Last Days of Judas Iscariot: A Play

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Although the canonical gospels frequently disagree on the names of some of the minor apostles, [25] all four of them list Judas Iscariot as one of them. [25] [9] The Synoptic Gospels state that Jesus sent out "the twelve" (including Judas) with power over unclean spirits and with a ministry of preaching and healing: Judas clearly played an active part in this apostolic ministry alongside the other eleven. [26] However, in the Gospel of John, Judas's outlook was differentiated—many of Jesus's disciples abandoned him because of the difficulty of accepting his teachings, and Jesus asked the twelve if they would also leave him. Simon Peter spoke for the twelve: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life," but Jesus observed then that despite the fact that he himself had chosen the twelve, one of them (unnamed by Jesus, but identified by the narrator) was "a devil" who would betray him. [27] Whatever his motives, Judas led soldiers to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he identified Jesus by kissing him and calling him “Rabbi.” (Mark 14:44-46) According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas immediately regretted his actions and returned the 30 pieces of silver to church authorities, saying “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” When the authorities dismissed him, Judas left the coins on the floor and committed suicide by hanging himself (Matthew 27:3-8). The discrepancy between the two different accounts of Judas's death in Matthew 27:1–10 and Acts 1:18 has proven to be a serious challenge to those who support the idea of Biblical inerrancy. [43] [42] This problem was one of the points leading C. S. Lewis, for example, to reject the view "that every statement in Scripture must be historical truth". [45] Nonetheless, various attempts at harmonization have been suggested. [42] Generally they have followed literal interpretations such as that of Augustine of Hippo, which suggest that these simply describe different aspects of the same event—that Judas hanged himself in the field, and the rope eventually snapped and the fall burst his body open, [46] [47] or that the accounts of Acts and Matthew refer to two different transactions. [48] Some have taken the descriptions as figurative: that the "falling prostrate" was Judas in anguish, [a] and the "bursting out of the bowels" is pouring out emotion. [b]

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus informed his disciples during the Last Supper that one of them will betray him. When they asked who it would be, Jesus said “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” He then dipped a piece of bread in a dish and handed it to Judas, identified as the “son of Simon Iscariot.” After Judas received the piece of bread, “Satan entered into him.” (John 13:21-27). Okay, let's get it out of the way: "Why didn't you make me good enough so that you could've loved me?" is an insane line. The entire final conversation between Judas and Jesus is such a hard-hitting, emotional moment that I do truly love and consider one of my favorite moments in any stage play. That being said, there is a reason that that is the only part of the play that is ever brought up by people who have read it. God's perfect love is pitted against His rightful justice: the spirit of the New Testament against the Old. On the one hand, we are told that Judas, played by Joseph Mawles, was Jesus's alter ego and an instrument of his divine mission: on the other that Judas was an impossibly arrogant figure who made God in his own image. van Iersel, Bastiaan (1998). Mark: A Reader-Response Commentary. Danbury, Connecticut: Continuum International. p.167. ISBN 978-1850758297.Maccoby, Hyam (2006). Antisemitism and Modernity. London, England: Routledge. p. 14. ISBN 978-0415553889. In a derelict bathhouse, Judas Iscariot waits for judgment. He’s not in heaven, but he’s also not in hell, and the question of whether his betrayal of Jesus is worthy of forgiveness drives the narrative of this play by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. Directed by experimental theater and performance artist Kendra Ware, and presented by the UCSB Department of Theater & Dance, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot brings characters of questionable morality (such as Satan and Pontius Pilate) to Judas’s “trial” to explore guilt and forgiveness. It’s a courtroom drama, says Ware, but there’s no court. Instead, there’s an empty pool in a decaying structure that represents, on some level, our crumbling justice system. ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’ tells the story of a court case over the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. | Credit: Jeff Liang

One of the most famous depictions of Judas Iscariot and his kiss of betrayal of Jesus is The Taking of Christ by Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio, painted in 1602. [135] The Last Days of Judas Iscariot also promises to be a particularly stylized production with what Ware calls an avant-garde vision. “In thinking about style, I would say I am using an absurdist jazz aesthetic approach to this piece,” she says. “I am collaging with classic images and remixing them with the contemporary to make something altogether new.” David L. Jeffrey (1992). A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature. W.B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802836342. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017 . Retrieved 8 February 2011.MARY MAGDALENE: I was one of the founders of the Christian faith, and I was known for my ability, in times of difficulty, to be able to turn the hearts of the Apostles towards the Good. When I left Sarah Lawrence, I was an actress,” she said. “By the time I got my master’s at Cal Arts, I was more of a multidisciplinary artist. It was there I started directing and creating original pieces, while also acting in shows.” Judas’s betrayal, of course, led to Jesus’s arrest, trial and death by crucifixion, after which he was resurrected, a sequence of events that—according to Christian tradition—brought salvation to humanity. But the name “Judas” became synonymous with treachery in various languages, and Judas Iscariot would be portrayed in Western art and literature as the archetypal traitor and false friend. Dante’s Inferno famously doomed Judas to the lowest circle in Hell, while painters liked Giotto and Caravaggio, among others, immortalized the traitorous “Judas kiss” in their iconic works. Was Judas Really That Bad? There have always been those who have wanted to tie Judas's betrayal to the fact that he had a love of money,” Cargill points out. Others have suggested a more political motive for his traitorous act. According to this theory, Judas might have become disillusioned when Jesus showed little interest in fomenting a rebellion against the Romans and reestablishing an independent kingdom of Israel.

Hans Urs von Balthasar (2000) [1990]. Mysterium Paschale. The Mystery of Easter. Translated by Aidan Nichols (2nded.). San Francisco: Ignatius Press. p. 77. ISBN 1-68149348-9. 1990 Edition. In Trial of Christ in Seven Stages (1909) by John Brayshaw Kaye, the author did not accept the idea that Judas intended to betray Christ, and the poem is a defence of Judas, in which he adds his own vision to the biblical account of the story of the trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas. [138] Ware, who once performed in a production of “Between Riverside and Crazy” in a former convent in Italy, describes Guirgis’ use of language as quite distinctive. “In this play, he mixes the reverent and the irreverent in a beautiful way,” she said. “A lot of profanity is used to punctuate a point. Laeuchli, Samuel (1953). "Origen's Interpretation of Judas Iscariot". Church History. 22 (4): 253–68. doi: 10.2307/3161779. JSTOR 3161779. S2CID 162157799. I begrudge God none of this. I do not curse him or bemoan my lot. And though my heart keeps beating only to keep breaking--I do not question why.

The Encyclopaedia Brittannica (11thed.). Vol. 15: The Encyclopaedia Brittannica Co. 1911. p.536. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location ( link) Ehrman, Bart D. (2016). Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented their Stories of the Savior. New York City: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-228520-1. Rehearsing over Gustavus’s January Term, the cast of 15 students were able to dive deeper into the script with daily rehearsals. “We spent a good amount of time in the rehearsal process just talking about the complex ideas in the script, including ideas on forgiveness, ideas on religion, ideas on society, ideas on our judicial system and concepts of justice,” said Briggs. As I mentioned prior, I was also a fan of Pontius Pilate's scene. Another part that I enjoyed was Simon the Zealot's portion. I really don't have much to say specifically about those parts other than I enjoyed them and found both their characters to be very compelling to the narrative of the story. This scene also was not constantly bogged down by leagues of failed jokes, as other parts did (Mother Teresa's and Judas' Mother's for example), so that may have an impact. Sorry for not going further into this point, I find myself having less specifics to say about moments that I simply liked versus moments that I hated haha. In his endlessly informative analysis of the New Testament, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible: The New Testament, Isaac Asimov points us to John’s account of Judas’ betrayal. In John chapter 12, Judas objects to a whole jar of expensive ointment over Jesus’ head (in preparation for his coming death).

Many different accounts of Judas's death have survived from antiquity, both within and outside the New Testament. [36] [37] Matthew 27:1–10 states that after learning that Jesus was to be crucified, Judas was overcome by remorse and attempted to return the 30 pieces of silver to the priests, but they would not accept them because they were blood money, so he threw them on the ground and left. Afterwards, he committed suicide by hanging himself [38] according to Mosaic law ( Deuteronomy 21:22–23 [39]). The priests then used the money to buy a potter's field, which became known as Akeldama (חקל דמא – khakel dama) – the Field of Blood – because it had been bought with blood money. [38] Acts 1:18 states that Judas used the money to buy a field, [38] [40] and "[fell] headlong... burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." [38] In this account, Judas's death is apparently by accident, [38] and he shows no signs of remorse. [38] John Parker (2018) [2007]. The Aesthetics of Antichrist. From Christian Drama to Christopher Marlowe (2nded.). Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-80146354-9. a b p. 256 White, Joseph Blanco. Letters from Spain. H. Colburn. ISBN 9781508427162. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017 . Retrieved 19 July 2016. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) of Letters from Spain, Joseph Blanco White, H. Colburn, 1825.

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MARY MAGDALENE: But, I am pretty sure that I was his best friend. We shared an intimacy that I cannot put into words except to say we saw into each other's hearts and were in love with what we found.....” a b c d e Oropeza, B.J. (2010). "Judas' Death and Final Destiny in the Gospels and Earliest Christian Writings". Neotestamentica. 44 (2): 342–61. H: At one point, Saint Monica asks ‘if we are all eternal, and if Human Life is only the first mile in a billion, do you honestly believe that God could abandon any mothaf****r so soon in the journey?’ What role does God play in Last Days?