“The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

My parents owned the record album Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera from 1970. As a kid I listened to it over and over, singing and dancing along. I still love that music.

At some point my parents hid the album. They said it was because they decided they didn’t like the way it told Jesus’s story, but I think they were really just tired of hearing it.

Jesus Christ Superstar tells the story of the days leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion. But it tells it from an imagined perspective of Judas and is only very loosely based on the Bible.

For one thing, Judas is the star of that show. He gets all the best musical numbers. He gets to appear as a hero and martyr. He is portrayed as the voice of reason while Jesus is at times too distracted by frivolous things and other times too self-aggrandizing.

None of this is Biblical, but it made for some cool music and a good tale.

In the Bible story, Judas Iscariot is just a bit character. He is only mentioned about 20 times, and three of those times is in a list of all the disciples. Each of those mentions includes the fact that he will betray Jesus. He is described as a thief, embezzling from the apostles’ meager purse. He’s not at all interested in helping the poor, although he’s devious enough to lie about that so he can blend in.

So why did Jesus choose Judas to be among the twelve disciples? I’ve often wondered about that, especially when listening to the heart-wrenching song on Jesus Christ Superstar called “Judas’ Death.” The song has Judas accusing Jesus of choosing him for the job of betrayer, and Judas agonizes over why before he kills himself singing, “You have murdered me…”

But Judas was not an innocent whom Jesus selected and turned into a betrayer. It’s true that someone was needed to betray Jesus. But it was Judas’s attitude, hard heart, and selfish choices that made him an ideal candidate.

Even though Judas spent three years following Jesus, witnessing His miracles up close, benefiting from His selfless love, hearing His lessons first hand, and experiencing His devotion, Judas’s heart was never softened. He was never invested in God’s kingdom, never interested in love or humility, only personal gain. Jesus gave him three years worth of chances to change. But he didn’t. And so, woe is him.

Dear God,

Thank you for the example of the patience you displayed with your disciple Judas. And thank you for the patience you continue to show me. I understand there will come a day of judgment like there eventually did for Judas. I want to be your good and faithful servant, not your betrayer. Show me what this means for me today.