What follows over the next few days will be short reflections on three people who appear in Mark’s Holy Week narrative. These are not meant to be exhaustive or definitive articles. Rather they are some of what I have been pondering this Holy Week.
Judas
Much has been written about Judas. What have you been told about him? Have you ever wondered about him? Why does he do what he does? Why does he hand Jesus over to the authorities? Mark’s gospel doesn’t say anything about “why”.
After Jesus is anointed in Bethany, the author of Mark writes:”Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him. When they heard of it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. (Mark 14:10-11 NRSV)
Then Mark writes about Jesus and the disciples in Gethsemane. “Immediately, while he (Jesus) was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. (Mark 14:43-46 NRSV)
I wonder if Judas was frustrated by Jesus. Throughout the gospels, the disciples struggled to understand what Jesus was doing. They speculated about who would be greatest in the coming kingdom. They resisted Jesus’ teaching about his impending death and resurrection. He was not the Messiah anyone was expecting. Increasingly it didn’t seem that Jesus was going to liberate them from Roman rule.
Is Judas so frustrated, angry even, that when it becomes clear that Jesus isn’t the Messiah they are expecting his response is to turn Jesus in. Does he think he has wasted his time and risked his life following a false Messiah? If Jesus isn’t the true Messiah, why not remove the pretender, save his own life and continue searching for the true Messiah?
Jesus was already on a collision course with the authorities. They have already decided to arrest and kill him (Mark 14:1-2). Most of the time Jesus was easy to find. It is hard to imagine any way, with or without Judas, that Jesus avoids arrest.
Perhaps Judas thinks Jesus is truly the Messiah, but he isn’t going about it correctly. Maybe Judas hopes to force Jesus’ hand. If he is arrested maybe Jesus will have to reveal himself as the Messiah? Perhaps Judas thinks he can compel Jesus to act, to overthrow the Roman Empire and inaugurate his kingdom?
The more time I spend reading the gospels, the more convinced I am that Jesus and the reign of God are so much more radical, more unexpected, and completely counter to “normal life” than we can imagine. And then I wonder. How often do I try to make Jesus’ way fit into my understanding of his way? How often do I say, “Oh yes, but what Jesus really meant was…”? How often do I balk at speaking and working for justice because it will upset the status quo too much? Or because I might be criticized? Or it might cost me something? Do we functionally turn Jesus over to the authorities every time we fail to faithfully follow him?
I can hardly bear to think about this. It makes me uncomfortable and sad, and honestly feeling guilty. Lent, of course, is a time of repentance. I have things to repent of. Just like the disciples, I have failed Jesus. And I need to consider how I will try to follow Jesus more faithfully in the coming days. Because the failure of the disciples1 is not the end of their story. And my failures are not the end of mine.
- All of the 12 disciples fail Jesus. Judas betrays him, Peter denies him, the others abandon him. ↩︎
Conversation in Faith 