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The Story of Judas: Fact, Fiction, or Something Else?

We all know the name – – Judas. Most of us think we know the story. It’s about a man chosen to be one of Christ’s twelve disciples, who eventually turned on his teacher and sold him to Roman soldiers for 30 pieces of silver. But is that what really happened?

Christians, for the most part, believe the story of Judas as laid out in the New Testament of the Bible. And why shouldn’t they? After all, it is just as likely as any of the many other theories that have been proposed throughout the years.

Think about it in terms of making a monumental mistake. Every human I have ever known has most assuredly made at least one such a mistake in his or her lifetime. Sometimes it comes about because of a feeling of being slighted and the subsequent need to seek revenge. Other times it happens because of misinterpretation. It might even happen by making another mistake.

Whether intention or unintentional, I admit that I have made one or two monumental mistakes in my life. None have been deliberate. One was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived slight. Another was the result of actually trying to clear things up.

Could Judas have believed that by turning Jesus over to the Romans he might be preventing his death? Some scholars believe so.

Might he have turned over the Lord because he was upset about something that Jesus had done; a kind of knee jerk reaction? Perhaps it never occurred to him what the end result might be.

Could he have deliberately and with mal intent turned Jesus over, knowing all along that it surely meant his friend and teacher would die? Obviously, any one of those situations are possible and even probable.

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Another theory has come to light as a result of the exposure of what is commonly called the gospel according to Judas. It suggests that Judas was destined to do exactly what he did from the very beginning.

It even suggests that Jesus might have singled Judas out for that particular assignment. At the very least, it points out that it was likely that Jesus knew of, and perhaps even pre-approved, the upcoming betrayal. The fact that he told his disciples that it was about to happen at the Last Supper, even pointing out who the betrayer would be, seems to validate such a possibility.

Another theory that has been suggested in recent times is that Judas was, in fact, possessed by a demon at the time of the betrayal. However, there appears to be no real proof that suggests that theory could hold much water.

It is far more likely that the latest explanation is nothing more than another excuse offered by way of explaining away bad actions. After all, we now live in a world where no one is actually responsible for his or her own actions. It is always someone else’s fault.

Interested in determining what people really believed about the story of Judas, I conducted another one of my surveys. I found the results both surprising and, in some ways, a bit disturbing.

I passed out surveys to some 100 local churchgoers. Fifty three percent were women and 47 percent were men. Here are the results of the surveys returned:

71% believe that the Judas story as told in the Bible is very likely the most correct.
15% believe that Judas betrayed Jesus with his knowledge and approval.
06% believe that Jesus singled Judas out to turn him in.
03% believe that Judas didn’t know what he was doing, although they don’t believe he was possessed.
03% believe that Judas was possessed by the devil at the time he betrayed Christ.
02% believe that the story of Judas has been corrupted over the years and that he might not have even been the one who betrayed Jesus.

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I found it interesting that about 14% of those surveyed apparently didn’t buy into the biblical interpretation of the story at all. I would not have found that unusual among non-church members, but felt it was shocking in light of the fact that my entire survey group was composed of supposed “believers.”

I suppose my beliefs fall somewhere in between the first and second response. I do believe that Judas betrayed Christ. However, I think a case can be made for the fact that Jesus was aware of, and approved, the action because he knew it was his destiny.

I welcome your respectful and non-discriminatory thoughts and ideas on the subject in the comment section below.