Was Judas the real hero?

Question

Jesus had to suffer a few hours on a cross,
Judas got a bad name for the rest of history.

Jorge Luis Borges says Judas was the real man who suffered for our sins. Opinions?

Answer 1

Yes! Without Judas, where would Christians be today? If Jesus was sent to be faux-killed so to save them all from God's eternal torture chamber, Judas should be a hero, for doing God's dirty work for them.

It's pretty funny how many fundies are badmouthing Judas for committing suicide, since they supposedly believe that Jesus-God killed himself (homicide-suicide) for their benefit (except that his was apparently just a fake-out parlor trick, not the sacrifice of an actual life).

Some of my favorite (brilliant) lyrics from the song, "Judas' Death" from "Jesus Christ Superstar":

"Christ . . . I only did what you wanted me to"

"I have been saddled
With the murder of you"

"God I'll never ever know
Why you chose me for your crime
For your foul bloody crime
You have murdered me!"

Answer 2

This question comes up every few years...

No, he was not a hero.

Here's why...yes someone had to betray Jesus...and yes that set in motion what was to follow..

However, Judas WAS NOT IN ON THE PLAN...Judas betrayed Jesus, period.

To say he was a hero, you would have to believe that God, or Jesus, or an angel, or the Holy Spirit..or some prophet...or someone had to ask Judas to 'take one for the team'.

If God had sent Judas on a 'suicide mission' so the world could be saved...then you could claim Judas was a hero..but that ain't what happened.

Judas betrayed Jesus for he was weak. He betrayed Jesus for his own personal gain. The fact that that action was important to the plan, does not make it heroic.

And Judas, of course committed suicide, we assume out of guilt.

Do not put any faith of the gospel of Judas...it is heresy.

Judas died about 30 AD...the Gospel of Judas was written somewhere about 130-140 AD..more than 100 years later...by a sect of Christians who believed salvation was through the secret knowledge passed to the apostles by Jesus, and was referred to in that manner in contemporaneous writings.

In 180 AD Irenaeus (a second century Christian) who referenced the Gospel of Judas as invented history of heretics and rebels wrote:
“They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.”

The Gospel of Judas was known heresy then, at the time...why should we give it any merit today?

Answer 3

We might feel sorry to some extent towards Judas.

I'm sure Christ, his friend and savior, felt terrible not only because he was betrayed for some money, but he spent a lot of time with Judas as a personal friend and Judas saw for himself the great miracles Christ performed in healing the sick and feeding the hungry and the love of God as seen through Jesus.

And it wasn't like some magical event that Judas suddenly became the bad guy. Judas knew exactly what he was doing, he made his decisions and was responsible for them. Sadly.

However in saying this, it's not beyond the power of Christ to forgive Judas too. We just don't know if moments before Judas suicide if Judas asked for forgiveness.

Nevertheless, killing one's self without the chance of asking for forgiveness can leave an eternal stain on one's eternal life.

I guess in Judas' last moments he realized what a terrible thing he did in betraying the very Son of God.

Answer 4

Good question..

Jesus suffered a few hours on a cross to save all of the people from their sins, while Judas got a bad name. I think Jesus is still the hero; he suffered for our sins, while Judas was the instrument he used to save us from our sins.

Answer 5

Well, there's actually a couple of arguments for sympathy for Judas. The one that seems the most relevant to me is that Judas performed a necessary service in carrying out the drama required by Jesus' mission. He was a tool to trigger the crucifixion.

Of course, since I regard the entire story as fiction, I don't have the emotional attachment others might have.

Answer 6

Lol, the argument would be that Judas brought it upon himself and got what he deserved. But on the other side, he played out a predetermined role, although you could say he suffered for our sins, he was no hero, since it was not a conscious decision of his.

Answer 7

That is a big lie if I ever heard one. The Roman soldiers were looking for Jesus. Judas went and told them where Jesus was. For 30 pieces of siler, Judas betrayed Jesus. Afterwards Judas was so ashamed of what he did, he hung himself. Judas was NO hero.

Answer 8

It's an interesting perspective because after all, it was fated that someone was going to betray Jesus, and it could have been anyone but it just happened to be Judas. I guess he was saddled with that fate in the same way that Jesus was saddled with his.

Also, if you believe in that story, than you also believe that Jesus died for our sins, and that he still lives in Heaven, whereas Judas most assuredly went to Hell just for carrying out God's will.

I wouldn't call him a hero, but I never thought about before how much that must have sucked for him!

Answer 9

Not a bad idea. Had Judas not done what he did...an act that was supposedly part of God's plan from the very beginning, it is unlikely that Jesus would have been turned into the venerated martyr he became. Supposedly, he was doing exactly what Jesus asked of him. Yet according to modern Christians, he was evil personified.

Then again, logic is not mythology's strong suit.

Answer 10

If Judas didn't sell Christ - then Christ would have been crucified still... The enemies of Christ would have found a different way to get him... Judas is not a hero at all... he sold the savior for some silver he didn't even spend probably... he was so ashamed he hung himself... a hero is not ashamed of what he has done.