there was one who had not found in Christ all that he Avas seeking. Jesus saw that already in spirit Judas was a deserter, and, as Westcott points out, a man who regards Christ ' in the light of his own selfish views' is 'turning good into evil' (Sia/SdXXeii'), and is, therefore, a partaker of 'that which is essential to the devil's nature' (Speaker's Com. in loc.). It was in the light of the Betrayal that St. John came not only to recognize in Judas the disloyal Apostle to whom Christ referred without mentioning his name, but also to perceive the significance of the words of Jesus, ' One of you is a devil ' (6™). The whole incident shows that the words and actions of Jesus had proved a disillusionment to Judas; when he joined the disciples of Christ, he hoped for more than ' words of eternal life ' ; baffled ambition was one of the motives which prompted him to do the devil's work of betrayal.
(7) Reasons for believing that jealousy was one of the motives w'hich led Judas to turn traitor have been given above (cf. ii. (c)). An ambitious man is peculiarly susceptible to this temptation. It would embitter Judas to realize that he was in a false position owing to his misconception of the aims of Christ, that his chances of advance-
greater than he. In proportion as others gained a higher place than himself in the esteem of Christ, the expectations he had been cherishing would fade. ' Trifles light as air are to the jealous con- firmation ' of their fears. Fuller knowledge of the life of Judas would probably enable us to see this sin in germ. It may also be, as Ainger suggests (op. cit. p. 234), that the Evangelists are silent laecause ' there was so little to tell.' Judas is described as 'a sullen and silent person . . . dwelling ever on himself — how he should profit if the cause were victorious, how Ae might sufier if the cause should fail.' Such a man would be prone to jealousy and ' fit for treasons.'
Whether covetousness, ambition, or jealousy was the basal motive of Judas when he betrayed Jesus, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to say. It is probable that the flame of resentment, kindled by baffled ambition, was fanned by malign jealousy and base desire to snatch at paltry gain when all seemed lost. That the thirty pieces of silver tor- mented Judas does not prove that they had never attracted him ; that he keenly suffered from the pangs of remorse makes neither his evil deed nor his evil motives good. All that we are warranted in saying is well expressed by Bnice (The Training of the Twelve, p. 367) : ' He was bad enough to do the deed of infamy, and good enough to be unable to bear the burden of its guilt. Woe to such a man ! Better for him, indeed, that he had never been born ! '
V. References to Judas in post - Biblical Literature. — (a) Apocryphal works. — In the Gospel of the Twelve Apostles Judas Iscariot is mentioned (§ 2). In the Arabic Gospel of the Childhood (§ 35) Judas is represented as possessed by Satan at the birth of Jesus ; he tried to bite Jesus, but could not ; he did, however, strike Jesus, and immediately Satan went forth from him in the shape of a mad dog. In the Gospel of Judas (Ireu. adv. Ifecr. i. 31 ; cf. Epiph. xxxviii. 1. 3) the Cainites — an important Gnostic sect — are said to have declared ' that Judas the traitor . . . knowing the truth as no others did, alone accom- plished the mystery of the betrayal.' In the Acts of Peter (§ 8), Peter speaks of Judas as his ' fellow- disciple and fellow-apostle ' ; he also refers to his 'godless act of betrayal.' In the Acts of Thomas (§ 32) tlie drat'on or serpent says, 'I am he who inflamed and bribed Judas to deliver the Messiah
JUDAS ISCARIOT
JUDGING
to death.' Later (§ 84), there is a warning against 'theft, which enticed Judas Iscariot and caused him to hang himself.' The account of the death of the serpent (§ 32) probably contains reniLnis- cences of the story of the death of Judas ; after sucking the poison the serpent 'began to swell,' and ultimately 'burst.' Dr. Rendel Harris {op. cit. p. 508) quotes from Solomon of Bassora, The Book of the Bee, the interesting comparison : 'Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, . . . was like unto the serpent, because he dealt craftily with the Lord.'
(6) Early Christian writings.— Clement of Rome (1 Bp. ad Cor. xlvi. 8) combines ' the words spoken by our Lord with regard to Judas' (Mt 26-'' = Mk 14^') with ' a saying recorded in another con- nexion in the three Synoptic Gospels ' (cf. Mt 18'"- etc.). Hermas {Vis. IV. ii. 6) probably borrows the same saying from the Synoptists, ' the change being no greater than we may expect when there is no express quotation ' (cf. The NT in the Apostolic Fathers, pp. 61, 121).
Papias refers to the horrible end of Judas (cf. above, iii. (c)) in the fourth book of his ' Exposi- tions of the Oracles of the Lord' (Cramer, Catena in Mat. 27). From the same book Irensus {adv. Hcer. V. 33''- ) quotes an ' >in written ' saying of Jesus, foretelling days when the earth .shall be marvellously fruitful, and the animals shall be at