article_snippet: My understanding was always that Judas betrayed Jesus not because Judas was a villain, but Judas thought Jesus would start an earthly war when arrested.
article_snippet: Judas was trying to get Jesus to establish a literal, physical kingdom on Earth.
article_snippet: What motivated Judas to betray Jesus?
article_snippet: It is true, though, that many have speculated that Judas may have been some kind of zealot or freedom fighter, and Judas has often been depicted in this way in film and fiction.
article_snippet: With this theory, Judas was trying to force Jesus hand.
article_snippet: It has sometimes been said that perhaps the word "Iscariot" is a corruption of the word "sicarii," which means "dagger bearer," and that would provide some backing to this theory.
article_snippet: However, (John 12.4-6) identifies Judas as "Son of Simon Iscariot", which makes the "sicarii" theory less likely.
article_snippet: In the end, we may have to accept that we simply will never know the answer to the question about Judas motivation.
article_snippet: Jesus know Judas would betray Jesus when/before Judas chose Jesus?
article_snippet: the Gospel of Judas writers themselves single out Judas as the one who would betray Jesus (more accurately "hand Jesus over") as soon as themselves introduce Jesus (e.g. Mark 3.19), but themselves, of course, are writing with the benefit of hindsight.
article_snippet: If you would like to read more about Judas, a good starting point is provided in this article on the Society of Biblical Literature's Bible Odyssey website.  
article_snippet: And if you would like to read more about the Gospel of Judas, "Finding Jesus" contributor April DeConick discusses Jesus" contributor on Bible Odyssey.