Judas Iscariot Research Paper

From humble beginnings, Jesus Christ grew to be a major Jewish leader in the First Century AD, gaining a huge group of followers, but also a faction of Jewish priests who resented his teachings and growing power. Christians believe Jesus was born to Mary, who was a virgin but is purported to have conceived through the works of the Holy Spirit (7). She discovered this when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would give birth to Jesus, the Son of God (11-Luke 1.26-35). Ironically, although our entire calendar is based on the tradition of Jesus’ birth taking place in the year 1 AD, this is probably not the case. The Bible doesn’t list specific dates, only reference points such as the Roman governor at the time Jesus was born.
Judas Iscariot, oftentimes known simply as ‘Judas,’ didn’t get his last name from his family. The name ‘Iscariot’ was a title given to members of an extremely radical Jewish sect, coming from the Latin word for ‘murder,’ a fitting name for the one who betrayed Jesus (5). The writers of the Bible took particular care to set Judas apart. The Bible notes that Judas was the only one of Jesus’ 12 closest disciples who wasn’t from Galilee (10). In fact, Judas isn’t mentioned very much in the Bible at all. The story of his call, interactions with the other disciples, and miracles he was involved in aren’t included in Scripture, unlike his compatriots. The only times he is mentioned, he is referred to as the disciple who would go on to betray Jesus (10). Despite his minimal appearances, Jesus was apparently important in the group, as biblical scholars have discovered he was the treasurer. This goes to show just how much Jesus stressed that people can rise above their past, as Judas was a thief before he became a disciple (10). Apparently, his greed didn’t fade when he was given this position, as “[Judas] disclosed Jesus’ whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for 30 pieces of silver” (6). There are various reasons given in the Gospels for Judas’ betrayal. Some say he was only motivated by greed, while others say
Despite their similarities, the two famous betrayals had several obvious differences. For starters, Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ may have begun a little low on the social totem pole, but Caesar quickly rose to power and became a member of the highest social class, while Jesus stayed near the bottom, making a living as a carpenter. Caesar lived most of his life in one big power struggle. He may have had a few humble moments, but for the most part, he was performing one ambitious task after another (2). Jesus lived as a simple preacher, never trying to gain control, telling about the world as it was, not how he wanted it to be. Jesus apparently knew of the plot to kill him far in advance. He mentioned three times to his disciples that he knew he would be betrayed, die, and eventually rise from the dead (11-Mark 8.31.38, 9.30-32, 10.32-34), but Caesar had no idea of the assassination until the conspirators came at him with their daggers. The ones who betrayed Caesar and Jesus did so for very different reasons. Brutus joined in the assassination of Caesar to save the Roman Republic, completely motivated by honor and duty. Judas sold Jesus to those who wanted him dead, completely motivated by greed and temptation. Caesar was stabbed thirty-three times by the conspirators, dying almost immediately (1-5.1.53), while Jesus suffered a long, painful death on the