Against Celsus 2.11

Then Celsus's Jew learned from the Gospels that Jesus "was betrayed by those he called disciples," calling the one Judas many disciples in order to seem to increase the charge. But he did not trouble himself further with everything recorded about Judas: that Judas, falling into conflicting and contrary judgments about his teacher, neither turned against him with his whole soul nor kept with his whole soul the respect of a pupil for his teacher. For "he who betrayed him gave" the crowd that came to arrest Jesus "a sign, saying: The one I kiss is he; seize him," preserving some of his respect for him; for if he had not preserved it, he would have betrayed him openly, without the pretense of a kiss. Will this not persuade everyone about Judas's intention—that together with his love of money and his wicked intention to betray his teacher, he had something mixed in his soul, produced in him by the words of Jesus, which showed, so to speak, a remnant of goodness? For it is written that "when Judas, who betrayed him, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying: I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. But they said: What is that to us? See to it yourself. And throwing the silver into the temple, he departed, and went and hanged himself." If Judas, the lover of money, who stole what was put into "the money box" for the poor, "repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders," clearly the teachings of Jesus were able to produce some repentance in him, and were not wholly despised and spat out by the traitor; and the words "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood" were those of one confessing his sin. See how burning and violent was the grief that came upon him from repentance for his sins, so that he could no longer bear to live, but threw the silver "into the temple," departed, went away, and hanged himself. For he condemned himself, showing how much power the teaching of Jesus had even in the sinner Judas, the thief and traitor, who could not wholly despise what he had learned from Jesus. Or will Celsus and his friends say that the things showing that Judas was not wholly apostate, even after what he dared against his teacher, are inventions, and that only this is true, that one of the disciples betrayed him, and will they add to what is written that he betrayed him with his whole soul? It is implausible to do everything as an enemy with the same writings, both believing and disbelieving. And if we must also set out an argument about Judas that should put them to shame, we will say that in the book of Psalms the whole of the hundred and eighth Psalm contains the prophecy about Judas, which begins: "O God, do not keep silent at my praise, for the mouth of a sinner and the mouth of a deceitful man has been opened against me." It is also prophesied in it that Judas separated himself from the number of the apostles because of his sin, and another was chosen in his place; and this is shown in the words, "And let another take his office." But suppose he was betrayed by one of the disciples worse disposed than Judas, who, as it were, poured out all the words he had heard from Jesus: what does this contribute to an accusation of Jesus or of Christianity? And how does it prove the teaching false? We have already answered what follows in what went before, showing that Jesus was not caught fleeing but gave himself up willingly for us all. From this it follows that if he was bound, he was bound willingly, teaching us to accept such things willingly for the sake of godliness.