James Bond movies have made the poison kiss part of our cultural language. It was always the beautiful enemy spy who would pass the poison. What makes the delivery system so striking is the mixed messages given. The kiss is a sign of intimacy and affection. Kisses are usually reserved for family. In some cultures cheek kisses are exchanged when greeting takes place. “You may kiss the Bride” signals the official start of a marriage. Kisses before this moment didn’t really count. This is the first official kiss of the new couple.
So when a kiss is used to pass poison, an agent of illness and death, the mixture of messages is stark. Intimacy is about trust and care. Poison is about hatred and vengeance. So to put these two together is a great combination.
Judas is going to betray Jesus with a kiss. Hear the contrast? But a kiss really was the perfect action for making sure Jesus was the One arrested. Judas didn’t want any mistakes, and neither did those who wanted Him arrested. Judas wanted his money; they wanted Him dead. So they had to be sure the right person was nabbed.
Pointing a finger in the middle of the night wouldn’t narrow the field down much. Neither would describing Jesus’ clothing or appearance. Most men dressed pretty much the same back then. Most would have had beards and long hair. And in the late night light, with only some torches to provide flickering light.
So the kiss by Judas was the perfect identifying act. Judas would be close enough to ensure that Jesus was the one He was identifying. He was going to kiss, after all. Now before you get too grossed out, it would have been a kiss on the cheek, not a strange HBO kiss between grown men. It would have been a mutual kiss on the cheek, like some Europeans do still today.
And those who have come to carry out their orders seize on the signal and arrest Jesus. There isn’t much this group of twelve men could do to resist this group of professional soldier and guards. They had trained together for this type of mission. They knew exactly what to do if there was any resistance to their actions. They were carrying out their activity with the authority of Rome behind them. You couldn’t get much more powerful than that.
Remember, a kiss is a powerful thing. Don’t take it for granted. Hopefully the kisses you experience today will be ones that don’t trigger an armed response unit!
The Arnold Journey 