Christians should show more respect to Judas Iscariot!
EDITOR: The Christian Easter festivities have hurriedly come and gone, but one name has remarkably stayed stuck on the lips of a large portion of ChrisÂtians. As often is the case every year, this mysterious name continues to grow even more popular than the celebrated occasion.
Judas Iscariot: A name notoriously synonymous with greed, betrayal and treason. A name heavily loathed by children, despised by adults and provides every preacher with a great point of reference to knock a sermon into shape, and get a sober audience nodding along. A name famous for the romantic public display of affection, which led to the vulnerable timely death of the guiltless Son of God.
A lot of Christians continue to blackmail Judas Iscariot as the enemy, denying him of his rightful heroic street credibility!
The death and resurrection of Jesus, as understood from the Bible, was already predestined to happen, with a disciple of Jesus setting the process into motion. Someone among the 12 disciples had to do the dirty work! It was unfortunate, but quite heroic for Judas to be singled out by his heavenly recruiters to fit the job description.
The mountainous role played by Judas Iscariot in delivering his master into the hands of his captors (as widely condemned) laid the foundation in giving the Gospel a worldwide facelift, through the death and resurrection of Christ. If Judas hadnât done it, someone else would have stepped in on the job, and would have, just like Judas, suffered a posthumous, tarnished, reputation!
How else was Jesus meant to be captured? Any of you blackmailers got any idea? Why doesnât the name âJudasâ align with contemporary birth names for male children?
Judas Iscariot had his personal flaws like every other Christian did and currently do.
Paul (while as Saul) slaughtered an outrageous number of ChrisÂtians. David, likewise his promiscuous son, SoloÂmon, was a man whore! Thomas was recorded as a doubter and a man of great deficiency in faith. Peter consciously denied Jesus three consecutive times (as was part of his destiny), and many others.
Christians forgave these men of despicable character and continued over the years to christen their kids after them, but just wouldnât do the same for a remorseful Judas Iscariot, who went as far as taking his own life in remorse for a crime he was already predestined to commit!
Arenât we as Christians, in a way possibly unknown to us, biased and plainly sentimental?
Judas Iscariot deserves a lot more respect from the Christian community. As a matter of fact, in solidarity to this great heroic biblical figure, one of my boys will bear âJudasâ as a middle name when he arrives in the nearest future!
Nimi Princewill
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