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· 11 Jul 2021

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Judas Iscariot

#spirituality
Judas Iscariot is usually remembered for one thing: his betrayal of Jesus. He was one of the twelve disciples who lived with Jesus and followed him for three years. He witnessed Jesus' ministry, His teachings and His many miracles. He was the treasurer of the group and used this position of trust to steal their resources (John 12:6).

Judas was a common name at the time, and there are other Judas mentioned in the New Testament. One of the other disciples was also called Judas (John 14:22), and another was one of Jesus' half-brothers (Mark 6:3). To differentiate, John 6:71 and John 13:26 refer to “Judas, son of Simon Iscariot” to refer to Judas the traitor of Christ.

Scholars have several ideas about the origin of the surname. One is that Iscariot refers to Queriot, a region or city in Judea. Another idea is that the surname refers to hit men, a group of killers among the rebel Jews.

The possible association with the hit men allows for interesting speculation about Judas's motives for his betrayal, although the fact that he made a conscious choice to betray Jesus (Luke 22:48) remains the same. The surname Iscariot is useful, mainly because it leaves no doubt about which Judas is referring to.

Here are some of the facts we deduce from key verses about Judas and his betrayal:

Money was important to Judas. As already mentioned, he was a thief, and according to Matthew 26:14-15, the chief priests paid him "thirty pieces of silver” to betray the Lord.

Jesus knew from the beginning what Judas Iscariot would do. Jesus said to his disciples, “Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” (John 6:70). And at the Last Supper, Jesus predicted his betrayal and identified the traitor: “Jesus answered, “Whoever I give wet bread, that is. And wetting the bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot son of Simon” (John 13:26).

Jesus said that Judas Iscariot was not “clean”; that is, he was not born again and his sins were not forgiven (John 13:10-11). In fact, Judas was empowered to do what he did for the devil himself: “And after the bite [which Jesus had given him], Satan entered him” (John 13:27).

The other disciples had no idea that Judas Iscariot kept treacherous thoughts. When Jesus mentioned a traitor in their midst, the other disciples were worried that they were the disloyal (John 13:22). Nobody suspected Judas. He was a trusted member of the twelve. Even when Jesus said to Judas, “what you are going to do, do it sooner” (John 13:27), and Judas came out, those who were at the table simply thought that Judas had been sent to buy more food or give something to the poor (verses 28-29).

Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord with a kiss, perfectly compatible with his brazen hypocrisy (Luke 22:47-48). After perpetrating his atrocious act, Judas “repentantly returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders” (Matthew 27:3). However, we can learn that remorse is not equal to repentance; instead of repairing the damage or asking for forgiveness, he “went out, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5).

Judas Iscariot fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 41:9, “Even the man of my peace, whom I trusted, who ate from my bread, raised the calcanar against me” (cf. John 13:18). However, Judas was fully responsible for his actions. Jesus said, “To the truth the Son of Man goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is given! Well it was for that man not to have been born” (Matthew 26:24).

Matthew 27:6-8 says that the chief priests, took the “blood money” from Judas and bought a field from the potter as a place to bury foreigners (thus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 11:12-13). Acts 1:18-19 follows the story of what happened after the death of Judas and gives additional information. Lucas reports that, “with the wages of his iniquity he acquired a field, and falling on his head, it burst in half, and all his guts were poured out. And it was notorious to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field is called in their own language, Aceldama, which means Field of Blood”. The additional detail we learn from Luke is that, after Judas hanged himself, his dead body fell into the same field acquired with his ill-gotten gains.

Considering Judas's closeness to Jesus during the three years of ministry, it is hard to imagine how he could move on with that betrayal. The story of Judas teaches us to keep ourselves against small and gradual defects that gain strength and power in our lives and that could open the door to more deadly influences. His story is also a great reminder that appearances can be deceiving. Jesus taught, “Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name, and in your name we cast out demons, and in your name we did many miracles? And then I will declare to you, “I never met you; turn away from me, doers of evil”” (Matthew 7:22-23).