Judas: should we judge him too harshly?

If Judas doesn't betray Jesus, there's not crucifixion.If there's no crcifixion, there's no resurrection.If there's no resurrection, there is no Easter or Jesus' assent.And without that what Christians basing their faith on? Two film scenes come to mind. One from The Last Temptation of Christ. Jesus begs Judas to betray him. And the other is from Jesus Christ Superstar. Jesus argues with Judas about his betrayal. In both Judas says what if I don't go to tell them where you are. What if I stay right here. But in both it is Jesus that urges Judas to betray him.And Jesus had to know how everything would turn out.

yes.. it was already written but tell you, he could have chosen not to betray jesus. Still, it is his own personal choice. He already knew what is right and what is wrong but he still continued it.

no we should not judge him too harshly. i believe that Judas just represents another facet of the wonderfully complex human emotions. Judas exists in all of us, some of us give in to the temptation, some restrain ourselves. virtue and vice are what make human beings so multifaceted and life so interesting. without the presence of black, you can never appreciate white. also spare a thought for the psychologists.... if the human brain didn't have a twist in it, what would they research on?

"it was already foretold that he will be the betrayer" - this is not true. What is foretold is that somebody would betray Jesus, it was never identified that it is Judas who would betray Him. God gives us free will and freedom of choice. It was Judas who chose what happened. First of all, he was entrusted their treasury box and yet he was stealing. He was not commanded to steal for in fact God commands: Thou shall not steal. The fact that he was stealing made him disobedient to God. Of all the apostles, Judas had the smallest faith, because of his desire to have more and thus he was stealing. He would not have stolen if he was not of little faith. And because his faith is wavering, he gave a good opportunity for Satan to enter his heart. And so Satan did what he was supposed to do - to betray Jesus.

Interesting question. two facts i learned thorough my religious education. 1. Judas gave Jesus up so that he could prove to be the Son of God. 2. Judas felt so guilty that he gave the money back and then hung himself. I think that whether or not it was his "role" is irrevelant. I mean it odes have a point but i feel that Judas punished himself enough and was sorry enough for what he did that he should be forgiven. That is the idea of confession anyway isnt it? Making amends and forgiveness? Its similar today to having a car accident and killing someone. That person will suffer enough from grief and guilt that their "sin" should be forgiven.

Depending on which version of the Bible you read he was either the betrayer or the favorite one who did what he did at Jesus' request. Either way he got a bad rap I think. Just goes to show that one simply cannot put too much weight into a book that has been editied, rewritten and probably mis-traslated over and over again.

Yes, Judas had just as much freedom of choice as anyone else. It's just that Jesus already knew he'd be the one to betray him, just as God knows what each of our futures and decisions will be ahead of time. No one wanted Judas to commit this sin, but he chose to do it for the money, just like so many people do today.

I think the reason we shouldn't judge Judas too harshly is because he felt so bad about betraying Jesus that he hung himself afterwards. He really did love Jesus, and Jesus forgave him for what he did.

you are so right he just did what was ritten and whitout him jesus couldnt die for our sins. I have always thought that history has judge him to hard.

Judas exercised his free will, and his love of money and greed made him betray Jesus. The fact that God is all-knowing, and he knows the end from the beginning, does not mean we are programmed to do certain things. Even an experienced teacher, when told that their is an uproar in his class, without being present, will give you an almost accurate list of the culprits. How much more the Almighty God.

Nope. Judas did have free will.. and he chose to betray Jesus. Sure, Jesus knew beforehand that one of them.. Judas.. will betray Him.. but there is no control from God for what Judas did.. God simply allows Evil to persuade Judas .. however Judas did have the choice to not betray Jesus.. If that was the case.. Im sure there are other who would betray Him.. After all God has many ways to get something done.. By not betraying God, that doesnt mean Judas will disobey God's will.. because God did not specifically said to Judas to betray Him right? There is no command at all.. so there is nothing to disobey :)

RECENTLY ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED A NEW GOSPEL - THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS - IN WHICH JESUS TELL JUDAS THAT HE IS SOMEONE SPECIAL AND IS DESTINED TO BETRAY HIM... JUDAS REFUSES BUT JESUS INSISTS.... AND THUS HAPPENS THE PRE-PLANNED BETRAYAL... SO WE ARE NOT TO ACCUSE JUDAS FOR THE BETRAYAL.... HE REPENTS LATER AND HANGS HIMSELF..... JUDAS IS A GOOD MAN IN MY VIEW....!!!

I dont think we should judge Judas so harshly. He was in a bad time and did not know what to do. Many others would have done the same thing I think. Yes it was wrong and against his father but he was forgiven and knew what he did was wrong. He is an example to all that we all make big mistakes sometimes and that we all should be forgiving to those we know are truly sorry for their actions.

We should not judge Judas as a sinner or the traitor. It is because he just follow his will. His will is to betray Jesus, which was already written before... That was his role...

i wholeheartedly agree with you.i think it's sad that he was to fulfill that role in mankind's history

When jesus had forgiven him its unfair of us to judge him. He was amere mortal man infested with greed and Jesau was too big magnimonius to care fior such trifle things, if jesus can do so, whjy can't his followers too.

To say that Judas had not free will causes an issue with the idea that we all have free will... Free will or not, Judas was required to betray Jesus. Then Jesus needed left to the judgement of others by Pontius Pilate, so on and so for, to fulfill the martyr role. It isn't just Judas that was required... As for judging him, I thought it was hate the sin not the sinner. Judge not lest you be judged...

I feel that even though it was Gods will, it was also because God knew his heart and that is what put him in that position that was neccessary. However, I do not hate Judas because as a christian we are supposed to love all. If Jesus didn't hate Judas and he was the one who was betrayed then who am I to hate him.

I think yeah he did the wrong move, but it is his destiny to do it, and its a part of lessons to mankind about what he did,so in my opinion dont judge him harshly

dont judge others so you wont be judge as the saying goes. besides its just part of the history and therefore this should be treated as a lesson or knowledge of the past and not as a 'carrier' of our negative emotions. im not judging him or anyone or hitler or marcos or bush, coz i believe if we put our emotion on whatever we see or learned about on someone or something, the same feeling shall manifest in this plane caused by another form but definitely with the same emotion as what one have NOW. i think one should be neutral as long as it doesnt directly or persenally concerned him