Donald Sensing, at One Hand Clapping, has a very interesting post up about Judas. The question he asks, which many people have asked is: “Was Judas Iscariot really a traitor to Christ? Or was he actually a secret accomplice?”
I remember seeing a documentary on the Independent Film Channel about the making of The Last Temptation of Christ, a movie I really enjoyed. Harvey Keitel, who played Judas (I didn’t realize that Judas came from Brooklyn) talks about Martin Scorsese’s take on Judas. Actually, it wasn’t Scorsese’s take, it was Nikos Kazantzakis’ take. That Judas was Jesus’ accomplice, his closest confidante. Harvey Keitel spoke very feelingly about this. I remember him saying, “It is a very healing interpretation of the event.”
I enjoy the controversy. It doesn’t disturb me that people want to take up the story of Judas, examine it, see what else might be there. The whole point, to me, is that the story is a living story, not a dead flat story. It is something which we, to this day, can participate in.
