Mark 14:43-46 NIV
“Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him.”
Who doesn’t remember Judas Iscariot for his betrayal of Jesus with a kiss? Why a kiss and what was the deeper significance of this act?
Google explains…
“The kiss was a common cultural greeting that expressed deep respect and friendship, but in this case, it was a deceitful act by Judas, who was a traitor feigning affection to betray his master and lead to Jesus’ arrest.”
How low did Judas sink to betray the one with whom he had lived in intimate friendship for several years…heard His teaching, witnessed His compassion, and participated in His ministry!
Judas needed to get as close to Jesus as possible without arousing suspicion and indicating his intention, so that the arresting mob would know whom to grab. What better way than to greet his Master with that friendly, intimate and perfectly acceptable gesture?
Now let’s unpack Judas’ hypocrisy, wearing a mask to hide his real self. In all of Jesus’ dealings with people during His earthly life, He loathed hypocrisy, and He never held back from exposing this abominable attitude in the religious leaders who fooled the people with their feigned obedience to “the Law”.
Hence the Pharisees hated Him because, secretly, they knew Jesus was right, but they refused to admit their guilt. Jesus accurately diagnosed their problem. Even some of their fellow Pharisees who followed Jesus would not acknowledge Him because, like their colleagues…
“…they loved human praise more than praise from God.”
John 12:43 NIV
Jesus was never afraid, publicly to shame them, to tell them the truth, and to warn His disciples not to follow their example. For example…
““And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
Matthew 6:5 NIV
Judas’ act of betrayal was the pinnacle of hypocrisy, his gesture of respect, honour, and friendship the exact opposite of his purpose and motive, to hand Jesus over to His enemies.
“What really stands out in the mode of Judas’s betrayal is that Judas used such an intimate expression of love and respect to betray Jesus. Judas’s actions were hypocritical in the extreme—his actions said, “I respect and honor you,” at the exact time he was betraying Jesus to be murdered. Judas’s actions illustrate Proverbs 27:6, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Often, foes disguise themselves as friends. Evil often wears a mask to conceal its true purpose.”
(www.gotquestions.org – article “What is the significance of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss?”)
It’s no wonder, then that, when the significance of his action hit him, there was no place in his heart for repentance. What he had done could never be undone. Did he watch while the soldiers drove nails through his erstwhile Master’s wrists and feet? Did he stop long enough to see the blood dripping from the dead body of Jesus? Did he realise that he could never make amends for what he had done?
Judas’ suicide was the terrible and final end to a life of pretense. For him, no hope of a “Well done, good and faithful servant!”, Judas, the only person ever born, the only man ever to have lived on planet earth, to bear this memorial…”the man who betrayed Jesus!”
With all his opportunities, Judas never repented of his unbelief, never received the grace of forgiveness, never felt the embrace of Jesus’ love. His heart was as hard as granite rock, as empty of life as a cold corpse, as lonely as a prisoner in solitary confinement. In the company of eleven of the most privileged men on earth, he carried his secret alone but carried it out before their eyes!
To the rest of humanity, Judas is known as, in the words of Jesus Himself…
“While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”
John 17:12 NIV
However, not only did Jesus give Judas his correct title, “the one doomed to destruction”, but He also put him, surprisingly enough, in the centre of the Father’s will, naming him as the one who would fulfil prophecy according to God’s plan prepared before time began.
So, as much as we pity Judas, and hate what he did, we marvel at the wisdom of God who chose Judas but, at the same time, gave him every opportunity to dodge his destiny. This is the mystery of God’s sovereignty. Only God knows how the intricacies of His sovereignty work!