Should we have compassion for Judas?
Should we have compassion for Judas, or can we tell bad from good? Copyright © 2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III When I speak about Judas, I am not talking about Judas who begat Phares and Zara, nor am I talking about Judas of Galilee, but Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, who betrayed Jesus Christ. It is he whom I feel is the most misunderstood person in the Bible. Even the writers of the Bible seem to miss the point of Christ’s life when they speak of Judas! It is understandable: they loved Jesus not as you and I do—not as a mystical Savior who died 2,000 years ago—but as a friend they lived with every day, and whose absence hurt them. They needed to put the blame for this hurt on someone; why not Judas? After all, Judas could not defend himself—first, because he did cause Jesus to be killed; and second, because Judas was dead! To begin, let us try to look at the life of Judas from the only source on it that I have found: the New Testament of the Bible. ...