By Jenna Marie Cooper, Question Corner
Q: In watching “The Chosen,” I find I have real sympathy for Judas, who seemed to misunderstand Jesus and was merely trying to force him to accept the role of king. How accurate is this, though, and either way, do you think Jesus forgave Judas? (Indiana)
A: I haven’t watched “The Chosen,” so I can’t comment on the show writers’ artistic choices and interpretations. But based just on what you have written here, this does not seem like an accurate reflection of Scripture, and the Gospels themselves certainly do not paint Judas as a sympathetic character.
The Gospels never mention Judas having a misguided but well-intentioned desire for Jesus to take up a role as an earthly king.
One motive that the Gospels do ascribe to Judas is greed. For example, in Chapter 26 of Matthew’s Gospel, we read how Judas: “… went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand (Jesus) over to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over” (Matthew 26:14-16).
John’s Gospel gives us some more background on Judas’ corrupt and greedy character. In Chapter 12, shortly before Jesus’ Passion, his friend Mary of Bethany anoints his feet with expensive perfume as a sign of her love. However, Judas loudly complains: “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” St. John fills in the detail that Judas said this “… not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions” (John 12:5-6).
Direct Satanic or demonic influence is another motive the Gospels attribute to Judas. In setting the scene for its description of the Last Supper, John 13:2 notes that, “The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand (Jesus) over.”
The Gospel of Matthew does mention that Judas regretted his betrayal of Jesus, though he was not able to undo what he had started. As St. Matthew tells us: “He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.’ They said, ‘What is that to us? Look to it yourself.'” In despair, Judas “… departed and went off and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:4-5).
It does not seem that Judas was forgiven, since as Jesus laments during the Last Supper “… woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born” (Matthew 26:24).
But I think that Judas remaining unforgiven was not because Jesus would have refused to pardon him, but rather because Judas took his own life without even attempting to seek forgiveness.
We know that God is infinitely loving and merciful, so I believe that Jesus would have readily and joyfully forgiven Judas if he had only turned back to God and sought reconciliation.
My own thought is that, insofar as any sympathetic feelings toward Judas, it should be sorrow at the loss not only of Judas’ own soul, but also at the loss of what could have been a great saint for the church as one of the apostles.
We can apply what Jesus once said of a penitent woman: “her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love” (Luke 7:47). Imagine the love a contrite and forgiven Judas might have shown or what a great witness he could have been to the mercy of God. Be cautious never to sympathize with evil. Ultimately, each person is responsible for manifesting sorrow for sin and seeking reconciliation with God who is the final judge.
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.