The Problem I Have Is Unusual but Not Complicated. I teach a course in the Bible as literature. Although my students are fascinated by the literary intricacy of the Bible, I’m temperamentally on it able to sacrifice accuracy for excitement.
Peter denied his Lord three times. A Jewish scholar who attends my class announced after reading the passages that Judas also betrayed his master three times. This is fascinating literary material, but my problem is is it accurate.
The first betrayal consisted of selling his Rabbi for money. My scholar says that to betray a bad man is a duty, but to betray a good man for money is a sin that cannot be forgiven.
The second is the sharing of the bread. Again, according to my resource, the sharing of the bread at the evening meal was often a ceremony of reconciliation. A father who had an issue with his wife or children offered them a bit of bread. If they took the bread, if they shared the bread, the wound was healed. Yet Judas takes this bread and presumably still chewing it leaves to betray the one he had just shared this bread with.
The third is the kiss in the garden. I was told that the disciple upon leaving or greeting his rabbi pledged his love and loyalty with a kiss. There were any number of ways he could have identified their quarry. To use this sign was to use this act of love and loyalty to betray his lord.
This is a lovely counterpoint to Peter’s three denials, but the betrayals are more cynical and a more flagrant violation of traditional signs of love and loyalty.
My Bible Study Notebook 