Matthew 26:14-25

Judas Iscariot is usually portrayed in art and literature as a dark, tricky and murky figure. He personifies evil and betrayal. And our drawing by Emile Bernard executed in 1935, is no different. Judas is drawn in dark grey tonalities, contrasting with Jesus' pure white face. Judas has sharp, rigid, pointy lines with an elongated, almost dagger-like beard. It is of course easier to portray Judas in this caricature, because for us it is more comfortable if we think that Judas is completely different from us. By portraying him as such an evil man, and such a traitorous man, we stop connecting with him.  We move him so to speak to a different reality, one we never have to connect with. And yet, all of us have characteristics of Judas inside us. So rather than run away from looking at who he is, we should actually be looking very closely at how he behaved.

We have all betrayed Jesus many times during our lives and will do again. We don't live the good lives that we intend to. But look closely at what Judas' basic mistake was: it was not betraying Christ. His big mistake was believing he could not be forgiven. Jesus would have forgiven Judas' betrayal though, just as He forgave Peter. I am sure that Jesus loved Judas with all his sins and shortcomings. But Judas was so focused on himself, on his own sins, his own guilt, that he forgot how much Jesus loved him… and that Christ would have forgiven him…