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Subject: Kata Markon

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  • From: "Rick Frommich" <eugor3 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: gmark AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: The kiss and Peter
  • Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:09:36



It is clear from the evidence in Paul's letters that greeting a brother with a kiss was customary in the early stages of the Jesus movement. Judas's kiss was the ultimate betrayal because it was the customary greeting kiss of a spiritual brother by which Jesus was betrayed. I am inclined to see the betrayal and kiss as historical and not contrived at all. We must remember that even among the synoptics the question of wether nor not the kiss actually happened is inconsistant. However all four gospels make it quite clear that there was a Judas and that he did betray Jesus.

Many of the questions that arise concerning events in the life of the Jesus of the Gospels that are not reported by Paul are do to the fact that the Jesus of the Gospels is Not the same as the Jesus of Paul. The Jesus of the Gospels, in many respects, actually mirrors the life of Paul as that life was viewed after the Apostle's death. Paul never mentions John the Baptist but no one is saying that John did not exist because Paul does not mention him. In the same fashion we must not dismiss the betrayal by Judas as pure fiction simply because it is not mentioned in the Pauline letters.

From: JFAlward AT aol.com
Reply-To: "Kata Markon" <gmark AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
To: "Kata Markon" <gmark AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: [gmark] Re: The kiss and Peter
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 01:39:41 EST

In a message dated 3/3/02 9:50:23 PM Pacific Standard Time,
diadem AT netaus.net.au writes:

<< I wonder why some of you infer that there were any of the high priests
present among the arresting party? The various people in that party are
'from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders' (Mk. 14:43, cf
Mat. 26:47) This means that whoever was the leader of the arresting
party may not have been able to recognise Jesus late at night, hence the
kiss from Judas. >>

It's true that there may not have been any priests or elders in the arresting
party, but it's clear that there probably were many in the crowd who knew
Jesus and recognized him. Mark has Jesus address the arresting crowd and
remind them that "every day" (Mark 14:49) he was with them, teaching in the
temple. They didn't need Judas to find Jesus for them, and even if they did,
a kiss wouldn't have been necessary; just a tap on Jesus' shoulder would be
enough.

The reason for the kiss is pretty clear, in my opinion: Mark wanted his
readers to believe that Scripture was being fulfilled in Jesus, so he made up
the story about the Judas kiss.


Joseph F. Alward
"A Skeptical View of Christianity and the Bible"
http://members.aol.com/jalw/joseph_alward.html

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  • Re: The kiss and Peter, Rick Frommich, 03/10/2002

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