Judas: the friend who betrayed Jesus

Описание: Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
"The 'cave of betrayal' is the place where tradition places Judas' kiss and Jesus' arrest. Therefore, we can say that this is where the Passion begins."

This Lent, Friar Enrico Maiorano accompanies us to discover some of the Gospel characters who met Jesus during the days of his Passion. A weekly appointment that from Gethsemane, the place of Jesus' betrayal and capture, will take us to beneath the Cross and to the Sepulchre. We meet Judas first.

Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
"From the archaeological point of view, this is the oldest place in the whole area of Gethsemane. The name Gethsemane means "olive press": most likely here there was an olive press dug into the rock. The graffiti and the paintings on the ceiling testify the great devotion that has always surrounded this place".

Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
"We are at the bottom of the Cedron Valley. This was a place known to Jesus and the apostles. In fact, the Gospels tell us that this is where Jesus went after "the Last Supper." And Judas also knew this place, because Judas used to retreat here with the Twelve. In fact, this place is also called the 'cave of the apostles', precisely to indicate the familiarity that Jesus experienced here with 'his own'". Judas had also been with the Master for three years. And even though the Gospels immediately portray him as a "thief" and a "traitor", he was in fact someone who had been called by Jesus. Some have even gone so far as to call it the "cave of friendship": in this case, the perspective is precisely that of Jesus, who here experienced intimacy with "his own", allowed himself to be kissed by Judas and called him "friend" until the last moment.

Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
"A little higher up is the Garden of Olives, where tradition places the place where Jesus prayed. 'A stone's throw' beyond are the stones on which Jesus sweated blood and which today are the centerpiece of the Basilica of Agony."

Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
"The Gospels tell us that Satan took possession of Judas. Probably a way to soften his responsibility in front of the great guilt that Judas felt on him. In fact, Jesus himself addressed Judas with even stronger words: 'Better for that man if he had never been born.'"

Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap.
Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem
Judas is marked by the encounter with Jesus, for better or for worse. Even his last gestures are all made in relation to Him: the attempt to return the 30 silver coins to set him free again, and the extreme gesture of suicide. In the end, I believe that Judas' greatest mistake is not so much that he betrayed Jesus - Peter did that too! - but to have betrayed himself! He forgot that he was chosen and loved first by Christ. And in the end, forgetting this, he lost the only thing that matters: his forgiveness.

In the second leg of this journey, Brother Enrico will take us to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa to meet Pontius Pilate.


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