What is the general Christian take on Judas Iscariot?
I know for sure he is not popular among Christians. But I have wondered how much and to what extent his infamy is warranted?
Many people have a somewhat sympathetic take on him. They say things like "well he had to betray Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. If he did not, we would not be saved because of no crucifixtion."
The more I think about it, the less such reasoning makes sense to me. Yes, Jesus had to be crucified, but I don't think one of his disciples had to give him up, or had to do it for 30 pieces of silver.
I also am not sure if Judas, or really any of the apostles really knew how it was all going to play out. They knew Jesus had to die, but their panic and confusion after He was seized suggested they didn't really know he would be resurrected in three days time. Because of this I tend to think that Jesus' resurrection was just an unintended consequence of Judas' actions.
Also, I think it says something pretty unfortunate about Judas' character, that he was willing to give Jesus up. He had lived with and travelled with Jesus for the past three years and had full access to all of Jesus' miracles and teachings, far more so than say the Blind man, the Leper, or the Woman at the well who all were convinced of Jesus' divinity and likely would have loved to have had Judas' access to Him.
I believe Judas' betrayal and subsequent suicide were just symptoms of the fact that perhaps he never truly believed in Jesus, and fundamentally did not understand or "get" him. If he had, he would have known that Jesus would have forgiven him and would not have felt compelled to hang himself.
Maybe Judas was dissapointed that Christ would not establish a worldly kingdom and overthrow the Romans, maybe he thought that Jesus was just some powerful sorcerer, but not one who could save him from sins, and definitely not the son of God as he claimed.
This is all just conjecture though. I think there is barely a paragraph or two written about Judas in all the gospels, and his exact thoughts or motivations are never truly made known. I do pity him on some level but also have questions/thoughts about him.
Can anyone help me with this notion of how to perceive Judas?
I know for sure he is not popular among Christians. But I have wondered how much and to what extent his infamy is warranted?
Many people have a somewhat sympathetic take on him. They say things like "well he had to betray Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. If he did not, we would not be saved because of no crucifixtion."
The more I think about it, the less such reasoning makes sense to me. Yes, Jesus had to be crucified, but I don't think one of his disciples had to give him up, or had to do it for 30 pieces of silver.
I also am not sure if Judas, or really any of the apostles really knew how it was all going to play out. They knew Jesus had to die, but their panic and confusion after He was seized suggested they didn't really know he would be resurrected in three days time. Because of this I tend to think that Jesus' resurrection was just an unintended consequence of Judas' actions.
Also, I think it says something pretty unfortunate about Judas' character, that he was willing to give Jesus up. He had lived with and travelled with Jesus for the past three years and had full access to all of Jesus' miracles and teachings, far more so than say the Blind man, the Leper, or the Woman at the well who all were convinced of Jesus' divinity and likely would have loved to have had Judas' access to Him.
I believe Judas' betrayal and subsequent suicide were just symptoms of the fact that perhaps he never truly believed in Jesus, and fundamentally did not understand or "get" him. If he had, he would have known that Jesus would have forgiven him and would not have felt compelled to hang himself.
Maybe Judas was dissapointed that Christ would not establish a worldly kingdom and overthrow the Romans, maybe he thought that Jesus was just some powerful sorcerer, but not one who could save him from sins, and definitely not the son of God as he claimed.
This is all just conjecture though. I think there is barely a paragraph or two written about Judas in all the gospels, and his exact thoughts or motivations are never truly made known. I do pity him on some level but also have questions/thoughts about him.
Can anyone help me with this notion of how to perceive Judas?