Jesus Befriended His False Friend
Jesus Befriended His False Friend.
“This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends (phileo). You are my friends (phileo), if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends (phileo), because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:12-15).
Philos-Friend. There are two Greek words for friend: Phileos and Hetairos. In his gospel, St. John, “the one who Jesus loved,” consistently used the Greek term “phileo” as the base word for ‘friend.’ A philos love is the warm affection reserved for a family member or close friend, and is an experiential word. Brotherly/sisterly love for a friend needs to be demonstrated in action that proves the truth of the love. The love of an intimate friendship is authentic when lived out in personal action. A philos friendship is a deep companionship that can never be taken for granted in a relationship. It is more like a covenant, a shared and mutual commitment to each other.
“So Judas came straight to Jesus, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ he exclaimed, and gave Him a kiss. Jesus said, ‘My friend (hetairos), go ahead and do what you have come for.’ Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested Him.” (Matthew 26:49-50).
Hetairos-Friend, which means false friend, someone who is a companion posing as a friend but has his own interests in mind. An hetairos-friend is a supposed friend and an imposter acting for self-gain. Since an hetairos-friend is in reality an anti-friend, the opposite of a true friend, and someone who attaches himself to a one-sided friendship for selfish reasons, it is always prone to betrayal. Aware of all the dynamics in this complex situation, Jesus rightly called Judas hetairos. Jesus acknowledged that with Judas He indeed had a one-sided friendship with an imposter.
Judas’ betrayal while posing as a friend is well-prophesied in the Hebrew Bible:
“Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.” (Psalm 41:9; also refer to Jesus’ words in John 13:18).
“It is not an enemy who taunts me – I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me – I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you – my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.” (Psalm 55:12-14).
The Tragic Passover. Jesus had literally just finished washing the feet of all the disciples, including Judas himself. Jesus very earnestly looked around the table and told them to listen very carefully, I tell you the utmost truth, the absolute truth. I am going to soon be betrayed by one of you, my beloved disciples. Jesus had placed Judas at the second place of honor around the table, close to Him, and He since it is customary for the host to offer a piece of bread to an intimate friend whom he especially wanted to honor at the meal, Jesus handed the bread to Judas. It was at this point that Satan entered him. This is a hideous betrayal at many levels. Jesus had just washed Judas’ feet, he was honored by the host Jesus at the meal, and there was a Jewish custom that anyone who betrayed someone after eating a meal with that person, it was especially grotesque and unacceptable. So far, Judas couldn’t have played this worse. Jesus then demanded to Judas that he go and get this over with, just go and do this quickly. So Judas fled into the night
Before the Arrest of Jesus. Thursday night was the beginning of the Passion of Christ. The following occurred, in order, before His arrest: The Passover meal with the disciples, what came to be known as the Last Supper; Judas departs the Supper to meet with religious authorities; Jesus predicts Peter’s denial; the prayer and agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane; an angel is sent to strengthen and encourage Jesus at His lowest in the Garden; while still at the foot of the Mount of Olives, a mob arrives, with Judas in the lead, to arrest Jesus. The disciples were falling asleep earlier in the Garden. They now seem fully awake.
The Mob. This was not your ordinary little group of enforcers. Various versions describe this group in different ways: a contingent; a detachment; a multitude; a cohort; a mob; a huge group. Scholars estimate that there was anywhere between 200-600 men in this mob. They were all carrying torches and weapons, with swords, clubs, spears, whatever they could get their hands on. Judas, the official accuser, was in the front, along with Temple priests, elders, Roman soldiers and Temple police. The religious authorities had issued a warrant for Jesus’ arrest. They were to seize Jesus, arrest Him, and bring Him to the religious court for trial. The Temple leaders knew full well that Jesus was quite popular in the general public, so didn’t want to arrest Jesus in the Temple, even though He taught there every day, for fear of inciting a riot.
The Power of I AM. A dramatic scene is developing. Jesus is surprised at the numbers of people involved and their weaponry. “What am I, some dangerous revolutionary?” He asked them. Jesus asked the mob who they were looking for, knowing that He was the target. They said they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene. Without hesitation, Jesus confidently blurted out, “I AM He!” There was so much spiritual power and authority that accompanied those words that the whole multitude fell backwards, flat on the ground. His claim to be deity, the Great I AM, was scandalous, but also filled with overwhelming divine energy. Jesus simply overpowered the mob with His spiritual presence. They literally couldn’t seize Him. Instead, He allowed Himself to be taken. He submitted. He gave them permission to take Him to His death. As Jesus told them to their face, “This is your moment, when the power of darkness reigns.”
The betrayal of Judas. The official accuser paid by the Temple authorities, Judas had a pre-arranged signal with the soldiers… He would give a kiss of greeting to the guilty party, to this man who was to be arrested. So that’s what he did. Judas greeted Jesus warmly with “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and Jesus responded with, “My false friend, you would betray me with a kiss?”
The Gracious Response of Jesus. How did Jesus respond to someone who could literally be called the chief of sinners? What was Jesus’ reaction as He saw Judas start spinning a small web of dishonesty until it became a giant web of betrayal? Through the whole process, Jesus displayed forbearance, friendship, and forgiveness:
Forbearance. Jesus knew at the start that Judas was stealing from the common purse. And He knew Judas wasn’t about to change. There are no secrets from Jesus, because no one can look into the human heart quite like Him. (John 2:25). “Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and He knew who would betray Him.” (John 6:64). Jesus knew of Judas’ early thievery, but He didn’t do anything about it. As Jesus said in Luke 4:19, quoting Isaiah 61, this is still the time of God’s grace and favor, “the acceptable year of the Lord.” Jesus’ kindness here towards Judas was intended to give Judas a chance at turning his life around. “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). Alas, Judas continued hardening his heart, and repentance was not forthcoming.
Friendship. Jesus knew what was going on in Judas’ heart, and yet He continued to offer Judas acceptance and friendship. Jesus never wavered in His commitment to Judas. On the one hand, early in His ministry He called Judas “the devil.” (John 6:70). But on the other hand, Jesus remained faithful to Judas throughout their years together in ministry. Just before His betrayal, Jesus actually washed the feet of Judas! (John 13). How could Judas have allowed that to happen in good conscience? By that time, Judas had no conscience. Shortly later at the Last Supper, Jesus dipped a piece of bread into a bowl and offered it to Judas. This was an extraordinary gesture in this situation, because in their culture to perform that simple act in particular was a display of intimate friendship. It was at this point that Satan entered Judas’ heart for good. (John 13:26). And finally, when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus addressed Judas with, “Hetairos–Friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” (Matthew 26:50).
Forgiveness. As Jesus gasped for breath on the cross, He uttered this famous intercessory prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Jesus could very well have been fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12, which declared that the Suffering Servant was “interceding for the rebellious.” Jesus seems to be asking the Father not to charge certain people with the depravity involved in killing the very Son of God in all His innocence and purity. Overlook the wrongs of these perpetrators, Jesus is pleading, since they do not understand the profound role they play in this cosmic drama. They can’t grasp how they are part of God’s grand scheme of prophecy fulfillment and eternal salvation. Some biblical scholars claim that the Greek text implies a repetitive action, that His prayer on the Cross was not a one-time prayer. Evidently, Jesus kept asking the Father to forgive all those who had done Him wrong during His Passion. Can we even begin to imagine the amazing love displayed by the Lord as He in His depleted and tortured state, hanging on the Cross, mentally goes through an inventory of who needs to be forgiven? Certainly, at the top of the list, was none other than Judas, His betrayer… “Father forgive Judas, for he didn’t know what he was doing.” There is a deep mystery here… Did the Father comply with Jesus’ request to forgive Judas? Or was Jesus accurate when He earlier said that “none of my disciples are lost except the son of perdition, the one headed for destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12).
The tragic life of Judas Iscariot is well documented in the Gospels. After praying all night to the Father, Judas was hand-picked by Jesus to be in the original group of twelve disciples. He was soon the treasurer of that group’s common purse as they traveled from place to place. Judas was greedy and dishonest, though, and he occasionally stole from the purse when he wanted money. Judas followed Jesus for three years, listening to all His parables, witnessing the countless miracles, observing Jesus in his interactions with everyone from the Pharisees to the lepers. Judas was with Jesus around the campfires at night, at meals, in synagogues, on the road. But Judas never really believed in Jesus. He was going through the motions of following Him without actually taking Him in. Nonetheless, just before the betrayal, Jesus had the grace to wash Judas’ feet. What was Jesus feeling as He so tenderly cared for Judas the betrayer? What was Judas thinking while his feet were being tenderly washed by the Man he would soon betray?
Why did Judas betray Jesus? Judas had some type of agenda for Jesus, and the Lord never followed it. Judas finally gave up on Him. Judas’ betrayal could have been for any number of reasons: maybe he wanted a political savior instead of a spiritual one; maybe he wanted a new government instead of the Kingdom; maybe he was disappointed that he wouldn’t be offered a plum position in Jesus’ new order; maybe he wanted status and favor from the religious establishment instead of being rejected around every corner with Jesus; maybe he simply rejected Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah; maybe it was just a matter of simple greed, a desire for money, 30 pieces of silver at that. We don’t know the initial motivation exactly, or the convoluted way he arrived at his treachery. But Judas committed the gravest sin in human history. He betrayed someone who loved him, he betrayed his friend and his Lord.
Demonic. With all these spiritual complications in Judas’ psyche, he became ripe for manipulation in the hands of Satan. The enemy used Judas, plain and simple. Satan gleefully moved Judas from one square to another on his checkerboard. But while the evil one was playing checkers, God was playing chess. And Judas chose to become a pawn. Judas used his free will to become a fulfillment of God’s sovereign plan:
Guilt, Remorse and Shame. In the end, Judas was filled with remorse. He finally realized that he had betrayed an innocent and good man. Instead of seeking forgiveness, though, he sought self-destruction. He committed suicide and left no room for redemption in his guilt. The tale of Judas and his treachery is completely tragic. As Jesus said on that fateful night, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.” (Mark 14:21).
Judas and Blood. At the end, Judas was defined by blood: He received 30 pieces of silver as blood money to betray his friend Jesus, and ever since that term has been a symbol of the betrayal of innocent blood. The chief priests refused to put that blood money back into the temple treasury after Judas threw it back at them in his remorse, so they purchased a field that belonged to a potter and turned it into a burial ground for Gentiles. That cemetery was soon known a “Akeldama,” the Field of Blood. There are a couple of biblical traditions about how Judas Iscariot died. According to Matthew 27:3–10, Judas felt remorse after seeing Jesus condemned to death, and after he tried to return the silver, he went out to a field and hanged himself. According to Acts 1:18, that field was purchased with his blood money, and he proceeded to dive headfirst into it, and “all his bowels gushed out.” His suicide was bloody and gruesome and tragic, and Judas has gone down in history as belonging to the lowest levels of hell.
Judas had treachery in his heart from the start, and he seemed to tolerate blood on his hands until his tragic end. And yet, and yet, during His time with Judas, Jesus graciously put up with him, befriended him, and ultimately forgave him. That is the very definition of God’s agape love.