Garvey 1 Traitor, Friend, or Go-Go Dancer? How Jesus Christ Superstar Boldly Interprets Judas Iscariot Morgan Garvey (meli.garvey@gmail.com) California State University, Sacramento HRS 140: Exploring World Religions Professor Harvey Stark (harvey.stark@csus.edu)
Garvey 2 Listen, Jesus, I don t like what I see. All I ask is that you listen to me. And remember, I ve been your right-hand man all along. You have set them all on fire. They think they ve found the new messiah. And they ll hurt you when they find they re wrong. (Rice, 1969) Alone on the stage, Judas Iscariot sings this heartfelt lament about how Jesus has transformed his once-meaningful message into a superficial mess in the opening number of Jesus Christ Superstar. The song, Heaven on Their Minds, signals to the audience two important concepts: Judas is the main character of this play, and the audience is meant to see the events of Jesus last days through Judas eyes. This sympathetic portrayal of Judas was controversial, to say the least. Judas Iscariot is one of history s favorite scapegoats. An entire musical devoted to justifying his decisions was bound to have a mixed reception. Through the course of this paper, we will examine how the Bible casts Judas as one-dimensional and evil, and we ll compare this characterization to the Judas of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice s Jesus Christ Superstar, who has more depth as a stubborn, intelligent outcast. As an outcast, Judas experiences conflicting obligations to his teacher, Jesus, and to his Jewish community. We ll look at how Webber and Rice transformed Judas from a stoic Biblical character into an intelligent man, and how this intelligence leads to internal conflict, the betrayal of Jesus, and Judas ostracism. Biblically, Judas is portrayed as one of the primary villains of the Jesus story. He gave away Jesus whereabouts to the Romans in exchange for thirty pieces of silver and sealed his betrayal with a famous kiss. Hatred for Judas has been well-documented in the Christian Bible. For example, the canonic Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John all regard him with disdain, as evidenced by their repeated use of the word betray (Robinson, 2006). Where the
Garvey 3 gospels differ, however, is in the reasons they give for Judas actions. For example, Matthew posits that Judas acted out of greed, whereas Luke claims he was possessed by Satan (Robinson, 2006). Interestingly, the Gospel of Matthew is the only gospel that suggests Judas feared retribution for his actions. Matthew does so by stating that Judas hung himself, whereas the Book of Acts states that he died from a fall (Robinson, 2006). Moreover, whenever the apostles are listed in the Bible, Judas s name appears last on the list, signifying the authors negative perceptions of him (Mijangos, 1997). Clearly, the Bible offers only a negative view of Judas, which explains the strength of this association in Christian culture. Today, modern religious leaders still view Judas negatively, but there is more room for discussion about his motivations and validity of his guilt. Did he act out of greed? Was he truly doing what he thought was right, given the heated political climate of the time? If Jesus truly was divine, then shouldn t Judas be pardoned as an instrument of his will? (Gatchalian, 1971) These questions, pulled from an issue of TIME magazine published at the show s release, illustrate a departure from traditional Christian scholarship, which never discussed the motivations behind the actions of evildoers. Along similar lines, Christian scholar Craig Barnes suggests that Judas was conflicted, but not motivated by greed. He points to the fact that Judas tried to return the thirty pieces of silver, which suggests that there was no external motivation at play (Barnes, 2002). Most church officials current interpretations of Judas come from the canonic gospels, but the recently published Gospel of Judas offers a different point of view. This controversial document was lost to historians for over 1,700 years. It was finally recovered in Egypt in 1978, but wasn t translated and published until 2006 (Cockburn, 2006). It posits that because Jesus trusted Judas above the other apostles, he instructed Judas to turn him over to the Romans
Garvey 4 (Kasser, Meyer, Wurst, & Gaudard, 2008). This act is seen as freeing Jesus from his corporeal form rather than betraying him (Kasser et al, 2008). This new information aligns with the bourgeoning philosophy that Judas is not a traitor, but rather a key component in God s plan. In 1969, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the respective composer and lyricist for Jesus Christ Superstar, took the cardboard cut-out, evil character of the gospels Judas and transformed him into a more relatable character. They believed that the gospels only showed one side of Judas, and the side was overwhelmingly negative (Gatchalian, 1971, p. 65). The two wondered what it would be like to be in Judas position, without the benefit of knowing how history would unfold. After a great deal of rumination on Judas and his motives, a more sympathetic character began to emerge. Tim Rice explained, He did what he did, not because he was evil. He could see Christ becoming something he considered harmful to the Jews (Nassour, 1973, p. 41). Taking this point of view, Rice begins the process of transforming Judas into a concerned community member. As the character of Judas began to evolve, the two musicians looked to the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John for information about his life. However, they ended up drawing more from the first three as they found John s account to be clouded with visions and supernatural things (Gatchalian, 1971, p. 65). Rice stated, We stuck to the text and put in our interpretation of what we think could have happened (Nassour, 1973, p. 37). Since little was written about Judas personal history, the two tried to glean concrete facts about him from the text while simultaneously removing the negative affect from passages about him. The product is a more sympathetic, evolved Judas, whose choices are the result of ethical dilemmas rather than callous hate.
Garvey 5 However, Webber and Rice do not argue that Judas was a regular apostle. In particular, Rice perceived Judas as more intelligent than the others (Graves, 1971, p. 24). Though the Gospel of Judas had not been published at the time, it would have revealed that Judas similarly regarded himself as intellectually superior (Anderson, 2015). Rice portrays this intelligence through Judas keen political sense, as well as his ability to engage in philosophical debates with Jesus and the high priests. For example, while the other disciples are only paying attention to gossip and wine, Judas is the only one keeping a keen eye on the heated political climate that threatens their safety. Furthermore, while his fellow disciples take Jesus words at face value, Judas thinks critically about them and engages when he disagrees. In writing the libretto to Jesus Christ Superstar, Webber and Rice chose to portray Judas as a morally conflicted man, caught between his duty to his teacher, Jesus, and duty to his Jewish community. This conflict is explored in the aforementioned number, Heaven on Their Minds, in which Judas begs Jesus to consider the harm that will come to the followers if he continues his false prophecies: Listen Jesus, do you care for your race? Don t you see we must keep in our place? We are occupied Have your forgotten how put down we are? (Rice, 1969) This number demonstrates Judas disappointment with Jesus, who seems to have morphed from the people s prophet into a celebrity whose message is less important than fame. Judas is still clinging to their former way of life, in which there was a balance between the message and care for the community. Now, Judas senses that Jesus has become sensationalized and may be risking
Garvey 6 the safety of the Jewish community for it. This represents a turning point where Judas begins to feel he must look out for the Jews, as Jesus no longer has the presence of mind to do so. In a later scene, Webber and Rice try to handle the scene of betrayal with care. They portray Judas as distressed when convening with the high priests. In this scene, he desperately begs them to assure him that he is doing the right thing. He cries: Why are we the ones who see the sad solution, now what must be done? I have no thought about my own reward. I really didn t come here on my own accord! (Rice, 1969) He even tries to reject the silver, only to be persuaded that he can give it to charity. Shaking and crying, Judas accepts the money and quietly reveals where Jesus can be found and arrested in a few days time. In this way, Webber and Rice attempt to dissuade the audience from thinking that Judas was solely motivated by greed, as the gospel of Matthew would have them believe. Instead, Webber and Rice push the audience towards seeing this as an act of desperation. It is Judas only course of action, for he does not want to see his community persecuted and Jesus will not yield on his own. Furthermore, Webber and Rice explore the relationship between Judas and Jesus. Their interactions are tense and characterized by ethical disagreements. Judas laments that at one time, he was Jesus right-hand man but has since become disillusioned with him: To think I admired you Well now I despise you. You sad, pathetic man, see what you ve brought us to? Our ideals die around us, and all because of you. (Rice, 1969)
Garvey 7 Jesus in turn warns Judas that he will be lost and [ ] sorry when Jesus is gone (Rice, 1969). In other scenes, Judas criticizes Jesus for acting in reckless disregard for the danger presented by the Romans and high priests. Jesus chides Judas for not grasping the bigger picture: JUDAS: [Mary Magdalene] doesn t fit in well with what you teach and say. It doesn t help us if you re inconsistent. They only need a small excuse to put us all away. JESUS: If your slate is clean, then you can throw stones. If your slate is not, then leave her alone! [ ] I m amazed that men like you can be so shallow, thick, and slow. (Rice, 1969) As Scott Miller, author of Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals puts it, Judas is the practical one, concerned with image [ ] Jesus is concerned only with the Message (2011, p. 103). In other words, Judas is concerned with immediate threats and issues, whereas Jesus has his eyes on the bigger picture. Miller also goes on to say that they both care passionately about the cause and each other (2011, p. 130). The tug-of-war that results from these conflicting passions is evident in three particular numbers: Strange Thing Mystifying, Everything s Alright, and The Last Supper. In the first, Judas chides Jesus for spending too much time with Mary Magdalene, which Judas thinks is damaging to their image. He argues, They only need a small excuse to put us all away (Rice, 1969). In Everything s Alright, the two clash again, with Judas shaming Jesus for wasting money on oils when it could instead be spent on the poor. Jesus retorts that there will be poor always (Rice, 1969). Tension comes to a boiling point in The Last Supper,
Garvey 8 where Jesus reveals to the disciples that he knows Judas will betray him. Judas finally speaks his mind without reservation, and tells Jesus that he must be turned in like a common criminal (Rice, 1969). Jesus throws him out of the Garden of Gethsemane, to which Judas later returns with Roman soldiers. In all of these scenes, Judas is the sole voice that speaks without support from any apostles. Though he makes fair and practical points, and in many cases argues for the protection of the Jewish people, his opinion is automatically devalued compared to Jesus. This trend further alienates Judas from the group. After seeing Jesus beaten and bloodied, Judas laments to the Pharisees that he has made the wrong choice. He now knows that he will be hated and persecuted for the death of the innocent Jesus. The more troubling thought, however, is that Jesus may not forgive him. He intones in a slow, haunting rendition of I Don t Know How to Love Him : When he s cold and dead, will he let me be? Does he love me too? (Rice, 1969). Before hanging himself, Judas realizes that he has been used by God (Rice, 1969). I ll never know why, he cries, reflecting the conclusion that Webber and Rice came to in their meditations on motivation: it was as unclear to Judas as it is to us today (Rice, 1969). After Judas death, the focus of the story shifts back to Jesus trial where Pilate famously washes his hands of the innocent puppet. At this point, Judas returns in the form of a hallucination or spirit to watch over Jesus as he carries the crucifix. Now Judas mood is noticeably different. He seems light-hearted and unburdened by the practical troubles of his former life. He even chuckles at the spectacle below and laughingly shakes his head in disbelief. His views, now unmarred by his worldly relationship with Jesus, clearly state in the final number what he has been struggling to ask Jesus for the entire play: Every time I look at you, I don t understand
Garvey 9 Why you let the things you did get so out of hand. You d have managed better if you d had a plan Why d you choose such a backwards time and such a strange land? [...] Did you mean to die like that? Was that a mistake, or, did you know your message would be a record-breaker? [ ] Jesus Christ, superstar, Do you think you re what they say you are? (Rice, 1969) This scene represents an overt departure from the scripture. Not only is Judas given a clairvoyant voice in the afterlife; he uses it to question Jesus choices and actions during his time on Earth. Furthermore, this shift towards somewhat omniscient narration demonstrates that Webber and Rice ultimately saw Judas as innocent, as his post-mortem fate can be implied by the heavenly chorus that accompanies him. In summation, Jesus Christ Superstar takes the one-dimensional Judas of the Bible and transforms him into a relatable, conflicted man. Within the Christian faith, there was a divide between those who revered the show and those who reviled it. More often than not, these divides were even found among members of the same congregations, as some stood outside the theater in protest while their fellow members went inside with tickets in hand (Gatchalian, 1971). For the most part, this divide was based on perception of the show s meaning. Those who loved it did so because it brought to life the archaic stories of the Bible in an innovative way. Those who loathed the production based their criticism on the artistic liberties taken with the scripture.
Garvey 10 Regardless of what stance the church took on the play, the fact remains that Webber and Rice were successful in getting an entire nation to consider the questions with which they began. More importantly, Webber and Rice seemed to have tapped into a concept of Judas that is popular among modern theologians: intelligent but conflicted. In writing the show from this perspective, they challenge Christians to step into the shoes of their most hated apostle. Webber and Rice s Judas is well-summarized by Carl Anderson, who played the role on stage and in the first film adaptation: a tortured soul and one of the greatest parts ever written (Duckett, 2003).
Garvey 11 References Anderson, P. (2015). Judas -- Traitor or Hero? College of Christian Studies. Retrieved October 22, 2015. Barnes, C. (2002). The Judas chromosome. Christian Century, 119(5), 21 Cockburn, A. (2006). The Gospel of Judas. Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text.html Duckett, R. (2003). Carl Anderson; A veteran Judas; `Jesus Christ Superstar' role has been his bread and butter. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/docview/268870947/8504ba1d6b424af1 PQ/6?accountid=10358 Gatchalian, R. (1971). The Gold Rush to Golgotha. TIME, 64-71. Graves, R. (1971). The Wrenching Rock Opera, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' Life, 21-26. Kasser, R., Meyer, M., Wurst, G., & Gaudard, F. (2008). The Gospel of Judas: From Codex Tchacos (pp. 8-15). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Books. Mijangos, M. (1997). The Innocence of Judas In Film. Retrieved from http://academics.hamilton.edu/religious_studies/home/mijangos.html Miller, S. (2011). Jesus Christ Superstar. In Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals (pp. 84-111). Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press. Nassour, E., & Broderick, R. (1973). Rock opera; the creation of Jesus Christ superstar, from record album to Broadway show and motion picture (36-8). New York, NY: Hawthorn Books. Rice, Tim. (1969). Jesus Christ Superstar.
Garvey 12 Robinson, B. (2006). What the canonic gospels say about Judas. Retrieved October 29, 2015 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/gospj1.htm.