Judas didn't betray Yeshua; he was set up to take the fall
in the picture of the Last Supper, some say that it's Mary M who is next to Yeshua on the right looking at the picture
if that is so... then a disciple is missing
conveniently
and who knew about the pieces of silver besides judas and the high priest... who would have told, in order for it to be in a gospel...
could it have been john???
was there really a pay-off, or only rumored in order to demean judas
hanging wasn't all that popular and certainly neither was suicide... so who ambushed judas and hung him and made it look like suicide
who told the guards to follow judas to the garden
who actually wrote the words, "Judas, do you betray me with a kiss?"
john wasn't the hero he was painted to be (by none other than himself) and was capable of pretty near anything
maybe Judas was just coming to see Jesus, having an intuitive feeling that "something" was wrong
somebody edited the story
why frame judas... who would gain from that
someone maybe who hadn't been in good enough standing with the rest... someone who was under suspicion himself
someone who had connections with the Sanhedrin and therefore was not afraid to stand by the cross because he had immunity
none of the other male disciples were there... they would have been arrested too
to ensure that the insurrection went nowhere
so, this betrayer helped the Sanhedrin to eliminate the two biggest players in this rebellion
...maybe matthew?
Matthew says that Yeshua asked Judas, why are you here?... Matthew also said that Judas reportedly has previously told the guards that whosoever i kiss will be the One
what, however, if John or another is the betrayer... knew that Judas and Yeshua always exchanged a friendship "kiss" of sorts... and knew that following judas would undoubtedly lead them to jesus and they would know because who else would judas walk up to
he wasn't the most favored of the disciples, for sure
how would anyone know that judas had told the guards, whomever i kiss is jesus...
how does matthew know that judas went to return the silver... how does matthew know that judas went and hanged himself...
certainly there is cause for doubt
perhaps in actuality it is matthew who is the betrayer... having been a tax collector and all. maybe john is just a drama queen
matthew seems to havea lot of information that could only have been known within the Sanhedrin or with Judas
how is it that these little details were known
a betrayer is certain to cover his tracks
and certainly the high priest would not want it known what he was about becase the people would rebel against him
maybe the gospel writers only wrote what they witnessed or knew was witnessed but did not know the underlying conspiracy
and then filled in the facts from scripture
i'm only saying that perhaps it isn't as it seems
that judas himself was betrayed and used
and set up
i don't think i would have had it entered my head if it did not hold some truth
it is interesting that only Luke suggests that Satan entered Judas and caused the betrayal
His way of saying he didn't believe Judas would do that, so explain it some other way
so maybe even then, there were doubts
maybe jesus suggested that judas would betray him, not with intention but with not realizing what he would precipitate
not being pro-active in his dealings, knowing how his alliance with jesus could be used
maybe judas felt bad for some other reason
and felt he had betrayed jesus in some other way
never realizing what was unfolding on his path
maybe he had made a deal with the Sanhedrin to leave them alone, never realizing that the high priest had other plans
i'm thinking... back on that Judas conspiracy thingie... that he confided his misgivings to another apostle that he felt he could trust and would have jesus's best interests at heart
just the parallels... like who he would've trusted to talk to
he trusted someone else's thoughts more than his own
and only in John's gospel is it said that Jesus told his mother that his beloved disciple John was to be her son, and vice versa... no other mentions this at all
seems as if John's trying to make sure no suspicion is aimed at him
this seems a good time to ponder... what with the energy of this passover cycle