What happened to Judas? Bible stories: who is Judas?
Every Wednesday of the year, the Church remembers a very sad day in Sacred history - the betrayal of God by man, the betrayal of Christ by Judas and the Jewish elders.
This memory becomes especially piercing and terrifying on Great Wednesday. Holy Week, when all of us, Orthodox Christians, have the opportunity to come into contact with the Passion of Christ, accomplished by the God-Man for the salvation of each of us.
It must be said that Judas’ betrayal was not something out of the ordinary. Throughout the entire sacred history of the Old and New Testaments and to this day, starting from the holy forefather Adam, humanity continues to betray and crucify Christ. Let us remember the fall of the first people in paradise, the casting of the golden calf under Mount Sinai, the reluctance of the ancient Jews to enter the Promised Land, for which they were punished by forty years of wandering in the desert, and many other examples from Old Testament. Let us remember the beginning of the 20th century - in Holy Rus' thousands of clergy, monks and believers were executed, great amount temples.
Why is this happening? What's the point? Why does a person turn away from God, stubbornly endure punishments and disasters, but persistently continue to walk the road to hell?
Let's try to answer these questions using the example of Great Wednesday.
So, Judas Iscariot, the Jewish high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the elders of the Jewish people - scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, princes...
What is the essence of the fall of the holy forefathers Adam and Eve? In a nutshell, the first people transgressed God's commandment and loved earthly things more than heavenly things. Man, created by the Lord for communion with God, for ascending into the heavenly realm, where even the Angels want to penetrate, turned away from this highest task and from this amazing gift of unity with God. He decided to fall to the level of animals and live only to satisfy the base instincts, deepened by him and turned into passions. The greatest tragedy occurred, which by the grace of God was transformed into a drama with a happy ending. The man betrayed his Lord.
Judas Iscariot and the Jewish high priests and elders were not original in this sense. They followed the same path.
A precise definition of the character of Judas is given by the holy Apostle and Evangelist John: “Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who wanted to betray Him, said: Why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and give it to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief” (John 12:4-6).
Judas sided with our Lord Jesus Christ because he thought, typical of a Jew of that time, something like this: “Jesus is the Messiah. He came to become the earthly king of the Jews. He will free us Jews from Roman rule. He will overthrow the hated Roman emperor, and himself will become the Jewish emperor of the whole world. The Jews will dominate all nations. Prosper and prosper. Of course, in an earthly sense. Therefore, I must be closer to Him so that I can get a fatter piece - some weighty ministerial portfolio, which will give me, Judas, the opportunity to earn good money, and therefore also to prosper and prosper.” This is why Judas followed Christ.
But in the process of communicating with the Savior, he realized that the Lord had exactly the opposite plans. And His Kingdom is not of this world. He came to restore to man the lost communication with his Creator, to reconcile him with the Heavenly Father and to open again the doors to heaven.
But Judas wanted to live comfortably here. And as soon as he realized the conflict of interests, he betrayed Christ, defecting to the stronger camp, as it seemed to him then, and earning a little extra money from it. Thirty pieces of silver in those days was quite a lot of money. Judas wanted to ensure a comfortable old age for himself. But it was not there. After the kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, the most terrible sin that a person could commit - betrayal of God - made itself felt. He began to destroy his soul, bringing terrible torment. And the earthly comfort he had suffered through in his cozy estate, bought for thirty pieces of silver, turned into the most painful mental hell. Look! He succeeded in everything he planned. But he goes and hangs himself - voluntarily, by free will, tormented by his conscience. Because his soul committed a grave sin. But despair did not allow him to repent, humble himself, fall at the feet of Christ Crucified, and mourn his sin. Pride pushed him to an even worse sin - suicide.
Indeed, in essence, the holy chief apostle Peter committed a sin not much less than the sin of Judas. He swore to God that in times of trial he would not deny Him, but three times in front of the people he betrayed Christ. Only Peter did not despair; on the contrary, he humbly began to beg for forgiveness. And all his life, even after the Savior restored him to apostolic dignity, Peter’s eyes were red from tears. He contritely begged for his sin.
Approximately the same “sin of Peter” was committed by the other apostles, who fled in despondency, despair and fear after the arrest of the Savior. They also grieved and lamented over their transgression, but not to the point of despair, but to salvation, casting the sin of apostasy before the Lord and asking Him for forgiveness.
Anna and Caiaphas, and other Jewish elders were “spiritual relatives” of Judas Iscariot. Having gathered on the Wednesday before Easter for a council on the topic “What to do with Jesus the Galilean?” – they knew perfectly well who He was. Because such a prophet has never appeared in Israel who resurrected the half-decayed corpse of Lazarus or gave sight to a man who, almost like the holy righteous blessed Matrona of Moscow, had practically no eyes from birth.
Annas, Caiaphas and others were literate and knowledgeable in Holy Scripture people. At the Sanhedrin meeting early Friday morning, they knew exactly who stood before them. But they deliberately committed this truly horrific sin: condemnation to execution and murder of God.
Why did this happen? The answer is simple: Christ was not God for them. Just as the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses was not God for them. Their god was the womb, namely power and money. For these two gods they were ready to go to eternal destruction and destroy thousands of other human souls. The elders saw the Savior as a political competitor and began to fear for their “chairs,” for their cozy, comfortable positions. For them, the Jewish leaders were ready to do anything, even to destroy their own souls for the sake of another decade in power.
And this despite the fact that after some forty years, for the sin of apostasy - for THEIR PERSONAL SIN - Jerusalem, desired by them, will be burned to the ground. Thousands of Jews will die, the rest will be scattered throughout the world, and the temple will not only be destroyed, but even the land where it stood will be plowed under.
In the end - a bitter fact - the result of history. Judas wanted earthly prosperity, but committed suicide. Annas, Caiaphas and their comrades wanted about the same thing, but their work ended in disaster for the whole people. For almost three centuries, the city of Jerusalem did not exist on planet Earth. In its place was the pagan settlement of Aelia Capitolina. Until the 4th century, when faith in Christ became state religion many nations united by the Roman Empire, and God again gave grace to the Holy City, and Jerusalem rose from the ruins. Thanks to the fact that humanity has returned to the true God again.
The question is: what did the betrayal of God bring to these aforementioned educated and talented people? There is only one answer: nothing good.
Because, of course, Great Wednesday is a lesson for all of us. Each of us has a “potential charge” of Judas - our own “petty passion,” as Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky wrote, which we should not indulge, waiting until it turns into King Kong and tears us apart from the inside. We must fight it painfully hard, but still fight with God’s help. To fall, repent, get up and move on, but not down, but up, expecting that during our hard work and wandering across the earth’s sea, Christ will appear to us, like the Galilean fishermen-apostles, on the shore and say: “Come, have lunch.” (John 21:12).
And He will definitely appear. There is no doubt about this.
Let us remember what our Lord Jesus Christ said to the myrrh-bearing women after His Resurrection: “Rejoice!” And a little later, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:9,10).
This is the greatness and immense happiness of Easter. Death, the devil, sin became unimportant and powerless.
The main thing is that, with God's help, we learn to look not only down, but also up and a little inside - into our hearts, because that is where, according to the Savior, there is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Priest Andrey Chizhenko
I. DESCRIPTION OF THE BETRAYAL OF JUDAS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT:
Matthew 26:14-25 "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests and said: What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you? They offered him thirty pieces of silver; and from that time on he sought an opportunity to betray Him. On the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Where do you tell us to prepare the Passover for You?” He said: go to the city to so-and-so and tell him: The Teacher says: My time is near; I will keep the Passover with you with my disciples. The disciples did as Jesus commanded them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, He lay down with the twelve disciples; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” They were greatly saddened, and began to say to Him, each one of them: Is it not I, Lord? He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand into the dish with Me, this one will betray Me; however, the Son of Man comes, as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed: it would have been better for this man not to have been born. At this, Judas, who betrayed Him, said: Isn’t it me, Rabbi? [Jesus] says to him: You said".
Gospel of John 13:21-30 "Having said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Then the disciples looked around at each other, wondering who He was talking about. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ breast. Simon Peter made a sign to him to ask who it was that he was talking about. He fell to the chest of Jesus and said to Him: Lord! who is this? Jesus answered: the one to whom I dip a piece of bread and give it. And, having dipped the piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot. And after this piece Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him: what are you doing, do it quickly. But none of those reclining understood why He told him this. And since Judas had a box, some thought that Jesus was telling him: buy what we need for the holiday, or to give something to the poor. Having accepted the piece, he immediately left; and it was night".
Matthew 26:45-50 "Then He comes to His disciples and says to them: Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of sinners; Arise, let us go: behold, he who betrayed Me has drawn near. And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. He who betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I kiss is He, take Him. And immediately approaching Jesus, he said: Rejoice, Rabbi! And kissed Him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid their hands on Jesus and took Him".
II. PROPHECY ABOUT JUDAS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
John 13:18 "I'm not talking about all of you; I know whom I chose. But let the Scripture be fulfilled: He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me." (Psalm 40:10) The expression "to raise one's heel" is similar to the Russian expression "to swing" or "to raise one's hand against someone."
Psalm 40:10 "Even the man who was at peace with me, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, lifted up his heel against me".
Psalm 109:6-20 "Set the wicked over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand. When he is put on trial, let him come out guilty, and let his prayer become a sin; may his days be short, and may another take his dignity; let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow; let his children wander and beg and ask for bread from their ruins; let the lender seize everything he has, and let strangers plunder his labor; let there be no one who sympathizes with him, let there be no one who has mercy on his orphans; let his descendants be destroyed, and let their name be blotted out in the next generation; let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out; may they always be in the sight of the Lord, and may He destroy their memory on earth, because he did not think to show mercy, but pursued a poor and destitute and broken-hearted man in order to kill him; he loved the curse, and it will come to him; did not want the blessing, it will move away from him; let him be clothed with the curse as with a robe, and let it enter like water into his bowels and like oil into his bones; let it be to him like a garment in which he dresses, and like a girdle with which he always girds himself. This is the reward from the Lord to my enemies and to those who speak evil against my soul!"
III. THE MOTIVE OF JUDAS' BETRAYAL
The Jews were waiting for the Messiah. They thought that the Messiah would be an earthly king who, when he came, would “restore the kingdom to Israel” - free Israel from the rule of the Roman Empire.
Jesus' disciples were no exception. How many times did they argue about which of them was more important ( Mark 9:33-34, Luke 9:46 "The thought came to them: which of them would be greater?", Luke 22:24), and which of them has the right to sit on the left and right hand Jesus in His Kingdom: Mark 10:36-37 "He said to them: what do you want me to do to you? They said to Him: Let us sit by You, one by one. right side and the other on the left in Thy glory".
Judas was no exception. He also believed in such an “earthly” Messiah. In addition, Judas knew that the people were ready to put Jesus on the throne and proclaim him the King of Israel. And people have already tried to do this: John 6:14-15 "Then the people who saw the miracle done by Jesus said: This is truly the Prophet who is about to come into the world. Jesus, having learned that they wanted to come and accidentally take him and make him king, again withdrew to the mountain alone"Moreover, as we read in the Gospel of Matthew: Matthew 16:21 "From that time on, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again". This was not the Messiah they were waiting for...
IV. THE PERSONALITY OF JUDAS ISCARIOT.
John 12:1-6 "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those who reclined with Him. Mary, taking a pound of pure precious ointment of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the world. Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who wanted to betray Him, said: Why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and give it to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because there was thief . He had a cash drawer with him and wore what was put there".
The crafty essence of Judas most likely had slowly formed by the time Satan entered into him (John 13:27) and used to betray our Lord Jesus ( John 18:3). After everything that happened, he “wept with bitterness,” threw away the 30 pieces of silver he received for his betrayal, then “went and hanged himself” ( Matthew 27:5).
V. DEATH OF JUDAS:
Matthew 27:1-10 "When the morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people had a meeting concerning Jesus, to put Him to death; and, having bound Him, they took Him away and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, and repentant , returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders, saying: I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. They said to him: What is that to us? take a look yourself. And, throwing away the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out, went and hanged himself. The high priests, taking the pieces of silver, said: it is not permissible to put them in the church treasury, because this is the price of blood. Having held a meeting, they bought a potter's land with them for the burial of strangers; Therefore, that land is called the “land of blood” to this day. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, who said: And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One who was valued, whom the children of Israel valued, and gave them for the potter’s land, as the Lord told me!".
At first glance, it seems to us that Judas repented of what he had done. Indeed, the Bible says that he “wept with bitterness.” However, this was not repentance. Real repentance in the Word of God is called "sorrow for God's sake" and consists in this: Firstly , the person realizes his guilt, and Secondly , a person turns away from his sin and turns to God. Looking at Judas Iscariot and his repentance, we can say for sure that he had worldly repentance - “worldly sorrow”, because he did not turn to God, but decided to manage his life himself, taking on the role of God. About worldly and real repentance is written in detail in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 "Therefore, if I saddened you with the message, I do not regret it, although I did regret it; for I see that that message saddened you, but only for a while. Now I rejoice, not because you were saddened, but because you were saddened to repentance; for sad for God's sake, so they did not suffer any harm from us. For sorrow's sake God produces unfailing repentance leading to salvation, A worldly sorrow produces death ".
Peter also betrayed Jesus: he denied Him three times. However, he later sincerely repented. He had true repentance. And Judas Iscariot had worldly repentance, which, as we just read, “produces death.”
Acts 1:15-20 "And in those days Peter, standing in the midst of the disciples, said (there was a meeting of about one hundred and twenty people): Men and brethren! It was necessary to fulfill what the Holy Spirit foretold in the Scriptures through the mouth of David about Judas, the former leader of those who took Jesus; he was numbered among us and received the lot of this ministry; but he acquired the land with an unrighteous bribe, and when he fell, his belly was split open, and all his entrails fell out; and this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the land in their native dialect was called Akeldama, that is, the land of blood. In the book of Psalms it is written (Psalm 109:6-20): let his court be empty, and let there be no one living in it; and: let another take his dignity".
He died with his guilt and went “to his place” ( Acts 1:25) Expression in Acts 1:18“and when he fell, his belly was split open, and all his entrails fell out” in no way contradicts what was said in Matthew 27:5("went and hanged himself"). Most likely, everything happened this way: Judas hanged himself over the Hinnom valley (on a cliff), but the rope or branch broke off under the weight of his body. He fell and was smashed on the rocks below.
Why a man like Judas Iscariot was chosen by Jesus to be one of His 12 apostles, we do not know. We only know that Jesus knew exactly by whom he would be betrayed ( John 6:64 "…For Jesus knew from the beginning who those who did not believe were and who would betray Him").
The Apostle Matthew writes that Judas, seeing that Christ was condemned, repented and went to return the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders, saying: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:3,4).
- Did he receive forgiveness?
- Did this repentance affect his future fate?
You will learn about this in this article.
The reason why Judas sinned
To understand the reason why Judas betrayed Christ, despite all the miracles that he performed, we must find the root of the problem.
The root of the problem was that Judas was a wicked man. Throughout his ministry with Jesus, he stole from the offering box.
6. He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had a cash box with him and wore what was put in there. (Holy Gospel of John 12:6)
On the last night, when the disciples asked Christ who would betray him, He answered:
26. Jesus answered: he to whom I dip a piece of bread and give it. And, having dipped the piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot.27. And after this piece Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him: whatever you are doing, do it quickly. (Holy Gospel of John 13:26,27)
Notice that after Jesus gave Judas a piece of bread, Satan entered into him!
This was the fulfillment of the prophecy from the psalm:
and let the devil stand at his right hand. 17 He loved the curse, and it will come upon him; did not want the blessing, it will move away from him; (Ps 109:6(b),17)
Now we understand that then the devil acted through Judas, and Judas himself did not fully understand what he was doing. However, this is no excuse for him, since he himself was a wicked person and allowed Satan to take advantage of him.
What can we learn from the example of Judas Iscariot?
1. The blessing of the Lord can be lost due to wickedness
14. Try to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
16. So that there may not be any fornicator or wicked man among you, who, like Esau, would give up his birthright for one meal.
17. For you know that after this he, desiring to inherit the blessing, was rejected; couldn't change my father's thoughts, although he asked for it with tears.
(Hebrews 12:14,16,17)
2. All the wicked will be spiritually blinded
12 Let all those who did not believe the truth but delight in unrighteousness be condemned. 11 And for this God will send them delusion, So they will believe lies, 9(b,c) according to the working of Satan, there will be all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:12,11,9(b,c))
3. It is the wicked who will be deceived by false Christs and false prophets.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
As we read in the last section, the ability to recognize false Christs will not depend on the level of intelligence, but on how pure the person is in the eyes of God. But God will send delusion upon the wicked and they will believe lies.
Will you enter the “gate” or will you go blind?
10 Then the men stretched out their hands and brought Lot into their house, and they locked the door; 11 And the people who were at the entrance to the house struck with blindness, from small to large, so they exhausted, looking for an entrance. (Genesis 19:10,11)
And this was the image for the last days!!
24. strive to enter through the narrow gate, for I tell you, many will try to enter and will not be able to.
(Holy Gospel of Luke 13:24)14. Blessed are those who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter the city gate.
15. And without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices iniquity.
(Revelation of John the Evangelist 22:14,15)
Judas Iscariot is one of the most recognizable religious anti-heroes. The traitor was flattered by 30 pieces of silver, but quickly repented. The character's name became a common noun to denote betrayal, and the amount of money received became a symbol of reward for those who betray friends and loved ones.
Life story
In official sources, the life of Judas is devoid of detailed details. In the Bible, this is one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, and he is also entrusted with the mission of treasurer of a small community. The hero received a responsible position for his frugality and ability to refuse useless and unreasonable spending of money. The canonical documents describe the moment when Judas reproaches Mary of Bethany for anointing Jesus' feet with ointment worth 300 denarii. The money is serious, it would be enough to feed a lot of beggars.
The next time the character appears is during the Last Supper: Judas and the other disciples of Jesus are having dinner at common table, and the teacher prophesies betrayal on the part of one of those present.
Non-canonical sources are more generous with details of the traitor's biography. Judas was born on April 1 (since then the day has been considered the most unlucky of the year). The child was unlucky from the very beginning: before birth, the mother saw terrible dream, who warned that a newborn son would destroy the family.
Therefore, the parents decided to throw the baby in the ark into the river. But Judas remained alive and unharmed, ended up on the island of Kariof, and when he grew up and matured, he returned to his native land. He fulfilled a terrible prophecy - he killed his father and entered into an incestuous relationship with his mother.
Then Judas received his sight and repented. To atone for his sins, for 33 years he took water into his mouth every day, climbed the mountain and watered a dried stick. A miracle happened - the dead plant produced new leaves, and Judas became a disciple of Jesus.
Other apocrypha states that the hero lived next door to Jesus from childhood. The sick boy was treated by a minor healer, but during the procedure he was possessed by a demon, so Judas bit Jesus on the side. The remaining scar was later hit by a Roman legionnaire's spear. Some legends even talk about the relationship between Judas and Jesus - the characters are even called brothers.
There is no consensus on the meaning of the nickname “Iscariot”. The son of Simon ish Karioth, Judas (although his father’s name is not directly named) received a second name to distinguish him from his namesake, another disciple of Jesus. Iscariot appeared as an altered name for the homeland - the only hero of all the apostles was born in the city of Kariot (or Karioth), the rest were natives of Galilee.
Some researchers suggest that the word "keriyot" simply means "suburb", a village near Jerusalem. Others see an analogy with Greek and Aramaic words that are translated as “deceitful,” “murderer,” “armed with a dagger.”
The image of Judas was formed from descriptions of the ancient apocrypha. The character is presented as a short and dark man with dark hair, extremely fussy, loving silver (the treasurer often stole from the cash drawer).
In the Gospel, hair color is not indicated; writers endowed this feature of the hero’s appearance. And later the opinion took root that Judas was red-haired. For example, they used the expression “red-haired like Judas” in their works. The apostle wore clothes made of white fabric, which were always decorated with a leather apron with pockets. In Islam, Judas looks like Jesus - Allah made sure that he was crucified instead of the Messiah.
The death of Judas is accurately described in the Bible, although in two versions. Having betrayed his teacher, the treasurer went and hanged himself. Legend has it that the man chose aspen for these purposes. It was from then on that the leaves of the trees began to tremble in the wind, and the plant itself gained amazing properties. Aspen wood makes an excellent weapon against evil spirits (vampires); housing cannot be built from it, only outbuildings.
The second canonical version states:
“...and when he fell, his belly was split open, and all his entrails fell out.”
The priests do not see a contradiction here, believing that the rope on which Judas hanged himself broke and he “fell down.” According to some sources, the traitor of Jesus died in old age from an unknown incurable disease.
Betrayal of Judas
Having conceived betrayal, Judas went to the high priests and asked what price he would receive for his act. The apostle was promised 30 pieces of silver for his “work.” According to the canonical idea, this is a decent amount: plots of land in the city were sold for this price. A convenient opportunity to surrender Christ presented itself that same night. The man led soldiers to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he pointed to the teacher with a kiss, first explaining:
“Whomever I kiss is He, take Him.”
According to Archbishop Theophylact of Bulgaria, Judas kissed Jesus so that the soldiers would not confuse him with the apostles, because it was a dark night outside.
New Testament researchers also explain why this particular method of indicating the Messiah was chosen - this is a traditional sign of greeting, a wish for peace and goodness among the Jews. Over time, the phrase "Judas kiss" has become an idiom that means highest degree deceit. Once Christ is sentenced to crucifixion, Judas realizes what he has done and repents. Returns thirty pieces of silver with the words
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,”
and in response he hears:
“What do we care about that? Take a look yourself".
Dozens of minds took on the topic of why Judas betrayed Christ. One of the most obvious explanations is greed. Evangelists also point to the participation of Satan: he allegedly possessed the treasurer and controlled the actions.
Some representatives of the church claim the inevitability of God's providence, saying that the events were planned from above, and Jesus knew about it. Moreover, he asked the apostle to give him up, and since the student was unable to disobey the teacher, he had to obey. Thus, Judas turns into a victim, and instead of hell, the hero will be in heaven.
Some try to justify the act by saying that Judas was tired of waiting for Jesus to finally reveal his glory and mission, while still hoping for the miraculous salvation of his teacher. Others went further, accusing Judas of being disillusioned with Jesus, mistaking him for a false Messiah, and acting in the name of the triumph of truth.
In culture
Dozens of writers have tried to interpret the image of the biblical Judas in their own way. In the mid-19th century, Italian journalist Ferdinando Gattina published the book “Memoirs of Judas,” which outraged the religious community - the traitor was exposed as a fighter for the freedom of the Jewish people.
Alexey Remizov and Roman Redlikh rethought the hero’s life. Iscariot shared an interesting look at the acts of Judas in his book of the same name. Representative Silver Age showed a traitor who in his soul endlessly loved Christ. Russian readers are also familiar with the character from the book “The Master and Margarita,” where Judas commits a disgusting act for the sake of his beloved.
Painting invariably connects Judas with “dark” forces. In paintings, frescoes and engravings, a man is either sitting on the lap of Satan, or is depicted with a black halo above his head or in profile - this is how demons were painted. The most famous creations of fine art belong to the pen of artists Giotto di Bondone, Fra Beato Angelico, and jeweler Jean Duve.
The character became the hero of musical works. In the sensational rock opera and Tim Rice “Jesus Christ Superstar” there was a place for Judas’s aria.
They even say that at the end of the summer of 1918, this traitor, as the first revolutionary, erected a monument in the center of the city of Sviyazhsk. However, this story remained a myth.
Film adaptations
At the dawn of cinema, the American Frank Gaylor was the first to try on the image of Judas in the film “Passion Play Oberammergau”. This was followed by a series of film adaptations on the theme of the life of Christ, in which the bright spot was the film “King of Kings” (1961) directed by Nicholas Ray. The role of Apostle number 12 went to Rip Torn.
Critics appreciated the film interpretation of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Canadian Norman Jewison made a film of the same name in the form of a play, where Karl Anderson played the traitor.
Actors Jerzy Zelnik, Ian McShane, Harvey Keitel, and others played Judas Iscariot. The film “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), where Judas was brilliantly portrayed by Luca Lionello, is recognized as a striking picture. The last to appear on screen in the guise of a traitor of Christ was Joe Redden - in 2014, the film “Son of God” was released.
In Russia, two actors were hiding under the makeup of Judas, both in productions of the novel “The Master and Margarita.” In 1994, Yuri Kara made a film based on the work of Mikhail Bulgakov, but it reached the audience only in 2011. The director invited him to play the role of Judas.
In 2005, The Master and Margarita premiered on television. In this film, viewers enjoyed the performance, which convincingly portrayed the evangelical traitor.
Quotes
“Christ is one for all eras. There are hundreds of Judas in each one.”
“It would be good for the whole world, especially for the children of God, if Judas remained alone in his crime, so that there were no more traitors besides him.”
Janusz Ros, Polish satirist:
“Only one Judas for the twelve apostles? Hard to believe!"
Vasily Klyuchevsky, historian:
“Christs rarely appear like comets, but Judases are not translated like mosquitoes.”
Paul Valéry, French poet:
“Never judge a person by his friends. Judas’s were perfect.”
Wieslaw Brudzinski, Polish satirist:
“Beginner Judas puts a lot of sincere feeling into his kiss.”
Oscar Wilde, English writer:
“Today every great man has disciples, and his biography is usually written by Judas.”
On Great Wednesday in last time is performed and read for the last time with bows. Prostrations stop before the Feast of Pentecost (they will be performed only before the Shroud).
In the liturgical texts of Great Wednesday, the selflessness of the sinner woman, who poured precious ointment on the head of the Lord, is contrasted with the love of money of Judas, who sells Christ to the high priests. This is emphasized, for example, in the self-vocal stichera:
Whenever the sinner offered the ointment, then the disciple agreed with the sinner. The new one rejoiced, depleting the valuable myrrh: but this one tried to sell the priceless one. This one knows the Lord, but this one is separated from the Lord. This one was freed, but Judas was a slave to your enemy. There is fierce laziness, great repentance: grant me the Savior, who suffered for us, and save us.
(When the sinner brought myrrh, the disciple negotiated with the lawless. She rejoiced, spending the valuable ointment, but he wanted to sell the Priceless one. She knew the Master, he separated from the Master. She was freed, and Judas became a slave to the enemy. Strong is laziness, great is repentance: grant it to me, Savior, who suffered for us, and save us.)
These events are remembered on Holy Wednesday.
Reverend Cassia
The most famous stichera of this daywritten
Lord, even the wife who fell into many sins, who felt Your Divinity, the myrrh-bearing women, having taken the rite, weeping myrrh brings to You before burial: alas for me, those who say! for to me night is the fomentation of intemperate fornication, and the dark and moonless zeal of sin. Receive my fountains of tears, even as the clouds bring forth water from the seas. Bow down to my heartfelt sighing, bowing the heavens with Thy ineffable exhaustion: let me kiss Thy most pure nose, and cut off this hair from my head, which in Paradise Eve, at noon, filled my ears with noise, and hid with fear. My sins are many, and Your destinies are deep, who can trace them? O my soul-saving Savior, do not despise me, Your servant, who has immeasurable mercy.
(A woman who fell into many sins, who sensed Your Divine essence, accepted the rite of myrrh-bearing, sobbing, brings Myrrh to You before burial, saying: Oh, woe is me! A night of intemperate fornication for me, a dark and moonless night of sin. Bow down to my heartfelt sighs, O One who bowed the heavens with Your unspeakable exhaustion, may I kiss Your most pure feet, the steps of which Eve heard at noon in paradise, hid in fear, and wipe them off with her hair. Who explores the multitude of my sins and the abyss of Your destinies? The Savior of my soul, who has immeasurable mercy, do not despise Your slave.)
On Great Wednesday, the troparion "" and the exapostolary "I see Your palace, my Savior, adorned" are sung for the last time.
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight
(Valaam Monastery Choir)
(Women's choir. Disc “Time of Fasting and Prayer”)
Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, / and blessed is the servant, whom the vigilant will find: / but he is not worthy, but the despondent will find him. / Take care therefore for my soul, / not to be burdened with sleep, / lest you be given over to death, / and be shut out of the Kingdom, / but rise up, calling: / Holy, Holy, Holy art thou God, / Through the Theotokos have mercy on us.
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I see Your palace, O Savior
I see Your palace, my Savior, adorned, and I have no clothes, but I will go into it: enlighten the robe of my soul, O Light-Giver, and save me.
Great Wednesday Sermons
We have collected memorable sermons from Great Wednesday that will help us understand the difficult time of Holy Week.
Sermon of Patriarch Kirill on Great Wednesday
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh – Great Wednesday
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Peter denied Christ; Judas betrayed Him. Both could share the same fate: either both would be saved, or both would die. But Peter miraculously retained the confidence that the Lord, who knows our hearts, knows that, despite his denial, his cowardice, his fear, his oaths, he still had love for Him - a love that was now tearing his soul apart with pain and shame, but Love.
Judas betrayed Christ, and when he saw the result of his action, he lost all hope; it seemed to him that God could no longer forgive him, that Christ would turn away from him as he himself turned away from his Savior; and he left...
This morning we read about how a harlot approached Christ: not repenting, not changing her life, but only struck by the wondrous, Divine beauty of the Savior; we saw how she clung to His feet, how she cried over herself, disfigured by sin, and over Him, so beautiful in such a terrible world. She did not repent, she did not ask for forgiveness, she did not promise anything - but Christ, because she had such sensitivity to sacred things, such an ability to love, to love to tears, to love to the point of heartbreak, declared her forgiveness of sins for that she loved a lot...
I will say again: we will not have time to repent, we will not have time to change our lives before we meet tonight and tomorrow, in these coming days, with... But let us approach Christ like a harlot: with all our sin, and at the same time responding with all our soul, all our strength, all our weakness to the holiness of the Lord, let us believe in His compassion, in His love, let us believe in His faith in us, and let us hope for such a hope that cannot be crushed by anything, because God is faithful and His promise is clear to us: He came not to judge the world, but to save the world... Let us come to Him, sinners, for salvation, and He will have mercy and save us.
Theophan the Recluse – Great Wednesday
Saint Theophan the Recluse
I intended to depict before you the blackness of Judas’ betrayal. And now I say: let’s leave Judas. Let us better reconsider our affairs in order to cleanse from our life everything that bears any character trait of Judas, and thereby avoid the heavenly punishment that fell on him.
What is especially striking about Judas is that during his time with the Lord, he was exactly the same in life as all the Apostles. With them he ate, drank, walked, spent nights, with them he heard teachings and saw the miracles of the Lord, with them he endured all his needs, even went to preach the Gospel, and perhaps performed miracles in the name of the Lord; neither the Apostles nor others saw any special feature in him. Meanwhile, in the end, do you see what happened?
Where does this fruit come from? Of course, from the inside, from the soul. And so, you see, something was ripening inside the soul that all the time there were no signs on the outside. Did even Judas himself know that in his heart he cherished such a snake that would finally destroy him?
According to the custom of hiding the bonds with which he entangles the sinner, he always hides his main passion with various extraneous appearances from consciousness and even conscience, and only then, when he counts on the certain death of a person, does he release it - to attack - on him with all uncontrollable fury. One can, judging by this, think that Judas did not see all the ugliness of his passion and recognized himself as no worse than the other Apostles. And he fell, as if without foreseeing it.
So he carried a thorn in his heart. An opportunity presented itself, passion began to boil. The enemy took the poor man for this passion, clouded his mind and conscience, and led him like a blind or bound slave, first to crime, and then to the destruction of despair.
But this would not have happened if he had revealed his passion to the Lord. The physician of souls would immediately heal the illness of his soul. And Judas would have been saved. The same will happen to us if we do not reveal our passion to our spiritual father. Now she will become quiet; but after that, just by chance, there is a fall. If we open ourselves, we contrite, we set the intention not to give in and ask the Lord for help in this, then we will stand faithfully: for there is a greater one in us than in the world (1 John 4:4). The Lord, by His grace, at the hour of resolution, will kill passion. And he will plant the seed of the opposite virtue.
Just put in a little work, and, with God’s help, you will no longer wallow in the passions of dishonor, and you will begin to look with an open face to the Lord, and to the Saints, and to all Christians.
– Great Wednesday
Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)
I want you to remember forever the unfortunate harlot, despised by everyone.
Do we not all abhor harlots? Don't we all condemn them?
And our Lord not only forgave the unclean woman her sins, but also glorified her in all nations and at all times, for this is what He said: “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, it will be said in memory of her and about what she did."
Why such unheard of honor and glory? Why is the unfortunate harlot so exalted, who has not done a single one of the deeds that are glorified by the people of this world? For what? Only for her fiery love for the Son of God and for the streams of repentant tears.
So, above all else in the world is love, pure love for everything holy. Is there a lot of love in our hearts? I will ask you, honest and immaculate wives of your husbands, I will ask even you, virgins; I’ll ask myself, do we have the moral right to despise unfortunate harlots and brand them with shame? We, who boast of our integrity, often dubious, how dare we throw stones of condemnation at these unfortunates? Only God, the Knower of the Heart, knows that some of them have a lot of love in their hearts, despite all their impurity.
And if we, blameless in body, condemn and wound evil words our neighbors, is this how we pour out love from our hearts? If we slander and use foul language, we hurt loved ones with our sharp and evil tongue, will we receive a reward of love from God?
Let's understand let's understand the words Christ’s: “I want mercy, not sacrifice.” Let us remember forever that love is the fulfillment of the whole law. Let us often read the great hymn of love in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians by the Apostle Paul. Let us never forget about the harlot, whose heart burned with ardent love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us also love Him, our Savior, with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our thoughts, and our neighbors as ourselves!
Saint Nicholas of Serbia - Great Wednesday
St. Nikolai Serbsky
The sinful wife, a known harlot in the city, especially among the Pharisees, must have felt disgusted with herself when she first saw the face of Jesus. Something turned green in the cesspool of her soul, began to sprout and no longer gave her peace: in the face of Jesus she recognized her true being. Since then, something was embarrassed in her soul, something began to fight: the garbage - with what had turned green, what had sunk into her soul, like a shining seed, from this Divine face.
In the end, the new, pure and holy overpowered her, and, taking her money, earned by sin, she bought the most precious spikenard scent, went to Jesus and poured out this scent along with her tears on Him. The blind Pharisees were only tempted by this scene. If, they said, He were a prophet, then He would know who and what kind of woman touches Him, for she is a sinner (Luke 7:39).
Truly, the Lord knew what they knew, but they did not know what He knew: they knew only her sin and nothing more, but He also knew something else - something that grew in the cesspool of her soul and glittered in a heap of garbage. They were like the moon, under whose pale light and crystal appears dark, without reflection, like simple sand. And He is the flaming Sun of Truth, Which divides and distinguishes, causing His face to shine with the light on the twisted fragment of crystal of the soul of a sinner wife. Therefore He reproached the Pharisees, these pale moons, and said to his wife: Your sins are forgiven (that is, I will sweep away your garbage from you); Your faith has saved you; go in peace (cf. Luke 7:48, 50).
Archpriest Georgy Debolsky – Great Wednesday
What Christ predicted about the sinner wife was fulfilled. Wherever you go in the universe, everywhere you hear what is said about this woman; although she is not famous and did not have many witnesses. Who announced and preached this? The power of the One who foretold this. So much time has passed, but the memory of this incident has not been destroyed; and the Persians, and the Indians, and the Scythians, and the Thracians, and the Sarmatians, and the generation of the Moors, and the inhabitants British Isles They tell about what the sinful wife did secretly in the house.
Hear, all money lovers who suffer from the disease of Judas, hear and beware of the passion of the love of money. If the one who was with Christ, performed miracles, used such teaching, fell into such an abyss because he was not free from this disease: then how much more you, who have not even heard the Scriptures and are always attached to the present, can conveniently be caught by this passion, if you do not apply constant care.
How did Judas become a traitor, you ask, when he was called by Christ? God, calling people to Himself, does not impose necessity and does not force the will of those who do not want to choose virtues, but exhorts, gives advice, does everything, tries in every possible way to encourage them to become good: if some do not want to be good, He does not force! The Lord chose Judas as an apostle because he was initially worthy of this election.