The Kiss of Judas

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According to the Synoptic Gospels, Judas pointed out Jesus to those he led to arrest him by means of a kiss. Both Matthew (26:47-50) and Mark (14:44-45) use the Greek verb kataphilein, which means to kiss firmly, intensely, passionately, tenderly or warmly. It is the same verb that Plutarch uses to describe a famous kiss that Alexander the Great gave Bagoas. According to Matthew, Jesus responded by saying "Friend, do what you are here to do." This has caused much speculation that Jesus and Judas were actually in agreement with each other and there was no real betrayal. Luke (22:47-48) presents a very different picture: Jesus sees Judas coming and stops him by asking: "Judas, with a kiss do you betray the son of man?" The kiss is apparently not delivered at all. The expression "Son of man" is widely believed to refer to an apocalyptic figure. Geza Vermes, however, in his book Jesus the Jew, presents a very different view: The Aramaic word barnasha - literally "son of man" but meaning "this person" - is used in Rabbinic literature as a humble, self-effacing way to refer to oneself, to the speaker. It corresponds exactly to the Japanese word sessha, "this one," an old-fashioned way to say "I" or "me" when talking to a superior. Jesus would be saying "You would use a kiss to betray me?"

The kiss of Judas is one of the Omissions in the Gospel of John.

Artistic representations of the kiss include:

(There are no representations of the kiss by Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci or Rubens.)

See The Life of Christ, 1996, ISBN 0-7892-0144-5

[edit] Use in Media Forms

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1974 - The Godfather, Part II: Michael Corleone kisses Fredo passionately, signifying that he was the one that sold him out, he was the one that went against the family.

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