Judas Iscariot: He Who Passed the Poison Chalice
While, of course, everyone knows the story, the greatest betrayal in history cannot be left off the list. Yes indeed, the darkest villain in history is he who betrayed Christ, but like Herod and Pilate, the drama of Jesus Christ could have not been complete without some poor sap being landed with the role of Judas.
Judas, who betrayed his lord with a kiss, the most intimate of gestures, might put up a reasonable defense if he had ever had the opportunity to do so. A betrayal such as this, if seen in the context of wider dynamic, might have been regarded as a necessary device to complete the circle. If one takes the familiar lines of the story, Jesus knew that his ministry would end in some spectacular death that would imprint his martyrdom on the human consciousness forever. It was necessary that he shoulder the entire burden of human sin, and with his death expunge it. The lamb of God, sacrificed for the failing of mankind. It is a neat tale, but to complete it, one of the twelve was required to betray the messiah.
In some renditions of the story, Judas attempts to make the point that the radical ministry of Jesus had the potential to bring disaster on the Jewish people, then under the occupation by Rome. Certainly the Romans would want no talk of a radical, populist king in one of their provinces, and they certainly had the power to clamp down on any suggestion of an uprising. Also the fact that the Shakespearean qualities of the New testament drama would never have been complete without a twist along the lines of ‘this is my blood and this is my flesh’.
However it happened, and indeed, whether it happened at all, the most unfortunate role in history for a man to play was given to Judas, and as necessary as it was to carry the plot, Judas is certainly owed the top spot as the world’s greatest bastard.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Top 10 Worst Roman Emperors.” Listverse. Flamehorse, May 2010
“The real story behind the assassination of Julius Caesar.” New York Post. Larry Getlin, March 2015
“The Most Sadistic And Twisted Things Nero Ever Did .” Ranker, Justin Andress
“Hungarian Countesses’ Torturous Escapades are Exposed” History, 2009