a position of trust by Jesus as keeper of the money bag; avarice then grew within him like a cancer, and Judas fulfilled his destiny by betraying God, thus fulfilling his mother’s dream.

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This!portrayal!of!Judas!as!the!archetypical!villain!has!shaped!our!image!

of!him,!both!in!theological!circles!and!in!music,!art!and!literature.!!!!

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Carravagio.!!The*Taking*of*Christ*(oil!on!canvas),!c.!1598.!

NaConal!Gallery!of!Ireland,!Dublin.!!

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!Judas’!ReputaCon,!cont.!!

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Another!account!of!Judas!came!to!light!in!the!1970s!with!the!discovery!of!a!late!

2nd;century!CopCc!papyrus!near!Beni*Masah*in!Egypt,!the!“The!Gospel!of!

Judas.”!!This!gospel!portrays!Judas—the!only!one!of!Jesus’!disciples!who!truly!

understood!!him—as!acCng!on!Jesus’!instrucCons.!!!!

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Among!contemporary!views!of!Judas,!two!are!especially!

insighwul!in!the!way!they!probe!Judas’!moCves!and!acCons:!!

Stephen!Adly!Guirgis.!!The*Last*Days*of*Judas*Iscariot,!2005.!!Directed!by!Phillip!Seymour!Hoffman!and!first!performed!at!The!Public!Theater!(formerly!

The!Shakespeare!Workshop)!in!New!York,!March!2,!2005.!!!!

The!play!presents!a!courtroom!scene!in!Purgatory!to!decide!Judas!Iscariot’s!ulCmate!fate.!!

Using!flashbacks!into!Judas’!life,!witnesses!include!Satan!(who!famously!says,!“I!don’t!

believe!in!Good!and!Bad.!!What!I!believe!in!is!Truth.”),!Caiaphas!(who’s!encouraged!by!

the!impaCent!defense!a^orney!to!take!his!Cme:!!“This!is!Purgatory,!Caiaphas,!I!got!all!

day.”),!PonCus!Pilate,!Mary!Magdalene,!Mother!Theresa!and!Sigmund!Freud,!among!

others.!

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Jorge!Luis!Borges.!!“Tres!Versiones!de!Judas”!(English,!“Three!Versions!

of!Jesus”)!in!Ficciones,!1944.!!!!

The!story!is!wri^en!in!the!form!of!a!scholarly!arCcle,!a!criCcal!analysis!of!a!ficConal!writer,!

Nils!Runeberg.!!In!the!story!Runeberg!writes!three!books:!!1)!Christ*and*Judas,!2)!Christ*

and*Judas,!revised!ediCon;!and!3)!The*Secret*Savior.!Borges!analyzes!the!“hereCcal”!views!

in!all!three!of!the!ficConal!works,!presenCng!three!“versions”!of!Judas!as!he!does!so.!

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QuesCons!for!discussion!and!thought!*

1.   What!significance,!if!any,!do!you!find!in!Judas!being!the!only!

disciple!who!is!not!from!Galilee?!

2.   What!significance,!if!any,!do!you!find!in!Judas!scolding!Mary!

of!Bethany!for!anoinCng!Jesus!with!a!very!expensive!

perfume:!!“Why!was!this!oil!not!sold!for!three!hundred!day’s!

wages!and!given!to!the!poor?”!(John!12:!5)?!

3. !What!significance,!if!any,!do!you!find!in!Jesus!saying!to!Judas!

at!the!Last!Supper:!!“What!you!are!going!to!do,!do!

quickly”!(John!13:!37)?!!!

4.   What!significance,!if!any,!do!you!find!in!God’s!Shepherd!

breaking!his!covenant!with!all!people,!demanding!his!wages!

of!30!pieces!of!silver,!and!then!throwing!it!back!into!the!

treasury!(Zechariah!11:!10;14)?!!

5.   Is!there!any!other!character!in!Scripture!who!hangs!himself?!!

If!so,!what!is!the!significance?!

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Copyright!©!2014!by!William!C.!Creasy!

! All! rights! reserved.! No! part! of! this! course—audio,! video,!

photography,! maps,! Cmelines! or! other! media—may! be!

reproduced!or!transmi^ed!in!any!form!by!any!means,!electronic!

or! mechanical,! including! photocopying,! recording! or! by! any!

informaCon! storage! or! retrieval! devices! without! permission! in!

wriCng!or!a!licensing!agreement!from!the!copyright!holder.!

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