Judas Iscariot

Perhaps one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Judas Iscariot, is known as a thief and deceiver (John 12:6), betrayer (Luke 22:48), and someone possessed by Satan (John 13:2,27). There are two theories concerning his surname. The first is that it comes from the word “sicarii”, who were a group of Jewish assassins, who were bent on overthrowing Roman rule. Since scholars believe the sicarii arose in the 40’s or 50’s A.D., it is unlikely Judas was associated with them. The more likely explanation is that Judas was from Kerioth, the name of two towns in Judea.

Why Judas betrayed Jesus is not entirely clear, but it appears that he never fully understood, or accepted the mission of Christ. In fact, Jesus knew Judas would betray Him when He chose him, and seems to have intentionally chosen him to fulfill the prophecy that a close companion of Jesus would betray Him (John 13:18, c.f. Ps 41:9). The Bible also says that “the devil put into the heart” of Judas to betray Jesus, and that “Satan entered” him. Judas’ one redeeming point may be that he had regret after he betrayed Jesus, so that he returned to the chief priests and said “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt 27:4). His grief over the betrayal seems to have led him to commit suicide by hanging.

Some see a discrepancy in the money that Judas was paid to betray Jesus. Matthew records that it was thrown into the temple and the chief priests used it to buy a potter’s field where foreigners could be buried (27:6-8). However, Acts 1:18-19 says that Judas bought the land. This is explained in that the law forbade using ‘blood money’ to purchase sacred things. The money still belonged to Judas, but the priests spent it for him.¹

The means of death also confuse some. Matthew 27:5 records that Judas hung himself. Acts 1:18 says “falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.” The place of the potter’s field is a hillside, marked by small cliffs with tombs cut into them. It is likely Judas hung himself on a tree near one of these cliffs, and that the rope or branch broke, either at the time of the hanging or after his death.