John 13: Jesus is betrayed

The motives of Judas remain a mystery, writes Major Andrew Bale.

Key texts

• John 13:1-29

Judas’s betrayal of Jesus has always posed a problem for believers. If someone as intimately acquainted with Jesus as Judas could betray him – after witnessing his miracles first-hand and listening to Christ’s teaching for three years – then what hope is there for us? Some would say that God determined Judas’s actions before he was born but, as Salvationists, we believe in free will – everyone has the opportunity to accept or reject Christ, and that included Judas.

So why did Judas betray Jesus? 

When I was a teenager, Hugh J Schonfield’s The Passover Plot was a popular read among many Christians. In the book, Schonfield argues that Jesus meticulously planned his own arrest and execution, and that Judas played a critical role in that plan. Although many dismiss Schonfield’s claims as a distortion of the historical sources he uses, his belief that Judas’s betrayal was motivated by honourable motives is not a new idea.

In the 2nd century, Gnosticism – a religious and philosophical movement influenced by Judaism and Christianity but rejected by the early Church – was at the height of its influence. The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas – a book dated to the 2nd century – depicts Judas’s betrayal as a divinely inspired act designed to set things in motion. This shows that Schonfield’s ideas have been around for centuries.

Pause and reflect

• Have you ever thought about how Judas could betray Christ? 
• If Judas betrayed Christ for money, how vulnerable does that make us?

John 13:12–29 describes the Last Supper. It is, perhaps, the most intimate encounter between Christ and his disciples found in the Gospels. The scene depicts a group deeply invested in each other, with Christ at the centre of their very special communal bond. At this meal, Jesus talks about betrayal and appears to clearly indicate that Judas will be the traitor, yet none of the others attempts to restrain him. In fact, the text goes on to say that none of them understands what’s happening, even though Christ’s words seem to us to be explicit.

Although we’re told that ‘Satan entered into him’ (v27), could Judas really go from that intense emotional and spiritual communion to an act of cold-hearted betrayal carried out for monetary gain moments later?

We know that Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss, but there is more than one word for the verb ‘to kiss’ in the original Greek. The word used in Matthew 26:48 is phileó, which is kissing used as a greeting between friends. According to Matthew, this is the kiss Judas said he would use to identify Jesus to the soldiers who came to arrest him. However, in verse 49, the word used for Judas’s actual kiss is kataphileó, which describes kissing with great affection, conveying a sense of warmth and deep emotional connection. Luke 15:20 uses this same word to describe the emotional greeting given by the father to the prodigal son. Greek readers would have understood that this kiss was an intimate expression of deep love and not in any way casual.

Now, it may well be that Judas was led astray by love for money but came to his senses when he kissed Jesus. According to Matthew 27:3, Judas was ‘seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders’. However, in Acts 1:18 and 19, Luke reports: ‘Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this.’

Why Matthew and Luke report the impact of the betrayal on Judas differently can never be known. However, this contradiction should at least sound a caution when we consider Judas’s reaction to what he had done.

Pause and reflect

• How might betrayal happen in less obvious and more subtle ways? 
• Read Matthew 7:21–23. Consider how, sometimes, even when we think we are doing what’s right, we might actually be working against Christ.

According to Schonfield, Christ especially chose Judas to betray him in order to force a military or political reaction. The Gnostics taught that Judas played a pivotal role in the implementation of the gospel. The truth is that we can never be certain about Judas’s intention or how he felt after he had betrayed Christ. In John 13:27, Jesus says to Judas: ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’ What may or may not have passed between them prior to this exchange is unknown to us.

The sobering reality is that, even when we’re intimately linked to Jesus and have genuine and intense feelings of love for him, we’re still vulnerable to saying the wrong things; we’re still capable of doing the wrong things.

Pause and reflect

• How can you be certain you are about your Father’s business? 
• How can you protect yourself from betraying Christ?

Love is essential to Christian faith and practice. Love for God and for each other are the hallmarks of our faith. But the only way to be truly happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. Start with the two greatest commandments: love God and love others (see Matthew 22:37–40). Keep them as your foundation, and you’ll be as safe as any believer can be.