Kiss Of Judas Series

The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, is the act with which Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people.

The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, is the act with which Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him, according to the Synoptic Gospels. The kiss is given by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper and leads directly to the arrest of Jesus by the police force of the Sanhedrin .

Within the life of Jesus in the New Testament, the events of his identification with hostile forces and subsequent execution are foreshadowed both when Jesus predicts his betrayal and, later, his death.

More broadly, a Judas kiss may refer to "an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is harmful to the recipient."

In Christianity, the betrayal of Jesus is mourned on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednesday) of Holy Week.

In the New Testament

Judas was not the only disciple of Jesus but one of the twelve Apostles. Most Apostles originated from Galilee, but Judas came from Judea. The gospels of Matthew (26:47–50) and Mark (14:43–45) both use the Greek verb ?ataf???? (kataphileó), which means to "kiss, caress; distinct from f??e?? (philein); especially of an amorous kiss." Plutarch uses the same verb to describe a famous kiss that Alexander the Great gave to Bagoas . The compound verb (?ata-) "has the force of an emphatic, pretentious salute." Lutheran theologian Johann Bengel suggests that Judas kissed Him repeatedly: "he kissed Him more than once in opposition to what he had said in the preceding verse: Greek: a single kiss (Matthew 26:48), and did so as if from kindly feeling."

According to Matthew 26:50, Jesus responded: "Friend, do what you are here to do." Luke 22:48 quotes Jesus saying, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

Jesus' arrest follows immediately.

In liturgics

In the Divine Liturgy (religious ceremony) of Saint John Chrysostom, the Greek Orthodox Church uses the Troparion Of thy Mystical Supper.., in which the hymnist vows to Jesus that he will "...not kiss Thee as did Judas..."

Of Thy Mystic Supper receive me today, O Son of God, as a partaker; for I will not speak of the mystery to Thine enemies; I will not kiss Thee as did Judas; but as the thief, I will confess Thee: Lord, remember me in Thy kingdom. ?

Commentary

Justus Knecht comments on Judas' kiss, writing, He did not refuse his treacherous kiss: He suffered His sacred Face to be touched by the lips of this vile traitor, and He even called him: "Friend!" "I have always treated you as My friend," He meant to imply, "why therefore do you come now at the head of My enemies and betray Me to them by a kiss!" This loving treatment on the part of our Lord was to the ungrateful traitor a last hour of grace. Jesus gave him to understand that He still loved him despite his vile crime and was ready to forgive him.

Cornelius, a Lapide , in his great commentary, writes, Victor of Antioch says, "The unhappy man gave the kiss of peace to Him against whom he was laying deadly snares." "Giving," says pseudo-Jerome, "the sign of the kiss with the poison of deceit." Christ hated not but loved the traitor, grieved more at his sin than His betrayal, and strove to lead him to repentance. Moreover, though Christ felt deeply and was much pained at Judas's betrayal, He refused not his kiss and gave him a loving kiss in return.

1. "That He might not seem to shrink from treachery" (St. Ambrose in Luke 21:45), but willing to embrace it and even greater indignities for our sake.

2. To soften and pierce the heart of Judas; and

3. Teach us to love our enemies and those we know would rage against us (St. Hilary of Poitiers).

How would you react if someone called you a Judas?

Would you instantly assume you were being called a traitor? If so, you would not be alone in that assumption, as the association of the disciple Judas and treachery has been developed for centuries. Most readers of the Bible can all remember Judas as the betrayer of Jesus. However, how did Judas become so ingrained in the popular imagination as a villain over the last two thousand years? His long shadow begins with a kiss.

What is the significance of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss?

Judas Iscariot was one of the original twelve disciples who followed and were taught by Jesus. Being in Jesus' "inner circle," Judas had a closer relationship with Jesus than most people during His ministry. Judas betrayed the Lord to the Jewish authorities. The pre-arranged signal was that the person Judas kissed was to be arrested and taken away (Mark 14:44). In this way, the Son of Man was betrayed with a kiss (Luke 22:48).