Filled with remorse after the condemnation of Jesus, Judas tries to return the silver. When the priests refuse it, he casts the money into the temple and hangs himself.
But what if we’ve been reading him wrong? What if, buried beneath the thirty pieces of silver, there is a story far more tragic, and far more unsettling, than simple greed?
The full story of "Judas" is a modern retelling of the greatest betrayal in history, used to explore the human condition of loving the wrong people. It is a tragedy about a woman who finds holiness boring and danger irresistible, ultimately realizing that she is not the victim of Judas’s betrayal, but a willing participant in her own downfall.
Directed by Laurieann Gibson, the music video expands the song into a full cinematic story set within a modern-day biker gang called "The Twelve."
Here is the theological knife twist: Without Judas, there is no crucifixion. Without the crucifixion, no resurrection. Without the resurrection, no Christianity.
The New Testament contains two separate accounts of how Judas died:
That explains why he didn't spend the silver. He threw it back at the priests and went out to hang himself. It was the suicide of a broken idealist, not a successful con man.
Here, the story shifts from biblical drama to modern pop culture commentary. Gaga acknowledges that people (and perhaps religious critics) view her as irredeemable. However, she embraces the controversy. She frames the "betrayal" of traditional values as a bold move into the future. She asks Judas to kiss her anyway, accepting her fate as an outsider.
Filled with remorse after the condemnation of Jesus, Judas tries to return the silver. When the priests refuse it, he casts the money into the temple and hangs himself.
But what if we’ve been reading him wrong? What if, buried beneath the thirty pieces of silver, there is a story far more tragic, and far more unsettling, than simple greed?
The full story of "Judas" is a modern retelling of the greatest betrayal in history, used to explore the human condition of loving the wrong people. It is a tragedy about a woman who finds holiness boring and danger irresistible, ultimately realizing that she is not the victim of Judas’s betrayal, but a willing participant in her own downfall.
Directed by Laurieann Gibson, the music video expands the song into a full cinematic story set within a modern-day biker gang called "The Twelve."
Here is the theological knife twist: Without Judas, there is no crucifixion. Without the crucifixion, no resurrection. Without the resurrection, no Christianity.
The New Testament contains two separate accounts of how Judas died:
That explains why he didn't spend the silver. He threw it back at the priests and went out to hang himself. It was the suicide of a broken idealist, not a successful con man.
Here, the story shifts from biblical drama to modern pop culture commentary. Gaga acknowledges that people (and perhaps religious critics) view her as irredeemable. However, she embraces the controversy. She frames the "betrayal" of traditional values as a bold move into the future. She asks Judas to kiss her anyway, accepting her fate as an outsider.
