According to the Synoptic Gospels, Judas identified Jesus to the soldiers by means of a kiss. This is the kiss of Judas, also known (especially in art) as the Betrayal of Christ, and immediately precedes the Arrest of Jesus.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. [1] According to the John, Jesus responded by saying "Friend, do what you are here to do." This has caused speculation that Jesus and Judas were actually in agreement with each other and there was no real betrayal.[2] 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. 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.
According to the Synoptic Gospels, Judas identified Jesus to the soldiers by means of a kiss. This is the kiss of Judas, also known (especially in art) as the Betrayal of Christ, and immediately precedes the Arrest of Jesus.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. [1] According to the John, Jesus responded by saying "Friend, do what you are here to do." This has caused speculation that Jesus and Judas were actually in agreement with each other and there was no real betrayal.[2] 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. 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.