Judas Iscariot

Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. –– Mark 13:12

Great men often start great causes. Great causes attract loyal cadres of followers. However, all followers do not remain constant in their loyalty. Some become discouraged. Others become discontented. Some leave the cause for other pursuits, while still others actively turn against the cause with which they formerly identified. These are the betrayers.

Betrayers are not unusual in biblical accounts. God has His Lucifer, Moses his Korah, David his Ahithophel, Jesus his Judas, and Paul his Demas to name just a few.

Reasons for Betrayal

There are a variety of reasons why an individual turns from being a follower to becoming a traitor to the cause. The above biblical examples illustrate some of these rationales.

Lucifer: Pride, mixed with unbridled ambition appears to be the motivation of Lucifer. Under the figure of Leviathan, Satan is called “the king over all the children of pride” in Job 41:34. The prophet Isaiah (14:13,14) writes of him, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Korah: In the case of the rebellion of Korah, along with his companions Abiram and Dathan, the apparent cause was envy. Notice the scriptural testimony of Numbers 16:3, quoting the three conspirators as they voice their complaints before Moses and Aaron: “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”

Ahithophel: The cause of the defection of King David’s chief adviser, Ahithophel, is less apparent. It may have been ambition or disappointment in not being heeded as often as he would have liked. Many commentators suggest these reasons, but there is nothing in the account to support such speculations. We suggest that vengeance may have been the motivating factor.

Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba, the woman David stole to be his queen from her husband Uriah (cf. 2 Samuel 23:34 and 11:3). As the patriarch of the family, he would have felt the brunt of the shame for David’s brazen treatment of his married granddaughter. His first advice to Absalom, the rebellious son, was in harmony with such a feeling of shame, “And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong” (2 Samuel 16:21).

Demas: When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistle from Rome to the Corinthian church and his private letter to Philemon, he sent greetings from Demas (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24). However, not long after he wrote to his beloved Timothy, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10). Here Paul diagnoses the problem as discontent with the life of sacrifice and the entrance of the spirit of materialism.

Judas Iscariot

This brings us to our main subject, Judas Iscariot. As an apostle, he trekked with the other eleven along with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. He was the only non-Galilean of this elect group, being from the southern Judean city of Kerioth (now identified with the ruins of el-Karjetein, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem). Tradition says that he, like Simon the Cananaean (Mark 3:18 ASV), was a Zealot, a political party in Israel militantly opposed to Rome. It is probable that the word “Canaanite” should be translated, as “Zealot,” as the New American Standard version has it.

Judas and Simon are listed together in the above text and may have been companions in the “Zealot” movement before their gospel call. Although the canonical New Testament does not give the details of their conversion, the apocryphal Gospel of the Twelve Apostles, a second-century document of the Ebionites, says they were called along with the fishermen at the sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22). (See International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Judas Iscariot.”)

Although the gospel record states that Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would be the betrayer (John 6:64), Judas was entrusted with the funds for the entire group (John 12:6). This seems at first a contradiction to a godlike character, for we read in James 1:13 that God does not tempt any man. The Greek word used here for tempted has two distinct meanings:

(1) solicitation to sin; and (2) trials or testing arising from providential situations or circumstances (Adam Clark’s Commentary on The Bible). It is the former from which God restrains, while the latter are often permitted to test the worthiness of the individual.

While Jesus knew the heart of Judas from the beginning, he did not leave any clues for the other disciples to know until after Judas made the positive decision to take action. This fateful decision was not implemented until the last week of Jesus’ life, after the festive dinner at which Mary broke the alabaster box of ointment to anoint her Lord.

The Thought Begets the Deed

It was then that Judas and certain other disciples, perhaps at the instigation of Judas, complained about the money which they considered to be wasted by spilling the precious ointment. “This could have better been given to the poor,” the complainers argued. It was after the rebuke of Jesus to the misguided disciples that we read, “from that time he [Judas] sought opportunity to betray him [Jesus]” (Matthew 26:16).

The Luke account (22:2-6) implies that the chief priests and scribes took the next step. When they let the word out that they were seeking Jesus for the purpose of having the death sentence pronounced upon him, Satan tempted Judas who quickly rose to the bait (22:3). Now it was only a matter of waiting for a convenient season when he could be arrested out of the view of the general populace (22:6).

The quiet hours of the evening before the Passover provided the perfect opportunity. After partaking of the supper Jesus let it be known that he would be going with his disciples to their usual haunt at the Garden of Gethsemane (possibly a private garden of the residence owned by the mother of John Mark) for a discussion with his followers and a session of private prayer.

It was at the upper room meal that Jesus informed the twelve that one of them was a traitor. It appears that Judas joined the rest in their frightened inquiry, “Is it I, Lord?” Since he had already contracted with the priests and scribes, such an inquiry seems like rank hypocrisy. What must have been his thoughts as Jesus dropped the identifying clue, quoting from Psalm 41:9, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”

Then the matter becomes even clearer when, in seeming fulfillment of the psalmist’s prophetic words, “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon” (John 13:26).

Next, we read “And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.” The thought apparently is that Satan re- entered Judas, for we read that Satan had already entered into him before this time (Luke 22:3). The dual use of this phrase implies that there was a time between the two incidents when Judas was not so directly under Satanic influence. Oh, if he had only fled the temptation facing him! It has been well said that “some men flee temptation while others crawl away, hoping it will catch up with them.” Judas was of the latter sort.

The die was cast. Judas does not return to the upper room. Jesus and the remaining eleven finish the meal, the elements of the new Memorial are introduced, and a psalm is sung. Then the small group has a last conversation with their Master as they walk the deserted night path to the Kidron valley, where Jesus crosses into the garden to pray.

Soon a band of soldiers assigned to the Sanhedrin arrived with Judas as their leader (John 18:3 NIV). The hypocrisy of the traitor becomes more evident when he presumes to greet Jesus in the usual manner of a “holy kiss.” The badge of friendship became the instrument of treachery. Jesus’ sad reaction, “Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” is indicative of the hurt that was caused by the manner of betrayal.

In Matthew 26:50 the Authorized and many other versions, portray Jesus as calling Judas “Friend.” This is a misleading, though not inaccurate, translation. The Greek language has two words for “Friend,” the endearing philos, or “beloved friend,” and the more formal hetairos, better translated “comrade,” denoting someone with whom there was an association in activity. Jesus was not addressing Judas with an endearing term but rather a word showing that they had walked together for a period of time.

The Death of Judas

As the events of the sham trial and crucifixion quickly follow, Judas is struck with remorse at the heinousness of his crime. He seeks to return the money and, indeed, even after being refused by the Pharisees, casts it at their feet. He then proceeds to commit suicide, though there is an apparent discrepancy between the biblical accounts of the exact manner of his death.

Matthew 27:5 informs us that he hanged himself, while Acts 1:18 has him falling forward, bursting “asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” The discrepancy is only an apparent one and can be easily harmonized. The Latin Vulgate hints at the solution with its translation of the Acts text, “When he hanged himself, he burst asunder.” The suggestion is that the rope used for his hanging broke, and he fell forward on the sharp rocks which cut open his belly so that the intestines gushed forth.

The Potter’s Field

Although Peter’s account in Acts concurs with the gospel of Matthew that the thirty pieces of silver were used to purchase a potter’s field, there is a seeming discrepancy between the accounts as to who the purchaser was. In Acts, the purchase is by Judas, while the Matthew account indicates it was made by the chief priests with the money cast at their feet. In all probability, both are true since the chief priests were only acting, in effect, as unwilling agents of money which they considered still as belonging to Judas. While they made the transaction, they made it in the name of the traitor.

The field is called the potter’s field because of its former use, but now it is known as the “field of blood,” Akeldama in the Aramaic language, because it was bought with blood money. There is good ground for the traditional location of this field at the base of the mountain just south of the old Mount Zion, where the Tyropean and Hinnom valleys merge into the valley of the Kidron.

That location is suggestive of a rich symbolic meaning. The Hinnom valley, Gehenna, is an oft-used picture of the second death, while the Kidron valley, even today one vast cemetery, well represents the death sentence pronounced on Adam and his race. Overlooking the gateway, or entrance to these two valleys, is the potter’s field. In the position purchased with the price of Jesus’ life, the Savior is qualified to be the judge over all death, redeeming all from Adamic condemnation (the Kidron) and determining who will ultimately end up in the second death (Gehenna).

Prophecies About Judas

The prophetic allusion accredited in Matthew 27:9 to Jeremiah is found in Zechariah 11:12,13. This is not a discrepancy since the Jewish Bible is divided into three sections — the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. Isaiah in the Masoretic opens with Jeremiah in most of the older Hebrew versions. Thus, a quotation from any part of this Book of the Prophets, which included Zechariah, could properly be attributed to the Book of Jeremiah (see the writings of David Kimchi, Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown, and Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible).

In the Zechariah text the prophet takes two shepherd’s staves, named Beauty and Bands, and breaking them, shows the cessation of God’s pastoral relationship toward Israel. The staff, Beauty, depicts the cessation of his covenant with them, while Bands indicates the deterioration of the relationship between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern monarchy of Judah. The prophecy of the potter’s field is a part of the former. It was this act, brought about by the treachery of Judas, that marked the termination of the law’s relationship to “them that believed” (Colossians 2:14; Romans 10:4).

The Apostle Peter applies another Old Testament prophecy to Judas in Acts 1:20, “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take.” He here blends two prophecies of the Psalms and applies both to Judas.

“Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents” (Psalm 69:25) and “Let his days be few; and let another take his office” (Psalm 109:8).

Though we have no assurance that he is correctly applying these texts (certainly the conclusion to select a replacement for Judas was incorrect), the verse in Psalm 109 does contain several elements which fit the case of Judas strikingly. The apostles erred in thinking they were to make the replacement; the replacement was to be made by God who chose Paul to take the place of the apostate Judas.

Two more Psalms appear to be connected with Judas’ story. Both were written by David shortly after the rebellion of Absalom and seem to refer, in their immediate context, to David’s chief adviser Ahithophel.

The first of these is Psalm 41:9, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” A similar, but somewhat longer reference, is found in Psalm 55:12-14, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” Ahithophel becomes the prototype of Judas. They were both part of their benefactor’s inner circle. They both betrayed their leader. They both ended their lives in suicide (see 2 Samuel 17:23). In Psalm 55 we gain a little feeling for the emotions that rose up in both David and Jesus.

The Motivation of Judas

While the motivations of such traitors as Lucifer, Korah, Ahithophel, and Demas are somewhat transparent, such is not the case with Judas. The apostle John suggests he may have been motivated by greed. Yet thirty pieces of silver was hardly a sufficient sum to provide such motivation. Others have suggested disillusionment with the cause. As a Zealot, he may have been looking for a more active role in overthrowing Rome and establishing a kingdom here and now. The most logical reason is suggested by the timing of his betrayal of Jesus. It was immediately after the reprimand at the supper in Bethany where the costly ointment, worth four to ten times more than the pieces of silver, was used by Mary. This timing suggests anger at being reprimanded by the Master for his attitude.

The Fate of Judas

The ultimate fate of Judas has been a hotly debated issue for many years. Some feel that he will not have a resurrection from the dead. Indeed, there are strong reasons for such a conclusion. He is called “the son of perdition” who is “lost” (John 17:12). It is written of him that it would be better if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24). His habitation is described as “desolate” and uninhabitable in both Acts 1:20 and Psalms 69:25.

On the other hand, the word “perdition” does not necessarily mean the second death. It is the same Greek word translated as “destruction” at the end of the broad road of all humanity in Matthew 7:13. The conclusion that it would be better not to have been born was an oft-used Hebrew idiom for utter shame and was used in this manner repetitively by Job in his laments over his afflictions (Job 3:11). A “desolate” heritage does necessarily describe a permanent condition.

Perhaps the strongest argument that can be adduced in favor of a deferred final judgment for Judas is the fact that his sins were committed before the holy spirit was given. Never having been begotten to a second life, he could not die a second death. In fact, he had never died the first death, reckoned to the Christian at the point of his consecration to the Lord.

Our Betrayers

The Christian is not to assume that this experience of betrayal is unique to his Master. Our theme text, at the beginning of this article, explicitly states that such betrayals would come to Jesus’ followers. Furthermore, like the cases of David and Jesus, they would come from one’s closest associates, even members of one’s own family. As Jesus stated in Matthew 10:24, 25, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”

When such experiences come, what will be our reaction? Undoubtedly, it will entail hurt. It did with both Jesus and David. But will it produce anger and resentment? It appears to have done so with King David. It does not appear to have done so with Jesus, our example. A high standard for reaction to persecutors is presented to us in the case of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, who said, even as he was being stoned, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60).

In any case, the Christian’s main concern is not whether he will be betrayed but whether will he ever become the betrayer. No matter what the temptation — whether it be the pride and ambition of Lucifer, the envy of Korah, the vengeance of Ahithophel, the anger of Judas, or the discouragement and materialism of Demas — may each Christian remain faithful, not only to his Lord but to his fellow Christians as well.

–– The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom 1998/2