Why He Betrayed Jesus

Judas is probably the most reviled character in the New Testament. For many centuries, his name has been synonymous with betrayal. But how much do we actually know about the real Judas? Do we know enough about his life to confidently brand him a traitor? In fact, we only have the terse allegations in the Gospels, all of which were written long after the events, in the days when Christianity separated from Judaism. In the struggle against the influence of classical Judaism, Christian preachers, both Greeks and Romans, used the traitor Judas as the image of a typical enemy of Christianity. But is this actually the truth? The author, in describing Judas' life and his close relationship with Jesus, puts forward a new explanation of Judas' actions, perhaps controversial but also highly probable.