Function Order: Se-Fi-Te-Ni

Judas comes into the story as a salesman who has been helping his business partner buy up pieces of land for a pittance and then profit off them by turning them into something else, but when he hears Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and sees how successfully he heals people, he immediately drops that business venture to follow him. ESPs are quick to make up their minds and act, and are often in on the “ground floor” of things, because they see how it’s impacting the world around them. He immediately acclimates to the disciples, becomes involved in their lives, and is given the responsibility of looking after the money, due to his natural knack for it. But his interaction with his sister suggests that Judas has a habit of abandoning things whenever something new catches his eye—she thinks he could have done much better financially with the house he inherited from their folks, and also points out that he has had several careers. Even though Judas is something of a con man at the start, he also has more of a conscience than his ESTP partner—he doesn’t feel it’s completely right to cheat people. He can be very warm, tender, and supportive, but also dismissive of other people and their problems when he’s lost in his own thoughts—such as shutting the door in people’s faces, or telling them he doesn’t know where Jesus is, without thinking about how that person might need help finding Jesus. His Te shows in his business sense, how good he is with numbers, and being a financial wizard who makes sound investments (he helps Zeb get his olive grove business off the ground, and says it’s a worthy investment). But he has very poor intuition, in that he still thinks their ultimate goal is to gather an army and free the Jewish nation from oppression. He doesn’t see how Jesus’ abstract messages are very different from the ideal he holds in his mind (the “end game”).

Enneagram: 3w2 sp/so

Judas certainly belongs to the competency triad—he is all about doing things competently, even if he doesn’t always succeed about them. He is very proud about being good with money and making good business deals, but is also highly aware of how things “look” to other people. When Andrew and Philip get back from their trip, they find him making food packets to give away, per Jewish tradition on this holiday. He is also thrilled to move into Matthew’s house, because there is much he can liquidate on the premises and turn into profits for the ministry. He’s also assertive in that he is the first disciple to ask to follow Jesus, rather than to be called – he sees a good thing happening and wants to get into the middle of it, so he assumes this is where he belongs and is confident that Jesus is going to be receptive to his request. He was very good at “conning” people in his prior job, which speaks to his natural ability to be likable and charming, but he also is genuinely concerned for others’ welfare and wants to help them where he can (his 2 wing desire to be included and seek affirmation and acceptance from others by being generous and helpful).

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