Betrayal - Judas
Mark 14:43-52; Matthew 26:47-56; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:3-12
'The man I kiss is the one you want'.
Judas, one of the twelve
disciples, came into the Garden of Gethsemane. With him was a crowd armed with
swords and clubs, ready to move when they were given the signal. Judas had
already arranged that the person he kissed would be the one to arrest so he
walked up to Jesus. 'Teacher', he said, and kissed him. The crowd was ready to
fight, and one of the disciples cut the ear of the High Priest's slave. But
Jesus allowed himself to be arrested without violence. As he said, 'Why do you
have to come after me with clubs and spears? Day after day I was teaching in the
temple and you did not arrest me...'
How do you react
if one of your friends is threatened? Can non-violence ever work? Think of some
examples.
After he betrayed Jesus, Judas killed himself. What do you think Judas
really felt about Jesus? You might find some clues in this verse by Oscar
Wilde:
'Yet each man kills the thing he loves
by each let this be heard...
The coward does it with a kiss
The brave man with a sword'. (Oscar Wilde).
© Culham
College Institute 1998
