Judas Iscariot

• Born: Unknown
• Birthplace: Unknown
• Died: c. 30
• Place of death: Jerusalem, Judaea (now in Israel)

Jewish apostle of Jesus Christ

Cause of notoriety: According to the New Testament, Judas was the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to arresting Roman soldiers, an act that ultimately led to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Active: c. 30 c.e.

Locale: Jerusalem, Judaea (now in Israel)

Early Life

No historical information exists that documents details about the early life of Judas Iscariot (JEW-duhs ihs-KAHR-ee-uht). The Gospels of John and Matthew in the Bible’s New Testament are the primary source for the story of Judas. John records Judas’s father’s name as Simon but nothing else. Debate has occurred about the designation “Iscariot.” One suggestion is that the term is derived from a Greek word for dagger, which lent its name to the Sicarii, a group of Jewish nationalists and assassins who opposed the Roman occupation of Judaea. As Jesus attracted other revolutionaries, such as Simon the Zealot, speculation suggests that Judas may have had a similar background. Traditionally, however, New Testament scholars derive “Iscariot” from a Hebrew word that means “man of Kerioth,” a town located in southern Judah.

Apostolic Career

Judas joined the ministry of Jesus and became one of the Twelve Apostles; he should not be confused with another Judas, the son of James. He held a prominent leadership role among the disciples as their treasurer, but within the Gospels, he remains anonymously linked with the other eleven men. However, during the Passion Week, he moved to the forefront of the group. He clashed with Jesus over the use of expensive perfume when a woman of questionable reputation anointed his head. Judas next made his way to the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

The opportunity to complete his bargain came after what is known as the Last Supper. Jesus indicated his knowledge of Judas’s duplicity during an earlier defection of other disciples from his ministry, but during the meal, Jesus explicitly announced the presence of a traitor. In the midst of the ensuing uproar, Jesus revealed to the apostle John that Judas was the culprit by means of passing him a piece of bread. When Jesus sent Judas away, the others believed that he went to perform an act of benevolence. In actuality, Judas gathered soldiers and took them to the Garden of Gethsemane, a customary retreat for Jesus. Judas identified Jesus with a traditional kiss of greeting, alerting the soldiers to the identity of the man whom they were seeking.

Remorse led Judas to return the money and hang himself. The Jewish leadership took the money and purchased a potter’s field, known as the Field of Blood. In the story’s recounting in the New Testament’s book of Acts, however, Judas purchased the field himself and fell upon it, perhaps from a precipice, and his bowels burst forth. Later, Saint Augustine attempted to reconcile these passages by claiming that Judas’s corpse was left hanging until it rotted and split open.

Impact

Judas Iscariot’s motivations have been the subject of speculation. The biblical account indicates Satanic possession, but more psychological explanations have been put forth, such as simple greed, based on the apostle John’s accusation of theft. A more complex motivation is that Judas became disenchanted with Jesus. Thus, an arrest might force Jesus to call his followers to revolution in order to rescue him. That the disciples misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ “kingdom” is evident in their debates about their status. The texts, however, do not offer enough evidence to substantiate such speculation.

Judas became known as the archetype for betrayal. The use of “Judas” as a label is synonymous with an accusation of treachery. Ironically, Judas’s actions inevitably shaped a theological understanding of Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity and laid the foundation for Christianity.

Bibliography

Beasley-Murray, George. John. 2d ed. Waco, Tex: Word Books, 1999. One of the best commentaries, albeit technical, on the Gospel of John; it uses Greek within the comments.

Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1981. Although somewhat dated and occasionally devotional in nature, Edersheim’s analysis attempts to put events in a historical context and discuss Judas’s motivations.

McBirnie, William. The Search for the Twelve Apostles. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1982. A dated work but valuable for its collection of Roman Catholic traditions about the lives of the Apostles within the New Testament and afterward.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995. A commentary that examines the book of John and makes it accessible to the general reader.