Judas

John 13:12-14 (NRSV) After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.…

John 13:21-30 (NRSV) After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

John 13:34-35 (NRSV) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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I am pondering this morning the counterfactual “what would have happened to Judas if he hadn’t taken his own life?” What would the response be by Jesus after the resurrection, or the other disciples? How would we be affected by the nature of that narrative of Judas being redeemed?

It’s not too far of a fetch either. As you might see after this, arguably, this was the hope Jesus had for Judas all along. In the end Judas is associated with dehumanising words like traitor. The two stories that circulated about his death are quite different from each other but each still have a ‘he got what he deserved’ overtone. In spite of the victory of the cross, redemptive violence is still at play and Judas becomes a scapegoat that takes on all our own unspoken and unaddressed guilt of betrayal, faithlessness and treachery. “At least I’m not as bad as Judas…”

Judas was right up until the point of the garden, still a bone fide disciple. Even though he was a treasurer that would dip into the common fund for his own purposes, even though he was a bit of a penny pincher and self-righteous miserly sod, even though he had spoken to well, the enemies of Jesus and accepted money to turn him hover to them, even though all of that, Jesus loved him. 

The way I invite you to read this story today is to remove the focus away from the treachery and back into the manner in which Jesus treated him.

• Jesus washed his feet

• Jesus called him his disciple

• Jesus presented a piece of bread to him as honouring

There’s a number of times in the Gospel where Jesus announces to his disciples that one of them would betray him. I’m sure that made them uneasy. It’s the same dynamic were someone might say to a group that they think everyone is great, except for one. The effect this can have on the entire group is a bit unnerving. 

Was Jesus specifically thinking of Judas or was this still an open question until he met with the Jewish leaders? It matters because if Jesus knew it would be Judas, the normal assumption, then isn’t that kind of weird that Judas was selected as one of the Twelve disciples?

If Jesus knew, then  Judas is present during all of the teachings in the Gospel. Judas was one of the twelve that were sent out to cast out demons and perform miracles in Jesus name. Judas saw it all, heard it all and was one of the closest people to Jesus during his earthly ministry. And Judas stuck it out. There are plenty of examples where faithful disciples (though not one of the twelve) couldn’t hack the pace and left Jesus. People were making up their minds about this all the time. But if Jesus, knew that Judas was going to betray him, Jesus still loved, chose and empowered him.

It becomes an example of Jesus loving his enemies. It’s an example of the enemy being present and accepted and embraced, given the same treatment as anyone else in the inner circle. It’s hard not to see this as an act of hope, of giving the benefit of the doubt that the person might change, that they might find redemption in the act of following.

If Jesus knew, then the foot washing episode where Jesus washed the disciples feet—a task left for the servants to do as it was a dirty job. Walking the streets of the ancient towns was at times like walking through a sewer particularly after rain. Animal and human excrement would have been pounded into the dirt and become dust between your toes if you were wearing open footwear. By ritual law touching this potentially made you unclean. Hence why the host would never perform this task. 

So Jesus potentially made himself ritually unclean for the Judas’ and the other disciples’ sake. This is no small thing as if blemished it required Jesus absent himself for up to seven days — which was a bit of a risk at passover.

If Jesus knew, then regardless of this fact, Jesus still called Judas his disciple. Judas was still chosen. This was never revoked by Jesus. 

It would have been interesting to see what the others in the Twelve disciples would have done if Judas had not taken his own life.

He was obviously ashamed after the betrayal and perhaps that could have turned into repentance. Perhaps there would have been an episode like the restoration of Peter on the beach. Imagine that! That even Judas is forgiven and restored, and how challenging that would have been for the rest of the twelve!

Jesus was already targeted by the powers that be so there was an inevitability of events like the cross. It’s almost weird that the chief priests needed Judas to betray Jesus. I guess they thought it would be a peaceful transaction if it was an inside job. But the fact that they also brought around 600 roman soldiers to the arrest indicates they thought it would be more violent than it turned out to be.

If Jesus knew Judas would betray him, then it could be argued that all the goodness given to Judas was wasted. 

Except to say this. After Judas left the room, Jesus gave the new commandment:

that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another

We already know the golden rule: “Love the lord your god with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And love your neighbour as yourself.” This is levelled up in John’s gospel. What is the nature of that love? To love as Jesus loved us. The even unto death thing can actually be a quiet comfort because it’s unlikely that will be tested for most of us. But, in the example of the last supper, well that’s another thing altogether. 

Reading this now, after Judas’ departure, after the love Jesus has shown for Judas, the sheer magnitude of this is apparent.

There’s an injunction here that the 11 remaining disciples must heed—and that is how will they treat Judas?

How do we treat the traitors? The betrayers? Do we feel in some sense justified in hating on them? Where does love fit in with them? 

How do we also reconcile the wisdom of boundaries, not being a walk over? In no sense do we condone engaging with people when your safety is a concern, but there are lesser sins against us that maybe we need to consider.  

Jesus washed all of their feet, shared supper with them, gave them more knowledge and teaching, poured life into them. Regardless of the outcome. 

This is what it means to love like Jesus did. 

One thing is certain, if he’d not taken his life, Judas could have challenged the others with their integrity too. They all scattered at the cross. In the end, all of them lost faith in Jesus. The fact they didn’t act out this, doesn’t necessarily make them better than Judas. 

Peter lied to Jesus when he said he would follow him unto death, yet at the threat of being imprisoned, he denied he even knew Jesus. Why are we more sympathetic to Peter than to Judas? Sure, Judas set things in motion, but could Peter have done anything about it? Is it because we know how the story ended for Peter? The outcome on the beach?

I do feel though, my judgement of Judas is changing—and with that change comes a massive challenge.