Judas Iscariot, (died c. 30 ce), one of the Twelve Apostles, notorious for betraying Jesus. Judas’s surname is more probably a corruption of the Latin sicarius (“murderer” or “assassin”) than an indication of family origin, suggesting that he would have belonged to the Sicarii, the most radical Jewish group, some of whom were terrorists. Other than his apostleship, his betrayal, and his death, little else is revealed about Judas in the Gospels. Always the last on the list of the Apostles, he was their treasurer. John 12:6 introduces Judas’s thievery by saying, “as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.” The performances of the cast are nothing short of incredible. Rishi Sharma is an appropriately enigmatic Judas, keeping the audience guessing right until his heart-breaking emotional scene with Jesus (Jago Wainwright) at the end of the play. The two lawyers, Fabiana Aziza Cunningham (Roma Ellis) and Yusef El-Fayoumy (Ayush Prasad) skilfully develop a nuanced dynamic, moving beyond stereotypical banter into deeper emotional territory. Ellis in particular delivers a highly accomplished monologue as they tirade against Satan (Saul Bailey), allowing the audience a glimpse behind Cunningham’s façade of unshakeable confidence. In fact, the monologues of this production are where the cast really shine. Marie-Ange Camara is a hilarious Saint Monica, matching excellent physical comedy and great stage presence with emotional sensitivity and skilful character understanding. Katy Lawrence and Theo Rooney also deliver as Henrietta Iscariot and Saint Peter respectively. Owen Igiehon’s performance as Butch Honeywell, which closes the production, is close to perfect. He commands the stage with grace and talent, completely capturing the audience. Although the lengthy courtroom scenes suffered from some pacing issues, the strength of these monologues almost completely redeem the entire production. It is then immediately overshadowed by the aforementioned final conversation between Judas and Jesus. Judas's counsel gets to the nub of the matter when she quotes the Hegelian notion that within every idea is contained its contradiction; and what follows is an often hilarious batting forth of thesis and antithesis.

The Monthly Christian Spectator 1851–1859 p. 459 "while some writers regard the account of Judas's death as simply figurative ..seized with preternatural anguish for his crime and its consequences his bowels gushed out." Ben Brantley (3 March 2005). "THEATER REVIEW; Judas Gets His Day in Court, but Satan Is on the Witness List". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 November 2013. Baldassare Labanca, Gesù Cristo nella letteratura contemporanea, straniera e italiana, Fratelli Bocca, 1903, p. 240 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. 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?Although Judas Iscariot's historical existence is generally widely accepted among secular historians, [4] [5] [6] [7] this relative consensus has not gone entirely unchallenged. [5] The earliest possible allusion to Judas comes from the First Epistle to the Corinthians 11:23–24, in which Paul the Apostle does not mention Judas by name [8] [9] but uses the passive voice of the Greek word paradídōmi (παραδίδωμι), which most Bible translations render as "was betrayed": [8] [9] "...the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread..." [8] Nonetheless, some biblical scholars argue that the word paradídōmi should be translated as "was handed over". [8] [9] This translation could still refer to Judas, [8] [9] but it could also instead refer to God metaphorically "handing Jesus over" to the Romans. [8] Adams, Byron, ed. (2007), Edward Elgar and His World, Princeton University Press, pp.140–41, ISBN 978-0-691-13446-8 In a time-bending corner of Purgatory called Hope, Judas is on trial for his betrayal of Jesus, his soul left in the balance. Through the testimonies of larger-than-life biblical and historical characters such as Mother Teresa, Sigmund Freud and Satan, Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis’ provocative and irreverently funny play forces us to examine our ideas of love, divine mercy, free will and forgiveness, searching for the line between good and evil. Performance Dates & Times a b c Taylor, Joan E. (2010). "The name 'Iskarioth' (Iscariot)". Journal of Biblical Literature. 129 (2): 367–83. doi: 10.2307/27821024. JSTOR 27821024. I remember the morning my son was born as if it was yesterday. The moment the midwife placed him in my arms, I was infused with a love beyond all measure and understanding. I remember holding my son, and looking over at my own mother and saying, "Now I understand why the sun comes up at day and the stars come out at night. I understand why rain falls gently. Now I understand you, Mother" ...

According to the account in the Gospel of John, Judas carried the disciples' money bag or box ( γλωσσόκομον, glōssokomon), [32] but the Gospel of John makes no mention of the thirty pieces of silver as a fee for betrayal. The evangelist comments in John 12:5–6 that Judas spoke fine words about giving money to the poor, but the reality was "not that he cared for the poor, but [that] he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it." However, in John 13:27–30, when Judas left the gathering of Jesus and his disciples with betrayal in mind, [33] some [of the disciples] thought that Judas might have been leaving to buy supplies or on a charitable errand. And there are fine cameos from Gawn Grainger as Caiaphas seeking divine, rather than human, forgiveness and from Dona Croll as a bewinged angel. Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects. Irenaeus records the beliefs of one Gnostic sect, the Cainites, who believed that Judas was an instrument of the Sophia, Divine Wisdom, thus earning the hatred of the Demiurge. His betrayal of Jesus thus was a victory over the materialist world. The Cainites later split into two groups, disagreeing over the ultimate significance of Jesus in their cosmology. L: How have you found the rehearsal process? And what has that experience been like coming in halfway through? The artistic team for UC Santa Barbara’s new production of “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” has spent a lot of time pondering that question over the past year or so.Edwards, Katie (23 March 2016). "Why Judas was actually more of a saint, than a sinner". The Conversation. Melbourne, Australia: The Conversation Trust . Retrieved 28 July 2018. Christian Longstaff as Judge Littlefield (top left), Theo Rooney as Pontius Pilate (top right), Owen Igiehon as Simon the Zealot (bottom left), Dominika Wiatrowska as Gloria (bottom right) Letter to Clyde S. Kilby, 7 May 1959, quoted in Michael J. Christensen, C. S. Lewis on Scripture, Abingdon, 1979, Appendix A.

Most, Glenn W. (2008). "The Judas of the Gospels and the Gospel of Judas". In Scopello, Madeleine (ed.). The Gospel of Judas in Context: Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Gospel of Judas. Brill. pp.75–77. ISBN 978-9004167216. The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is about humanity’s search for meaning,” said Briggs. “The play was written in 2005 but it very much reflects the life and times we are living in right now in terms of the conversations we are all still having amongst ourselves.” Another possibility is that Judas believed Jesus was the Messiah – hence his following Jesus in the first place – but that he grew disillusioned with Jesus’ refusal to launch a revolt against the Roman powers who governed Judea. (Here, the fact that Judas was supposedly a Judean where the other disciples were from Galilee adds credence to this theory.) Judas is the subject of philosophical writings. Origen of Alexandria, in his Commentary on John's Gospel, reflects on Judas's interactions with the other apostles and Jesus's confidence in him prior to his betrayal. [79] Other philosophical reflections on Judas include The Problem of Natural Evil by Bertrand Russell and " Three Versions of Judas", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. They allege various problematic ideological contradictions with the discrepancy between Judas's actions and his eternal punishment. Bruce Reichenbach argues that if Jesus foresees Judas's betrayal, then the betrayal is not an act of free will [80] and therefore should not be punishable. Conversely, it is argued that just because the betrayal was foretold, it does not prevent Judas from exercising his own free will in this matter. [81] Other scholars argue that Judas acted in obedience to God's will. [82] The gospels suggest that Judas is apparently bound up with the fulfillment of God's purposes ( John 13:18, John 17:12, Matthew 26:23–25, Luke 22:21–22, Matt 27:9–10, Acts 1:16, Acts 1:20), [73] yet "woe is upon him", and he would "have been better unborn" ( Matthew 26:23–25). The difficulty inherent in the saying is its paradox: if Judas had not been born, the Son of Man would apparently no longer do "as it is written of him." The consequence of this apologetic approach is that Judas's actions come to be seen as necessary and unavoidable, yet leading to condemnation. [83] Another explanation is that Judas's birth and betrayal did not necessitate the only way the Son of Man could have suffered and been crucified. The earliest churches believed "as it is written of him" to be prophetic, fulfilling Scriptures such as that of the suffering servant in Isaiah 52–53 and the righteous one in Psalm 22, which do not require betrayal (at least by Judas) as the means to the suffering. Regardless of any necessity, Judas is held responsible for his act (Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22; Matt 26:24). [84] The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a play by American playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis first staged Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on March 2, 2005, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.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. In The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005), a critically acclaimed play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Judas is given a trial in Purgatory. [140] In his 1969 book Theologie der Drei Tage (English translation: Mysterium Paschale), Hans Urs von Balthasar emphasizes that Jesus was not betrayed but surrendered and delivered up by himself, since the meaning of the Greek word used by the New Testament, paradidonai (παραδιδόναι, Latin: tradere), is unequivocally "handing over of self". [110] [111] In the "Preface to the Second Edition", Balthasar takes a cue from Revelation 13:8 [112] ( Vulgate: agni qui occisus est ab origine mundi, NIV: "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world") to extrapolate the idea that God as " immanent Trinity" can endure and conquer godlessness, abandonment, and death in an "eternal super- kenosis". [113] [114] ). A Catholic priest, Richard Neuhaus, an admitted student of Balthasar, argues that it is unknown if Judas is in Hell, and it is also possible that Hell could be empty. [115] However, Cristiani considers that Balthasar and Neuhaus are merely recycling the error of Origenism which includes denying the eternity of Hell "...by a general rehabilitation of the damned, including, apparently, Satan." [116] This error, while not considered a formal heresy, was condemned at a synod in 548 AD, which was subsequently confirmed by Pope Vigilius. [117] Role in apocrypha [ edit ] I felt that one of the weaknesses of this play itself was its being somewhat drawn out, the story being largely episodic, with different characters entering to be questioned by lawyers Cunningham and El-Fayoumy, then exiting, before another character entered to be questioned.

Ehrman, Bart D. (1999). Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195124743.

In his 1965 book The Passover Plot, British New Testament scholar Hugh J. Schonfield suggests that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy and that Judas acted with the full knowledge and consent of Jesus in "betraying" him to the authorities. The book has been variously described as "factually groundless", [85] based on "little data" and "wild suppositions", [86] "disturbing", and "tawdry". [87] Damnation to Hell [ edit ] Easton's Bible Dictionary: Judas". christnotes.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 . Retrieved 26 June 2007. Pitre, Brant (2 February 2016). The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7704-3549-3.