How Jesus Treated Judas
By Hayden Byrd
A while ago I heard someone make the point that we should treat others how Jesus treated Judas. This immediately caught my attention because, when thinking about the interactions between Jesus and Judas, I had always focused on Judas’ betrayal. However, this person made the connection that when Jesus revealed that there was a betrayer among the group, each disciple asked Jesus if they would be the betrayer (Matthew 26:22; Mark 14:19; Luke 22:23; John 13:22). Surely if any of the disciples had reason to be suspicious of one another, they would have voiced these suspicions at this time. However, the lack of accusation reveals that Jesus, despite knowing which disciple would betray Him (John 13:26), must not have given the other disciples reason to question Judas’ faithfulness. To further understand what it means to treat others how Jesus treated Judas, let’s analyze how Jesus interacted with Judas compared to the other disciples.
In John 12:1-7 an interesting interaction between Jesus and Judas is recorded. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, is anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive ointment. Judas Iscariot criticizes this decision, claiming that the money used to buy the ointment could have been used to help the poor. Jesus defends Mary and explains the purpose in her buying and using the ointment. Jesus corrects another one of His disciples in Luke 9:49-50. In this account, Jesus is addressing John, who tells the Savior that he and the other disciples told someone not among them to stop casting out demons. Jesus, again, first addresses the immediate actions of the disciple and then provides further explanation as to why they were wrong. This manner of correction is once again used by Jesus in Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 when Jesus corrects Peter for not believing Him when He began telling the disciples about His approaching death and resurrection.
Though this way of addressing conflict in our own lives can be useful, the bigger point that I want to focus on is how similar Jesus’ treatment of these three very disciples was. Jesus corrected the man who would betray and lead a violent mob to Him in almost the exact same way as He corrected two other men who were faithful to Him until death. Jesus was so impartial in His love and treatment of the disciples that even John and Peter, who each wrote part of the inspired word of God, faced persecution and devoted their lives to Christ, each turned their speculation on themselves, not Judas, when told that a betrayer was among the group.
Jesus’ ability to see the person behind the actions and His willingness to treat people with equality despite their transgressions is clearly demonstrated when comparing these three interactions. It is also this attitude of impartial love and courtesy that I believe to be behind the challenge to treat others how Jesus treated Judas.