Bible Studies

Friend of Judas

by Terry Barlow
02/16/16
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How revealing in the 26th chapter of the gospel of Matthew that Jesus should address his betrayer Judas Iscariot as “friend.”   “Friend,  for what are you here?” (v.50)  Or otherwise translated, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for,” Jesus says.  "Friend" in this sense meant "comrade or fellow, or one of the same clan."

Judas was acting like anything but a friend.   He was functioning as an enemy, in fact and he was doing for the price of 30 pieces of silver or about $21.60 our money, by one estimate.  Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss, and the words, “Hail, Master!”  Those words meant “good health and long life to you!”   An ironic greeting indeed in light of what would soon happen to Jesus as a result of the arrest.   Though Judas was behaving at his worst, and though he had forsaken his friendship with Jesus and betrayed him, Jesus had not forsaken Judas, and was still a friend to Judas.  Though Judas was only pretending to love Jesus, faking the worst thing one could possibly fake, in order to identify Jesus, the love of Jesus for Judas continued still to be real.

And so it is with Jesus toward us. In our worst moments, when our loyalty towards him fails most miserably, when we act least like a friend toward him, he remains a faithful friend toward us, refusing to give up on us when we are most tempted to give up on ourselves.