“Et tu Brute, then fall Caesar”. Perhaps the most famous words in “English literature” speak of a betrayal of a friend.
Julius Caesar is saying that if even – his close friend Brutus is stabbing him – then he has no hope.
Our friends are the ones that we expect will stand by us through “thick and thin.” When we are going through hard times, we ask that they be “like a bridge over troubled waters”.
If we cannot count on our friends to pull us through, then who can we count on?
But long before William Shakespeare took pen in hand – there was the Holy Scriptures.
Jesus…looking directly into the eyes of Judas Iscariot said, “Do what you must do, and do it quickly.” And Judas leaves the place where they were gathered together. And the evangelist notes…and “it was night.”
Betrayal at night, betrayal in the darkness… Not in the light of day. Not where all can see and witness…but betrayal in the shadows, in the darkness…betrayal in the night.
A contemporary poem written about eight years ago and published…speaks of the feelings involved with being betrayed by a friend.
“You think you’re so good.
Think you’re so perfect in everything.
You think you can control my mood.
Please, you must be joking.
I gave you all my heart.
I believed in everything you would say.
I trusted you from the start,
and everything went your way.
I guess I made my biggest mistake
when I became loyal to you.
You’re one of those friends who is fake
in everything you say and do.
I thought your kindness would last.
But now, I feel so used.
Because when I think of the past,
I thought you’d never give my heart a bruise.
Why did I ever rely on a word you said?
What did I ever do to deserve this pain?
I trusted you, but you hurt me instead,
And I don’t know if I could believe you again.”
It is an ouch. A deep ouch. Sometimes an insurmountable ouch – to move past. A permanent ouch, even.
We use words like “traitor,” “backstabber,” “liar,” “cheater” and “Judas.” Others know exactly what we are trying to convey. There is no doubt.
We are the ones being deceived. We are the ones plotted against. We have been double-crossed. He or she on the other hand is branded as a collaborator, a turncoat, a subversive.
Many times, the one-time-relationship-cannot be salvaged. The pain and the hurt is far too deep, the scarring is far too permanent…
Judas one of the twelve “original disciples” of Jesus and was the son of Simon. He is known for the “kiss and betrayal of Jesus” to the Sanhedrin for thirty silver coins. His name ever since has been used synonymously with betrayal or treason.
Though there are varied accounts of his death— the most traditional version – sees him as having hanged himself following the betrayal. His place among the Twelve Apostles was later filled by Matthias.
Despite his notorious role in the Gospel narratives, Judas remains a controversial figure in contemporary Christian history.
Judas’ betrayal, for instance, is seen as “setting in motion” the events that led to Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, which, according to traditional Christian theology, brought “salvation to humanity.”
Gnostic texts – rejected by the mainstream Church as being heretical – works —“praise Judas” for his role in “triggering” humanity’s “salvation,” and view Judas as “the best of the apostles.”
So, the church is and has been conflicted when it comes to the person of Judas Iscariot
Judas is mentioned in the synoptic gospels of (Mark, Matthew and Luke,) the Gospel of John, and at the beginning of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. And, just so you know, Judas was a common name in Biblical times.
According to the account in the Gospel of John, Judas carried the disciples’ money bag. For all intents and purposes he was the group treasurer.
He betrayed Jesus for “a bribe” of “thirty pieces of silver” by identifying him with a kiss — “the kiss of Judas” — to arresting soldiers of the High Priest Caiaphas, who then turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate’s soldiers.
Of all the betrayals ever written about, this one – is perhaps “the most notorious.”
Betrayal happens and it comes from places where you would never suspect it.
Don’t be a Judas.