A quick search of images of Judas Iscariot as imagined by artists over the centuries did not show him to be a good-looking man. I suppose humans have a tendency to portray the villain to be wickedly ugly, or to think that wickedly ugly faces have a tendency to be evil. To think otherwise I suppose is the exception. If I were to imagine what Judas Iscariot looked like, he would be the handsome disciple who became wickedly sinful. Furthermore, I imagine him to be the disciple Jesus loved second most, after John [1] whom I imagine to have an angelic face full of boyish innocence.
Why do I out on a limb to say that Judas was the second most beloved disciple of Jesus? I do this because it came to my mind, and I will make the case here.
Peter, whom Jesus relied on as the bedrock of His universal church, was a beloved disciple to be sure, but not the second most beloved. Peter was the fisherman. I see him as rugged, tall and strong, a straight-forward, no-nonsense leader, a virtuous man who spoke his mind, even though he denied Jesus three times when he was in fear of his life after Jesus was arrested [2]. He was the "go-to" guy for Jesus. We all should have someone like Peter in our lives, trustworthy and always reliable -- almost always reliable -- Peter did fall asleep at the Garden of Gethsemane [3]. Peter was very good but Peter was not perfect. He would be the third most beloved disciple of Jesus.
Then why would I put Judas Iscariot above Peter as Jesus' second most beloved even though he was the one who betrayed Jesus in the end? Precisely because Judas Iscariot was the betrayer, he had to be the most dear to Jesus after John because by having someone so dear to Jesus turn against Him, Jesus would be most hurt. The pain Jesus felt was truly indescribable when Judas gave Jesus his final kiss, a gesture so intimate, so tender and so close to the heart, a gesture that Judas had repeated so many times before out of his genuine and intense love for Christ. This was Judas' last kiss, a kiss of betrayal so painful that Jesus said with unconditional love [4] and without spite [5], with His heart full of pain, "Judas, how can you do this—betray the Messiah with a kiss?" [6]
Even though Jesus knew ahead of time Judas would betray Him, the rest of the eleven disciples did not. [7] John, the most beloved disciple, was not a suspect, nor was Peter, the born leader. Judas Iscariot was also not a suspect because he was the second most beloved disciple based on my analysis, and he was not wickedly ugly which based on human's prejudicial nature would have made him culpable in the eyes of the rest of the disciples. In my mind, Judas' good looks gave him the credibility he needed to present his offer to the chief priests to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. [8], [9]
[1] http://www.guidedbiblestudies.com/topics/johndisciplejesusloves.htm
[2] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+26:69-75
[3] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:36-45
[4] Unconditional love is the only kind of love Jesus has.
[5] Even Jesus knew Judas would betray Him as the last supper, He still washed Judas' feet. See http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13:1-17, especially http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13%3A10-11&version=NIV . Jesus is never spiteful.
[6] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+22%3A48&version=TLB
[7] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022:7-23
[8] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+14:10-11
[9] According to one analysis online (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_30_pieces_of_silver_in_the_21st_century), adjusted for inflation, the thirty pieces of silver in the 21st century is worth about $13,000 USD. No Jewish chief priest is going to give someone wickedly ugly claiming to be Jesus disciple US$13,000 to identify Jesus. After all, how difficult was it to identify Jesus? Was He not often seen preaching to a large crowd and performing miracles?
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