Sunday, April 27, 2014

"marvelled that he talked with the woman" - Judas Iscariot



The Tone-Gawa River with the largest basin area in Japan


Judas Iscariot

Christ Jesus is said to have been betrayed by Judas Iscariot.  But how could God be betrayed by a man and executed eventually?

If Christ Jesus was God, the incident involving Judas means that God could not know beforehand and stop betrayal by one of His followers.  It is impossible, since God is almighty.  God must be able to know beforehand and stop betrayal by one of His followers.

If so, doesn't the incident involving Judas mean that Christ Jesus was not God at all?

But it can be easily explained.  God became a man, which meant He abandoned His omnipotence when he became a man.  God only allowed Himself to have ability of an ordinary man who could be betrayed.  And, He wanted to prove that despite the limited ability of an ordinary man, He could still live and work as a son of God or as a man to be loved and praised by God.  Therefore, He wanted to show people that they could also live and work as a man to be loved and praised by God if not as a son of God.

When God was Christ Jesus, He did not possess full capability of controlling everything in this universe at His will.  He just lived as an ordinary man.  It was to prove that even an ordinary man could live and work like Jesus Christ to be appreciated by God.

But, did Judas Iscariot think that Christ Jesus was God, the Son of God, the Messiah, or any holy prophet?  And while believing so, did Judas dare to betray Christ Jesus?  Then, why?

Reasonable justification of Judas' act is as follows:

1. Judas was from the beginning a spy sent by the Roman authority or Judaist priests.

2. Judas was made a spy at a certain time while following Christ Jesus by the Roman authority, Judaist priests, or any other parties.

3. Judas came to carry a grudge against Christ Jesus or other disciples.

4. Judas thought he was betrayed by Christ Jesus, so that he wanted  to revenge himself on Christ Jesus.

5. Though Judas was faithful, Satan got into his mind to act sinfully.

Once I argued the possibilities of 1 and 2.  But here I want to focus on the possibility 4.

Before Judas betrayed Christ Jesus, Judas might have thought that he had been betrayed by Christ Jesus.  Accordingly, Judas wanted to take his revenge on Christ Jesus.  But specifically, from a viewpoint of Judas, how did Christ Jesus betray Judas .  Something must have happened in Jerusalem.
The book of John details the most accounts of Jesus in Jerusalem. In John He is depicted as attending 3 Passover Feasts, the most significant of the Jewish feasts, as well as the Feast of Booths and the Feast of the Dedication. This account places Jesus in Jerusalem at least five times just in the three year length of His ministry. He also made several appearances near Jerusalem, such as where John was baptizing, and the nearby suburbs of Bethany and Bethphage. 
The Passover occurred once a year, drawing tens of thousands of pilgrims to the Temple and Jerusalem. The Gospels picture Jesus in Jerusalem during each of the three Passovers of His three-year ministry, as well as journeying to it as a youth. The city of Jerusalem swelled to many times it's normal population during the Passover. Pilgrims from all over the globe would set out for the Passover. A comparable scene would be Mecca today during the great Islamic festivals which attract hundreds of thousands of Muslims.
http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/jesus-in-jerusalem.html
The Gospel does not depict that all the people in Jerusalem came to respect, follow, and revere Christ Jesus when He was in Jerusalem in the last and decisive time.  At night Christ Jesus and His followers got out of the city and slept in some orchard.  They were not welcomed, accepted, and admitted in some house or facilities within Jerusalem under management by a follower who newly came to believe Christ Jesus.  It loos like that Christ Jesus and His disciples could not make many residents in Jerusalem join their holy movement.  It must mean a failure in a mission in Jerusalem.

His disciples had to get out of Jerusalem at night to sleep under trees in an orchard.  They could neither acquire new believers who gave them hospitality nor receive donation of money needed for them to stay at an inn at night.   What was worse, Christ Jesus Himself was praying at night in a horrible manner as if He had been afraid of his terrible fate waiting for him ahead.

They came to Jerusalem to induce and enjoy glory of God.  But they were still a band of poor people.  Judas must have disappointed.  He must have thought that he would become a rich man when many rich citizens in Jerusalem came to believe and follow Christ Jesus and made big donation to the humble religious community Christ Jesus was leading.  The dream of Judas was betrayed.  He was still a poor man without any glory around him.  So, Judas had to take his revenge.

In other word, in this theory, Christ Jesus failed in his mission in Jerusalem.  The betrayal by Judas proved it.

Indeed, even the Gospel does not report that even after resurrection of Christ Jesus a majority or a multitude of citizens of Jerusalem came to believe Christ Jesus.  Rather, His followers were hiding to avoid persecution.  No trace of success by Christ Jesus in his mission in Jerusalem is found in the Bible or books written by Flavius Josephus, a notable first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, historian and hagiographer.

In conclusion, from a human point of view, we cannot blame Judas Iscariot.  But today, Judas Iscariot is regarded as a more sinful man than Hitler.

Now, why did Christ Jesus fail in His mission in Jerusalem?  Only God knows?







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Joh 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?