Between John the Beloved and Judas the Unloved

From the fallible perspective of an imperfect human being, like this unworthy pundit, there was an interesting angle in human psychology behind the betrayal of Judas against, and the proven faithfulness of John to, Jesus. They were both called and chosen but John was palpably and obviously the favorite. Both biblical and historical accounts would prove that the favorites usually succeeded and the less-cared-for almost always becomes the villains or traitors, or both.

Among the eight sons of Abraham, Isaac was obviously the favorite, although Ishmael was the firstborn by Hagar, the Egyptian maid of Abraham's wife, Sarah. Between the twin sons of Isaac, Esau was his favorite and Jacob was his wife Rebekah's favorite. Through the machination of the mother, the father's blessing was stolen by Jacob and he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, which came from the 12 sons of Jacob with two wives and two concubines. Among his 12 sons, Joseph was Jacob's favorite. Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob's wife, Rachel. Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife, not Leah, Rachel's older sister and Jacob's first wife. The favorite always had the advantage. And this trend continues on and on. And those who were not favored were almost always the source of problems and treachery.

John, the Beloved, was the youngest of the 12 apostles and the most handsome. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, a middle-class couple from Bethsaida, province of Galilee. John was the younger brother of James, another apostle. Many episodes in the New Testament showed that John, with James and Peter, were the three most trusted, closest, and most constant companions of Jesus. They were the only three who witnessed Jesus' Transfiguration in Mount Tabor. Among the 12 apostles, John was the last to die. The scriptures refer to him as John the Beloved, John the Evangelist, and John of Patmos. He was the apostle upon whom Jesus entrusted Mother Mary. Indeed, John took care of Mary in his home until she died.

The triumvirate of John, James, and Peter became the source of intrigues among the rest of the apostles, and the most jealous was Judas Iscariot. Jesus favored the three and allowed them, to the exclusion of the nine others, in at least three important events in the Lord's public ministry; the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter back to life, and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Among the three, many passages always referred to John as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." He was always seated next to Jesus, not Peter or James, much less Judas, who was supposed to be the treasurer or the keeper of the purse. All those situations and events must have fueled the growing envy and anger of Judas.

Judas was called Iscariot because he came from Queriot, a town located south of Jerusalem and Judea. Judas was identified by Jesus in the Last Supper as the one who would betray him. But the Lord allowed Judas to kiss him during his arrest in Gethsemane because the Lord wanted to tell Judas that he was ready to forgive him and that he continued to love the traitor despite his grievous sin. It was Judas who admonished Mary for wasting the expensive perfume poured upon the feet of Jesus. Judas was the constant opposition among the 12 apostles. He always had objections and issues concerning internal dynamics of decision making and sharing of responsibilities and tasks. When Judas received the 30 pieces of silver, he was too overwhelmed with remorse that he wanted to return them. Ultimately, that money was used to buy the potter's field where Judas was buried after he hanged himself.

What lessons then can we learn from the story of John and Judas? Public officials, corporate executives and community leaders should be very careful with favoritism. Parents can pick up important nuggets of wisdom from the effects of favoring some over the others. Many families had been broken because fathers and mothers favored one son or one daughter leading the others to rebel and to oppose. But it is not for us to judge the ways by which Jesus treated his 12 apostles. There was always a reason and a purpose and we are too fallible and imperfect to fathom the wisdom of the Lord. Suffice it to say that in all that he did and in all that he said, Jesus was teaching us and molding our own character.

We just have to listen and to discern. This Holy Week gives us the best occasion to ask for wisdom to understand all these. And because we are believers, we continue to believe even if we don’t fully understand.