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Dec. 1, 2006
Maybe he was a friend
Ancient views of Judas are turned on their head.
REBECA KUROPATWA
According to Dr. William Klassen, the claim that Judas Iscariot
was a betrayer of Jesus of Nazareth is a misinterpretation. Instead,
Klassen holds that Judas was his friend.
Klassen, author of the recently published Judas: Betrayer or Friend
of Jesus?, spoke on this topic at the University of Winnipeg (U
of W) last week. The U of W, the Canadian Mennonite University and
the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg jointly sponsored the lecture.
Attendees included a diverse group of people, including those of
Christian, Jewish and Mennonite backgrounds.
"Jesus never chose a traitor," Klassen asserted. "He
chose a man whom he could depend on to do his thing. There's no
betrayal involved."
The book The Last Temptation of Christ (later made into a
movie) conveyed that Judas agreed to the "betrayal" only
after Jesus held firm to die on the cross. The book's author, Nikos
Kazantzakis, was excommunicated from the Greek Orthodox Church in
the 1950s for spreading such views.
Klassen pointed out that the key to understanding Judas is found
in a single Greek word, paradidomi. Historically, this word has
been said to mean "betray." Klassen argued that this is
a case of mistranslation and that the word actually means, "to
hand over." The difference between these two meanings is significant,
as one (betray) makes Judas a traitor, while the other (to hand
over) makes him an intimate friend, painting him in a very different
light.
"I maintain the evidence is that Judas had some preliminary
discussion with the Temple authorities," said Klassen. "The
decision to go to them, telling them where Jesus was to be found,
was not made until after the Last Supper. Judas hoped that Jesus
would have a chance to establish his credentials before the high
priests."
Klassen opened the lecture with a true story he heard about a young
student in Winkler, Man., in the 1940s, who experienced brutal anti-Semitism
from a group of students at his school as teachers stood by and
watched. He told the audience that hearing this made him "hang
my head in shame, that someone in my community would do this. So
I am also happy to be here, connecting with the Jewish community.
More discussion would be even better, but people tend to be aggressive
when it comes to religion and beliefs.
"Judas is so deeply disliked by Christians today," said
Klassen, "but a book [The Gospel According to Judas]
was once written by people who had, back then, believed that Judas
had been wronged." Klassen contended that the Gospels are right,
but the translations are wrong, and that this happened because tensions
between Jews and Christians were increasingly high.
"Jesus said to Judas, 'friend, do what you are here for,' "
said Klassen. "I don't think he wanted to die, or to die alone.
Therefore, the most serious thing Judas did was to follow through
on Jesus's invitation."
Judas, Klassen continued, "only did everything that Jesus had
asked. He is due for a different kind of treatment than he has till
now received. Some people claim that he had devil disciples and
call him 'the paradigm of evil.' Really, what does this mean about
Jesus, if we claim that Judas betrayed him – hoodwinked him
– he who is like the Messiah? As well, if we believe Jesus
is the Messiah, which we do, it should not offend Jews. And it should
not offend Christians if Jews say he is not the Messiah for them."
Shelley Faintuch, community relations director of Winnipeg's Jewish
Federation, noted that, "Many wrongs have been committed throughout
history as a result of misinterpretations or political exigencies....
[Tonight] we had the opportunity to participate in a program with
a renowned scholar who has devoted a good part of his academic life
to undoing some of history's wrongs and paving the way for healthy
interfaith and intercommunity relations."
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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