Wasn't Judas Iscariot the real hero of the Passion?

Question

According to scripture Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. Judas Iscariot on the other was condemned to ignominy and eternal damnation. Were it not for Judas' betrayal there would be no Crucifixion and no resurrection. We must therefore assume that Judas' role was as every bit as critical to the story as Christ's. Christ foretold of Judas' betrayal at the Last Supper, so it may be argued that Judas had no free will, and therefore could not avoid betraying Jesus. This being the case Judas cannot be held morally accountable for his actions. Who in this story made the greater sacrifice?

Answer 1

You need to read the old testament as well and find out all the prophesies of Christ. Then see how many of them came true. I'll save you the time. THere are over three hundred. And they all came true. You also need to read the rest of the story of Judas.

The point is you need to read about the entire story to understand it. You need to know who Judas was and where he was coming from to understand why he betrayed Jesus. If you don't, you can't make assumptions.

Answer 2

Judas BETRAYED; is that something heroic?

we can reinterpret all we like how Judas fits into the wider story.  <<==If everyone interprets things as how they like it, does that qualify as truth? Does everyone take every belief they have as truth, no matter how they clash?

Answer 3

NOw he would have been a hero, had he confessed and attoned for his sin. But he went and topped himself, the silly Billy. Had he learned nothing from his great teacher? Hold on, maybe he was a c**p teacher. Advantage Iscariot?

Answer 4

In some respects, you have a point. But the thing that drives whether or not Judas was acting in a heroic manner was motivation, and regardless of the stated outcome of his betrayal or the canonical assertion of the Christian church, we can only guess as to why he did what he did.

Maybe he was called to be the catalyst for Jesus' ultimate victory, and acted on the basis of what he believed to be right at the time, and eventually killed himself out of doubt at the success of his actions.

Maybe he wanted to force Jesus' hand. Remember that Judas was quite likely to have been a revolutionary against Roman occupation of God's land (as it would have been seen) and keen to encourage Jesus to reveal his divinity to the temples and the authorities. Looked at in that light, he would have seen the crucifixion as the ultimate in c**k-ups, where his attempt to start the revolution would have crushed the source of his hopes for renewal - hence, the suicide, in total self-loathing despair.

Maybe he was a Jewish loyalist who, while initially won over by Jesus' ideas as a wise and gentle rabbi, was scared by the fact that he seemed to be advocating the destruction of the Jewish temple, and saw turning him over to the authorities as a means to stop him before he tried to destroy everything Judas held dear.

Maybe he was just in it for the money. Maybe he was peeved at the disrespect he got from the other disciples as the money-man of the group. Maybe he was blackmailed by the temples.

The point is, who knows? We can reinterpret all we like how Judas fits into the wider story, but essentially, since there's only the opinion of post-resurrection Christians to go on, we can never be sure one way or the other. Which is just as it should be, really.

Answer 5

What stopped Judas from going up to the cross and ask for forgiveness ? His damnation is due to his lack of faith and despair that caused him to take his own life.  

Answer 6

If ignorance really is bliss, you are one happy guy

Answer 7

Judas was instumental in the betrayal of Jesus, but certainly not in Jesus' resurrection.

He had a rotten old time of it seeing as Jesus stated that it would be better for the one who betrayed him to have never been born. (!)

Ive often felt a little sorry for Judas, let's face it when Jesus didnt rise up against the Romans in the typical sense of a revolution, and Judas realized that wasn't going to happen, the bloke hung himself. He was clearly a very confused guy. This doesn't make him a hero.

God is merciful, who are we to know, he could be rocking it up there with all the good guys now...

Answer 8

"Were it not for Judas' betrayal there would be no Crucifixion and no resurrection."

You don't know that. Isn't that what's known as a false assumption?

Answer 9

The Jesus story is just retelling of the Solar Myth. Most sun gods who are sacrificed are 'betrayed' by a trickster god. Judas merely plays this role in the Jesus story. In most of the other myths the trickster god is regarded with caution but isn't made to go and lose his guts in some stupid fields.

Answer 10

What verse does it say Judas was condemned? I always thought God would have had compassion on him...

Answer 11

John 13:2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

Judas was never a follower of Jesus, he just played along. He was the group's money-changer and regularly stole money from the group.  He was directly influenced(if not downright possessed) by Satan to betray Jesus.

Little did Satan know, however, that he was doing just what Jesus wanted him to. It was the only time in the history of the world that Satan was tricked, rather than tricking someone else.

Sadly, while Judas regretted regretted betraying Jesus, he did not request forgiveness. If Judas had just gone to Jesus and asked to be forgiven, Jesus would have give it him. Instead, he selfishly hung himself to end his guilt, and denied himself access to God.

Answer 12

well one thing to look at is the mistranslation of the word betrayed. the word on the oldest document means to hand over. it was later changed to betrayed. i don't know if i would go with hero, but he did certainly play a major roll in the crucifixion.