Friday, June 26, 2020

D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner vs. Naïve, Sugary views (and frankly views) on Judas and his betrayal of Jesus


Mirroring early LDS views that Judas' betrayal of Jesus was a grievous sin (see Early Latter-day Saints vs. the view Judas Did Nothing Wrong or Sinful), contra the (blasphemous) attempts by some to downplay or even excuse Judas,  D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner wrote the following in their commentary on the Gospels:

 

Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6 In one of the most chilling passages in scripture, Luke notes that Satan entered into Judas, possibly meaning that Satan, who has a spirit body, had entered into the physical body of Judas. Were this the only reference to such a matter, we might be tempted to ascribe it to symbolism or rhetorical device (Satan entering Judas in the same way he influences all of us). But John, as a second witness, also refers to this situation as a literal occurrence (see John 13:27).

 

Could Satan have literally entered into Judas’s mortal body? Elder McConkie wrote: “Perhaps for Satan is a spirit man, a being who was born the offspring of God in preexistence, and who was cast out of rebellion. He and his followers have power in some cases to enter the [physical] bodies of men” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:701-2). Judas had so totally submitted himself to the will of his new master, Satan, that he was completely controlled by the archenemy of all righteousness . . . Judas thus sold Jesus to the leaders of the Jews and himself to the devil. And he watched for the right moment when he might “conveniently betray him” (Mark 14:11). He sought opportunity to betray him “in the absence of the multitude” (Luke 22:6) . . . [on John 13:18-22] What was Judas’s motive for perpetrating such an unspeakable injustice against such a pure soul? The Prophet Joseph Smith offered these poignant observations:

 

“From apostates the faithful have received the severest persecutions. Judas was rebuked and immediately betrayed his Lord into the hands of His enemies, because Satan entered into him. There is a superior intelligence bestowed upon such as obey the Gospel with full purpose of heart, which, if sinned against, the apostate is left naked and destitute of the Spirit of God, and he is, in truth, nigh unto cursing. . . . When once that light which was in them is taken from them, they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened, and then . . . Judas like, seek the destruction of those who were their greatest benefactors. What nearer friend on earth, or in heaven, had Judas than the Savior? And his first object was to destroy Him. Who, among all the Saints in these last days can consider himself as good as our Lord? Who is as perfect? Who is as pure? Who is as holy as He was? Are they to be found? He never transgressed or broke a commandment or law of heaven—no deceit was in His mouth, neither was guile found in His heart. And yet one that ate with Him, who had often drunk of the same cup, was the first to lift up his heel against Him” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 67) . . . Joseph Smith translation Mark 14:30-31 explains a motive for Judas’s betraying Jesus:

 

“And he said unto Judas Iscariot, What thou doest, do quickly; but beware of innocent blood.

Nevertheless, Judas Iscariot, even one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests to betray Jesus unto them; for he turned away from him, and was offended because of his words” . . . C. Wilfred Griggs cautioned: “The reference in John 17:12 to the fulfillment of scripture in Judas’s betrayal (Psalm 41:9, quoted in John 13:18) shows that even the act was within the divine plan of the Father. One should not, however, assume that Judas acted without volition. God’s knowledge was not a causative agent depriving Judas of the responsibility to choose freely, act accordingly, and suffer the consequences of his actions” (in Holzapfel and Wayment, From the Last Supper through the Resurrection, 136). (D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, Verse by Verse Volume 1: The Four Gospels [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006], 545, 546, 551-52, 553-54, 584)