What is Judas’ part in the twelve? In mainstream Christianity is he considered to sit in on a throne in Heaven as a part of the Twelve (see Matt. 19:28, Luke 22:30)?
In Acts (1:21 - 26) Judas is replaced by Matthias for Judas’ apostolic ministry, but that does that mean that Judas is not a part of the Twelve that Jesus directly and expressly said would rule with him in Heaven (Matt. 19:28, Luke 22:30)? Is Matthias taking Judas’ role as one of the Twelve (including all things promised th=o the Twelve beofre he joined) or only taking over Judas’ apostolic ministry? Act and 1 Corinthians do have references to the Twelve doing doing things after Judas is dead. But are these the same Twelve that Jesus picked or are they only the current twelve apolostic ministers? Where would the eleven left get the power to say that Judas is not part of the Twelve (that Jesus named) to rule in Heaven when Jesus named Judas himself? When Jesus spoke to Judas (and the other eleven) and said they would rule with him in heaven didn’t Jesus already know that Judas would betray him?
JUDAS:
Listen Jesus
I don’t like what I see
All I ask is that you listen to me
And remember
I’ve been your right hand man all along
You have set them all on fire
They think they’ve found the new Messiah
And they’ll hurt you when they find they’re wrong
Sheesh, Jebus – is this turning into Christianity 101?
Judas is listed as one of the original Twelve in all four standard listings (which have some variation amongst the other names.
By his betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent suicide, he is deemed by the traditional understanding of salvation theology to have forfeited any claim to Christ’s Atonement, much less to be part of the Apostles. Hence, Matthias was chosen to fill out the number to twelve again. (Note that this was a one-shot event, to bring the number back up to the Twelve which Jesus had set; when James bar Zebedee was beheaded, he was not replaced.)
Most Christians either hold to the traditional understanding or entrust any judgment of Judas to God’s mercy.
Dude…it’s your interpretation. It’s not specifically in the Bible, a notoriously self-contradictory text anyway, so you have to come to your own conclusion. Good luck with that.
I’ve heard tell of several interesting theories that attempt to reclaim Judas, saying that he’s essential to Jesus’s sacrifice, resurrection, and subsequent redemption of humanity. If there’s no Judas, there’s no betrayal, and such, so crucifixion. Some go so far as to say that Judas should be revered, not reviled, for his role.
Rather like the “Snape is good” theories for Harry Potter, some of these theories speculate that Judas didn’t want to betray Jesus but was persuaded to by Jesus himself. Some have him fully cognizant of what his role meant, both good (meaning he facilitated the whole redemption) and bad (that he’d be hated and, hey, that he’s sending a good friend to death). I’m not sure how his suicide figures in with these theories, but they are interesting.
I haven’t read up on them in any books or such, but perhaps some other Doper will come along who has.
Yeah, I’ve heard of Gnosticism too. OTOH Jesus himself is on record as saying that the betrayal of the Son of Man was necessary, but as for him who does the betraying, better for him that he had never been born. Judas wasn’t setting out to do God’s work in betraying Jesus, and it’s the intention that counts.
