Traitor is the first word that pops into the mind upon hearing this name. It is synonymous with betrayal, deceit, greed, dishonesty and distrust. No mother would ever give her son this name, and no woman would attach it to hers in marriage. Down through the ages Judas has been portrayed as the greatest villain in Christendom, because he sold the Savior for 30 pieces of silver and then gave him the kiss that started the saga of suffering, which ended in a shameful and painful death on the cross.
Of all the characters in the bible, why Judas? What was
behind the name? Who was behind him and who pushed and influenced his acts that
caused the life of the Savior? How did fate place him in such a position for
the role that he was to play? Let us see his profile. Judas was a true-blooded
Israelite, and that means that he was a cousin of Jesus who was from the tribe
of Judah.
This means that he was a bona fide covenanter in the covenant
that God handed down to Moses at Sinai. It also means that like all
true-blooded Israelites he was deputized by Moses to watch out for
covenant-breakers, to report such offenders to the church leaders and to
execute punishment on the same. To top it all he was a Zealot – a sect of
Israelites devoted to protect and uphold the covenant at all cost. They were
the front-liners in the defense of the doctrines and traditions of the Jews,
and they were sworn to perform their duties to the last drop of their blood.
From the Jewish leaders’ point of view Judas was the right
and the most valued asset. A close friend of the ‘heretic’ and ‘blasphemer’
Jesus, and Judas was an active Zealot who had been upgraded in the latest
tactics in espionage, investigation and execution. So when Judas reported his
find to his superiors, 30 pieces of silver was just the right amount for a
handsome bonus and incentive.
If only Judas wasn’t so much ingrained in our minds as a
traitor it would not be hard to visualize him as the greatest hero. But how can
his image make a transformation from villain to hero? Does this mean that
throughout the centuries from Gethsemane the truth about him was
concealed and he was unjustly portrayed and profiled in the books of history?
Does it mean that all the while our concept of a traitor was wrong because
actually he was a hero? Mind boggling indeed, but let me explain.
Let us try to place ourselves at a point were we could view
the events starting from Lucifer’s defection. God in this situation had to
device a plan to gracefully and justly show to the entire universe that love
and justice will not be compromised while putting and end to evil. So he drew
the blueprint, which included the separating of a special people, giving then a
special covenant and empowering them to execute covenant-breakers. I could even
imagine the script that dictated the creation of the Zealots and the picking of
Judas to give the “kiss of death”.
This would only show that Judas’ act of betrayal wasn’t
treason at all, but rather an acting out of the role he was designed to play.
He even didn’t need the prodding of Satan, because it is not Satan’s nature to
encourage people to obey their covenant with God. This shows that Judas’ act
was not a sin, but rather an upholding of the God-given covenant that conferred
righteousness when obeyed.
In the truest sense of acting Judas should have been given
the “Best Actor” award. The best emoted piece by the ‘contrabida’ whose fame
reaches even through the centuries from the act, and whose name has been a
byword even if to denote high treason. What if Judas didn’t play his role? What
if he quitted midway and failed to deliver the kiss? What if he was fully
converted to Christianity and had denounced his Jewish covenant and his
obligation to uphold it? Would Jesus ever be crucified? Would you and I be
delivered from this world of sin?
Considering all the human actors in God’s drama for our
salvation, who was the hero and who was the villain? If Judas was the hero then
who was the villain? None! When God sacrificed his Son for us he saw to it that
no one, not even Judas would fall victim to the plan of redemption. He made
sure that all the participants; even the contrabida was not guilty of any
crime. It was the sacrifice of Jesus that was needed for our salvation, and not
the sacrifice of Judas or any of the other participants in this grand show of
God’s love and justice.
“For of such is the Kingdom of God.”
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