Kiss of Judas

The kiss of Judas, also known (especially in art) as the Betrayal of Christ, is how Judas identified Jesus, according to the Synoptic Gospels. The kiss occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper and leads directly to the arrest of Jesus by the police force of the Sanhedrin.

More broadly, a Judas kiss may refer to "an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is in fact harmful to the recipient."

Both Matthew (26:47–50) and Mark (14:43–45) 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. According to 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 that there was no real betrayal.

The scene is nearly always included, either as the Kiss itself, or the moment after, in the Arrest of Jesus, or the two combined (as above), in the cycles of the Life of Christ or Passion of Jesus in various media.

Fresco by Fra Angelico, San Marco, Florence, 1437–1446

Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss, in Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, between 1503 and 1508

Study for The Judas Kiss by Gustave Doré, 1865

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