Judas Iscariot: A Poem

O Judas (It's All About Jesus)

There was a man, a fallen man

whose destiny would be perdition.

He was a thief and betrayed his friend.

This we received in our tradition.

A better friend no man could have.

His love revealed, revealed unspoken.

He washed the heel 'twas lifted up.

He washed it clean - a sign, a token.

A heart was changed; a heart was healed.

The power of love could not be broken.

But something else was going on,

something else, and hardly spoken.

From up on high he came to show

how every man would have to go.

Then going back from this below,

he told his friend he'd help him go.

Like Job he'd look upon his birth.

A later judge upon his girth,

and lead the sheep of planet earth

to denigrate his life, his worth.

Beelzebub! his friend they called him.

Now he's been called so much, much more.

He earned his coins - they weren't stolen,

but took them back which Scripture said restore.

Denied himself. Took up his cross.

His life of sin he made his loss,

and losing that for his friend's sake,

he found his life in losing's wake.

Born once again. Below the cross.

His brother/friend he'd made his boss.

Boss to Boss his friend would go

As he looked on from down below.

And looking on he heard him speak

to her there standing grieved and bleak.

“Behold your son,” he heard him say.

And with that said, he looked his way.

Three days hence upon the morn,

came Magdalene, her look careworn,

and said they'd taken him away;

she didn't know where now he lay.

He outran Simon to the tomb,

and he looked in, expecting gloom.

Then Simon came and entered in;

then he did too, the man of sin.

Linen cloth here. Head's napkin there.

But corpse no more lay anywhere.

They'd entered in who were bereaved,

but seeing these he then believed.

After this, when out to sea,

he saw him standing on the shore,

the man with life forever . . . more,

the man who's knocking at the door.

Offered only in my own name. 

The same poem is offered below with allusions noted.

O Judas (It's All About Jesus)¹

There was a man, a fallen man²

whose destiny would be perdition.³

He was a thief⁴ and betrayed his friend.⁵

This we received in our tradition.

1. I add this parenthetical title because my argument, that Judas is the disciple whom Jesus loved in the Gospel of John, is frequently misunderstood to be an exaltation of Judas rather than an exaltation of the mighty power of God to deliver. It is not my place to exalt Judas; Jesus did that at the last day. (John 6:39)

2. Acts 1:25

3. John 17:12; The opening sentence of this poem was inspired by the opening line of the song “Solitaire,” by Neil Sedaka.

4. John 12:6

5. Matthew 26:14-15

A better friend no man could have.⁶

His love revealed, revealed unspoken.

He washed the heel 'twas lifted up.

He washed it clean - a sign, a token.⁷

6. John 15:13

7. John 13:1-11; John 13:18

A heart was changed; a heart was healed.

The power of love could not be broken.⁸

But something else was going on,

something else, and hardly spoken.⁹

8. Acts 10:15

9. Matthew 16:21; John 10:17-18

From up on high he came to show¹⁰

how every man would have to go.¹¹

Then going back from this below,¹²

he told his friend he'd help him go.¹³

10. John 1:1,14

11. John 14:6

12. John 14:28

13. John 13:20-21; Note: “Betray me” is here a mistranslation of the Greek text; “deliver me up” is better.

Like Job he'd look upon his birth.¹⁴

A later judge upon his girth,¹⁵

and lead the sheep of planet earth

to denigrate his life, his worth.¹⁶

14. Job 3:3; Matthew 26:24; “Betrayed” is here a mistranslation of the Greek text; “delivered up” is better.

15. A fragment attributed to Papias (ca. 130 C.E.) relates a tale that Judas' body swelled so much that it couldn't pass through a place where a cart could pass. The tale advances the notion that Judas was punished greatly for his role in the death of Jesus, and it reflects a judgment upon Judas that would seem to leave no room for either the mercy of God or the power of Jesus to save.

16. For example, Dante's Inferno depicts Judas as the worst of all sinners, suffering in Hell, and deservedly so, the most horrifying torture of all. And as noted above, translators who produced the King James Version of the Bible translated the Greek “paradidomi” as “betray,” and thus added a pejorative sense to the Greek in every single instance where the word describes an act by Judas, whether it be his making of a covenant to deliver Jesus or his kissing Jesus to identify him to the arresting officers. However, when the same word describes the act by God, it is translated, “He . . . delivered him up . . . ,” (Romans 8:32) thus wisely avoiding the pejorative sense.

Beelzebub! His own would call him.¹⁷

His friend's been called so much, much more.¹⁸

He earned his coins - they weren't stolen,¹⁹

but took them back which Scripture said restore.²⁰

17. Matthew 12:24

18. Matthew 10:25

19. John 11:57; Matthew 26:14-15

20. Psalms 69:4

Denied himself. Took up his cross.²¹

His life of sin he made his loss,

and losing that for his friend's sake,

he found his life in losing's wake.²²

21. Matthew 16:24

22. Matthew 16:25

Born once again.²³ Below the cross.²⁴

His brother/friend he'd made his boss.²⁵

Boss to Boss his friend would go²⁶

As he looked on from down below.²⁷

23. John 3:3

24. John 19:26

25. Matthew 18:15; John 13:1-11,18; John 12:23-27

26. John 14:28

27. John 19:26

And looking on he heard him speak

to her there standing grieved and bleak.

“Behold your son,” he heard him say.

And with that said, he looked his way.²⁸

28. John 19:26-27

Three days hence upon the morn,²⁹

came Magdalene, her look careworn,³⁰

and said they'd taken him away;

she didn't know where now he lay.³¹

29. John 2:19

30. John 20:1

31. John 20:2

He outran Simon to the tomb,

and he looked in, expecting gloom.³²

Then Simon came and entered in;

then he did too, the man of sin.³³

32. John 20:4-5

33. 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Linen cloth here. Head's napkin there.

But corpse no more lay anywhere.

They'd entered in who were bereaved,

but seeing these he then believed.³⁴

34. John 20:6-8

After this, when out to sea,

he saw him standing on the shore,³⁵

the man with life forever . . . more,³⁶

the man who's knocking at the door.³⁷

35. John 21:1-7

36. With reference to Jesus, Revelation 1:18; with reference to Judas, John 6: 39-40

37. Revelation 3:20