A question I've always pondered seriously as a non-Christian

"If Christ did have to be sacrificed, then didn't Judas help fulfill this destiny?" Did Judas get a bad rap?

What makes this question interesting is that there is a tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility that is difficult to untangle, particularly with the data we have, so to speak.

That said, I think a good deal of the specific question you raise about Judas, and shades of an answer to the broader question, can be addressed in three ways:

1) Christ, when talking about sin and temptation and mercy, in Matthew 18 or Luke 17, makes a general comment that I think applies, from a Christian vantage point, specifically to Judas's situation:
“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!"

Evil comes and apparently is in broad terms inevitable or necessary, but woe to the one by whom it comes.

(And perhaps Good (deliverance) comes in a similar providential-yet-human way, as expressed in Mordecai's words to Esther: "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.")

The apostle Paul, also speaking in very general terms in Romans 6 about sin, sin resulting in goodness, warned against justifying the evil: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace [God's forgiveness towards us] may [thus] increase? By no means! "

So that's the general moral argument in Christian terms (as I see it). What about the specifics of Judas's case?


2) Christ spoke specifically about Judas's culpability during the last supper (Matthew 26): '...Jesus replied, 'The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.' And apparently a few days later Judas allegedly agrees ("I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27) shortly before killing himself, a suicide consistent with self-condemnation that he could not bear his guilt, ie that he really had done something wrong in his own eyes.)


3) On non-Christian common sense grounds, Judas's betrayal of Jesus (amidst Jesus's destiny) violates the ends-don't-justify-the-means principle. It is a dangerous practice to allow one's notion of a good purpose to justify evil actions. (Psychologically, rationalization abounds and it's better not to feed it!) Or the more concrete idea that, lacking other highly-justifying information to the contrary, "among a group of 12 men who purposely live together for 3 years, isn't the person among them who tips off their whereabouts to their enemies to get the leader killed, a bad guy and a villain?"

Grace and peace to you,
Greg

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There's a remarkable movie (filmed in post war Germany) from about 1950 starring Oskar Werner, I believe called Decision Before Dawn, about a young German soldier captured by the Allies at the end of WW2, who is released with the understanding that he will be a spy among his own people for the Allies. He comes to believe this is the right thing to do as it would shorten the war, end the misery for his own people, and end the Nazis. He believes he is doing the right thing, but in carrying out this mission he cuts himself off from his people, and in the end, even by the Allies who recruited and used him, he is considered nothing but a ...traitor. Those who betray trust, regardless of the circumstances and reasons, are always regarded thusly. It's human nature. Interestingly, Werner, who did few movies, played another character actually named Judas in a TV movie.

I think this is the basis of hatred towards Judas - our natural hatred of treason, and betrayal, and our need to lay our sins upon another...once done literally in a ritual called the Judas goat (when you hear someone referred to as a 'goat' who gets stuck with the blame, that would be the origin). It's easier than considering our own roles.

As for Judas himself, I have always felt sorry for him, and hoped that he found forgiveness and salvation as well, from an enternally merciful God, whatever his motives were, his regret was deeply felt and poignant, and he does appear to have been cast in the role of the betrayer so that Christ might be crucified. To be fully Christian, we must forgive Judas and welcome him back into the community, as I believe he genuinely repented.

Some say that Christ would have been the Saviour even if he has lived into old age and not been executed. While it's true, we might have had his philosophy to live by, which should be the main hallmark of a Christian, the essence of his nature as Saviour WAS his triumph over death. That is why the Resurrection is the most important part of his legacy, as it shows us that, like Christ, there is only a physical death, and the soul lives forever. There could be no more dramatic proof of that, than the empty tomb his followers found on the third day. It surely might have been accomplished without a Judas, but betrayal is part of human nature, and forgiveness, even of this heinous act, is something we are asked to learn.

I am a Christian and ponder the same question. Maybe, if you like, God not only sacrificed Jesus (from a christian perspective, "him""her""it"self) but also Judas. And what we should not forget: Satan is a fallen angel...

We as humans will never be able to fully perceive God, God's will and God's action.

BTW,I listen to Jesus Christ Superstar on every Good Friday. The film influenced me and my spirituality very much.

There is an interesting National Geographic special called "The Gospel of Judas". I think it is pretty widely accepted that there were many gospels written at the time after Jesus died, but for political and social reasons, only four gospels were accepted and those are what are still taught today. In the late 70s, an old parchment document was discovered in a cave, and it happens to be the Gospel of Judas! To cut to the chase, according to this document, because Judas was a such a loyal follower of Jesus, Jesus let Judas know the bigger plan for him. He told Judas that he would have to "betray" Jesus for the greater good...kind of like Snape and Dumbledore! Judas accepted this mission, even though he hated the thought of appearing to willingly betray Jesus. The idea of Judas being given secrets that were not shared with the other disciples led to a lot of jealousy among them. Were the four gospels written by jealous disciples? Probably not. But, I think this adds a twist that some scholars would like to believe and rationalize. I doubt anyone will ever agree on what all of this new information means, but it doesn't diminish the fact that Judas loved Jesus, and he thought he was only trying to help Jesus by turning him in. Only after Jesus was tortured did Judas realize the error of his ways and killed himself. This is portrayed very beautifully in this musical.

True Christians do not feel Judas is a villain. He is a hero. If not for him, Jesus would never have died for our sins. I do not know any Christians who hate Judas. Judas did what he had to do. Without him, there would be no Christianity.

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What if Jesus hadn't been killed on the cross? Would the romans,the priests of the time or satan himself really allowed him to continue spreading hes words? Clearly he had to be stopped so satan could continue disleading the world and twisting the words of truth so he could show God that humans CAN live without hes guidance or presence, which ultimately is what its all about - the result we can see quite clearly in the world today.