The Tragic Story of Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot. A man who usually strikes fear into the hearts of Christians and Jews alike. But who is this praised man of Kerioth, really? He betrayed our LORD for 30 silver shekels. Yet, there HAS to be SOME good in him, or else, why on earth would Jesus pick him? I'll inform you on Judas' possible motives, thoughts that may have been running through his head before and after the fact, his culpability, and the status of his soul.
Most people believe Judas' only motive for betraying Jesus to the Sanhedrin was greed. Others say he might be trying to simply get Jesus to confound His enemies, not get condemned. I believe the latter is more correct. First off, 30 silver shekels is not much, about $6.48. He could've easily betrayed Him for much more, so why did he settle for only 30 silver shekels? We can't use Zechariah 12:10 because it'd be circular reasoning. Maybe because he was going to give the money to the poor? Remember John 12:5-6? My theory is that Judas valued Christ, so he wouldn't declare Him to be worthless by giving Him away for free. He betrayed Christ to allow Him to setup His Kingdom.
During the Last Dinner, Jesus tells the Disciples that one of them will betray Him. They all say "Is it me, LORD?" But when it gets to our friend Judas, and he asks Jesus, Jesus responds, "Yes, it's you." (Matthew 26:25). Exactly how would you feel if you were declared to be the betrayer of the LORD? Personally, I'd feel shocked, rejected, alone, angry, scared, sad, upset, etc. Also, our dear friend Mark (Mark 14:20) did not do a very good of illustrating this tragic event. I believe it went something like this: When Jesus is talking to the Disciples, Judas' looking into Jesus' eyes, not pay...
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...solve his sins and baptize and chrism him in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Imagine that! He could've become as great a saint as Peter, if only he asked forgiveness. Jesus cursed those who denied Him before men, but Peter repented and was forgiven. Judas could've been a famous missionary, apostle, and martyr!!! And about Judas' other sins: stealing from the money box was relatively minor compared to other Disciples lust and unbelief. Judas didn't betray Jesus, we ALL did, through our sins. The tragic story of Judas Iscariot should remind us how that we all betrayed Jesus, we all do evil, even if we mean well, and that repentance can be offered to anyone, no matter who says otherwise. We ALL betrayed Christ, not just Judas.
hide his sin and bear the weight of it, he creates an extremely interesting and
In the Prologue of the tale, the Pardoner clearly admits that he preaches for nothing but for the greed of gain. His sermons revolve around the biblical idea that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Ironically, however, the Pardoner condemns the very same vice that he lives by, as he proclaims “avarice is the theme that I employ in all my sermons, to make the people free in giving pennies—especially to me”. Thus, covetousness is both the substance of his sermons as well as the mechanism upon which he thrives. He clearly states that repentance is not the central aim of his preaching, by mentioning “my mind is fixed on what I stand to win and not upon correcting sin”. Rather, his foremost intention is to acquire as many shillings as he can in exchange for his meaningless pardons. In this regard, one can argue that although the Pardoner is evil, he is not a dissembler. His psychology is clearly not guided by hypocrisy because he does not conceal his intentions under false pretences.
Judas who was once an Apostle to Jesus Christ betrayed him by informing Chief priest who Jesus was. Although Dante places Judas, Marcus Julius Brutus and Gaius Cassius in the same chasm which shows how closely important and serious betrayal to the church and to the state are to him, Judas is damned to the worst punishment of all. Which is only just because he betrayed Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the Son of God. Such betrayal justly deserves to be the “soul that suffers the most.” (34.61) This allusion being both political and religious serves more than one purpose. Like the others it helps to warn people to not commit these same crimes and sins so that they don’t have the same misfortune as these famous figured did. The vivid descriptions of their punishment serve to make a strong impact on readers so that they don’t easily forget the torment that such sinners suffer.
There are many ideas of what drove Judas to betray Jesus. The main one was already mentioned, and it is the one where Mary was anointed and Judas’ view on Jesus went from seeing him a King to a clown. Another reason that Judas may have betrayed Jesus was out of greed. As you know, Judas was a businessman and he handled the financials of the Apostles. Judas could have been seen as stingy, but organized with the money of the Apostles. Judas did not like to waste anything which is why he was so upset when the lady dropped the incense at Jesus’
Essay: The Bible says Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher who used miracles to help people. In reality he was a wandering man whose simple tricks and healing remedies were mistaken for miracles. He wandered Judea preaching about the validity of the jewish laws. This gained him a large following. Roman officials caught wind of this and were scared of an uprising. So they had him executed; however this had the opposite effect. The jewish sect that followed Jesus was pacified for some time but emerged again as Christianity, with a larger following than before. Eventually, and ironically, it ended up surviving the Roman Empire.
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
Many would compare Simon to Jesus Christ. Simon would help the needy and unfortunate by giving Piggy meat when the others would not give it to him. Simon would tell the boys that the beast was within and like Jesus, many would not listen until too late. Simon and Jesus Christ died in the same manner. Both died trying to tell others what was best for them. Simon tried to tell the kids that the beast was within themselves even when he was dying but none listened.
In Theophile Gautier's The Beautiful Vampire, he is very subtle in presenting the sins committed. Although all of the characters in this story commit various sins, the sins of Romuald are the sins primarily focused on. This sinning of Romauld is very unique in that he is a ordained priest who should be one of the last people to commit these sins. It is this reason that makes the story what it is and draws the readers in initially.
... an opportunity to escape his unjust conviction. He tells his would be saviors what we call today a social contract. A social contract states, simply, that you must obey all laws, no matter if they cause you an injustice because it is the same laws that protect the citizens. There would be no point of laws if people could ignore the ones that they felt were unjust or inconvenient.
...example, Jesus is calmly gazing upon Judas’ face with the expression of acceptance for what is to come, and Peter has a grotesque look of fury as he smites the ear off the high priest’s servant.
There are many examples of Simon ostensibly acting altruistically and wholly, almost Jesus like. Just like Jesus, Simon not only stopped to help the children but also got the best he could for them. Simon “found for [the littleuns] the fruit they could not reach,” and not only singled out it for them, but also “pulled off the choicest fruit” (Golding 74). Simon stopped and unselfishly helped the littluns just as Jesus or a saint would. Simon gave his meat up for piggy when Jack would not give piggy any meat. Just like Jesus, Simon “gave it to [Piggy]” and shared with him “[the] body” and flesh of the pig (Luke 22:19). Simon was being unselfish when he did this, but it also is redolent to Luke 22 at the last supper. Little did Simon know but that would be his last supper. This passage in the bible gives many examples of Jesus’ selflessness. Simon was passive and not violent, just like Jesus. Simon “was assigned a grave with the wicked’ and “though he had done no violence,” and there “was [not] any deceit in his mouth” he was still slaughtered (Isaiah 53:9). The ones who killed Simon were wicked with savagery, and thought Simon was a threat, just like the Romans thought Jesus was a threat. Simon was blameless, he had done no wrong, yet he was brutally battered and murdered. Simon is a Jesus li...
Jesus and His disciples had just left the Upper Room and crossed over into the Garden of Gethsemane. Here they gathered and awaited Jesus next teachings, but were interrupted by Judas Iscariot and the Temple Guard. (Jn. 18:3) They had come to arrest Jesus as was ordered earlier by Caiaphas’s. (Jn. 7:44-45) Jesus came forward and asks them “Whom do you seek?” (Jn. 18:4). Their answer was “Jesus of Nazareth”, Jesus reply was “Ego Ami” (Grk.) “I AM he”. (Jn. 18:5) Little did the guards realize just how much power and glory lay in that reply. This is the same revelation Jehovah, God, had disclosed on multiple occasions in the Old Testament. In the Bible alone there are over seven-hundred times (700) that the words ‘I Am’ are used in reference
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
Devil on the Cross is a novel written by Ngugi Wa Thiongo in attempt to talk to all Kenyans battling neo-colonialism. Being politically independent, but economically dependent on other countries has evidently had a huge toll on Kenya and its citizens. Kenya is a land where nothing is free. Foreigners had made their way into occupying the land and have used it as a mean of profit for them and a few citizens in Kenya. Through the use of six different characters, Devil on the Cross manages to depict the struggles experienced within the cities of Kenya. The characters of Wariinga, Robin Mwaura, Wangari, Muturi, Gatuiria, and the man in the dark glasses show different experiences of Kenya’s neo-colonialism occurrences.
The Gospel of Mark is an extremely influential and important chapter for the Christian religion. Mark chapter 14 begins two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This is when the Chief Priests and scribes are making their plans to trap Jesus and kill him. They will do this before the festival because they do not want to provoke the large crowds and cause a riot. There was a dinner in the suburbs, and a woman anoints Jesus with a very expensive ointment which angers some people, because they believe it to be a waste. Jesus then defends the women for what she did, because he believed it to be kind. Meanwhile, Judas sneaks away and agrees to betray Jesus to the chief of priests, who promise him money in return for his