The conventional version of the story goes: Judas was a firebrand, a member of a radical group of anti-Roman revolutionaries (Judas Iscariot translates almost literally to “Judy the Knife”). He followed Jesus as long as he thought that Jesus was the Messiah who was going to call lightning down on the Romans, liberate Israel and establish the Kingdom of God. When it became apparent that that was NOT what Jesus was going to do, Judas became disillusioned, convinced that Jesus was a false Messiah, and thus the betrayal.
It’s never made sense to me. He betrays Jesus, and then does such a big boo-hoo that he kills himself? Thinking about this I came up with an explanation but I don’t know if it’s a reasonable surmise. Lumpy’s w.a.g.: Judas thought that if Jesus was arrested by the authorities it would spark the Big Uprising, so he set it up so that the Jewish authorities (in his eyes, collaborators just as guilty as the Romans) would share the blame, the People would rise up and Jesus would by golly be the Messiah in spite of himself. Only it didn’t turn out that way. When the crowd chose to pardon Barrabas instead of Jesus, Judas realized he’d betrayed Jesus for nothing, and then did the big guilt trip.
How about this? Judas was Jesus’s favorite disciple. Jesus, knowing the big plan about how he had to die as substitutionary atonement for the sins of mankind, set it all up, and he picked his favorite disciple to do this key task.
Then later, Judas was so distraught that he killed himself.
I mean, I don’t believe any of it, but if you’re going to make up stories, there’s a lot of room for creativity.
I never really thought there was that much to wonder about (although the theories above are interesting). Judas wouldn’t be the first or last person to do something and almost immediately realise he’s made a monumental mistake.
I do recall being taught the story of Judas (Catholic school but interestingly Religious Education was one of the subjects that wasn’t taught by a priest) in a rather sympathetic manner and that Judas’ main sin wasn’t betraying Jesus but rather committing suicide in the mistaken belief that he couldn’t be forgiven.
Unlike Jesus, Judas was only human and screwed up.
I have to ask: where are you getting this “conventional version of the story?” Not from the Bible itself, I think. Pretty sure none of that is in there.
This was part of the premise of The Last Temptation of Christ, if memory serves. Judas was the strongest of the disciples, and the one that Jesus could most rely upon.
Most of the theories here are speculation, since there are not many details provided in the Gospels.
I think both of these explanations are reasonable:
Judas became disillusioned with Jesus when Jesus did not lead a revolt against the Romans and temple authorities. He gave into greed and sold out Jesus for the 30 pieces of silver for the profit. After Jesus was arrested, Judas was overcome with regret and shame and killed himself.
Judas loved Jesus and believed him to be the rightful King of the Jews. By arranging a confrontation between the authorities and Jesus, Judas felt that he was striking a match to the tinder which would result in an uprising against the Romans. When he saw Jesus refuse to defend himself and willingly give into death, he realized what he had done and killed himself for grief and shame.
So I think the likely motives for his betrayal are either greed, or the desire to get on with the revolt already. But his motive for death seems to be profound regret for what he had done.
Indeed. Those versions attempting a rational explanation for Judas are largely modern interpretations of apocryphal sources - in the canonical Gospels he is pretty much a 2-dimensional turncoat who already embezzles from the disciples’ charity fund (John 12:6) before turning informant. It’s greed and Satanic influence that drives him to betrayal.
He is never a “favorite disciple”, those being Peter, John and one of the James, with John being cast as the personally closest.
The NT gives two different versions of his death, one of them the hanging, the other that he drops from a rock and bursts open. Only in the first one it is explained that it was in shame and despair over his role in Jesus’ death that he did so.
Even in the text of the Last supper the interpretation could be made that Jesus ordered Judas to turn him in.
“My time is at hand. I will be delivered over to the authorities and one of you will do it.” (not an accusation but an order, or at least a simple statement of fact.)
Cue the denials, as nobody wants to grass out their friend and savior. But it must be done, so he chooses someone himself: Judas of the Siccarii.
“Surely, you don’t mean me.” (not a protestation of innocence, but a distaste for the job at hand, possibly a hope he might reconsider. Not far removed from Jesus’s own moment of doubt later in the garden.)
“You know what you have to do, Now do it.”(No getting out of this. He would’ve killed for this man, being forced to betray him makes his torment even worse.)
It doesn’t matter to Judas that it had to be this way and he was following his friend’s wishes. After what he did, he can no longer face his friends or live with himself. Seeing no other way out he takes that last short walk and lets History remember him as the heel he thinks he is.
Assuming the Gospel stories reflect a relatively accurate telling of the lives of a 1st century apocalyptic rabbi and his followers, I don’t think we can say with any confidence Judas did kill himself. His death is described differently by different authors.
The author of Matthew says Judas hung himself, other people bought a field with the money, and used the story as a clumsy fulfillment of prophecy.
The author of Acts (traditionally also the author of Luke) says Judas bought a field and fell into it in a bloody manner, to explain the field’s name, similar to the pseudo-historical naming done by Moses and others in the Hebrew Bible. Matthew and Luke both have serious credibility issues (the census making Jesus’ birth from Bethlehem, the Nazarene-Nazarite confusion), but these are always to make a theological point of confirming prophecy and fudging the facts to elevate the events surrounding Jesus.
Considering that both connect Judas to the field, it’s probable a tradition developed that the clay field was “bloody / red” due to the death of some significant person. The Judas connection may have come later and superseded an earlier tradition. There may be truth in it, but due to the sparse details and unreliability of the authors, I’m not convinced.
Moreover, I think there was a massive sense of betrayal by early Christians that demanded a brutal retribution. Judas was the betrayer of Jesus, so he couldn’t get off scott free. Revenge fantasies follow, including Papias’ account: “Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.” Remember also that Catholics focused their antisemitism on Judas, making him appear more and more Jewish and evil over the years. Clearly there was some kind of catharsis at play here.
Due to those factors, I’m not sure we can say that Judas actually killed himself (if indeed he did exist), so speculating on why is probably as fruitless an exercise as wondering why Han Solo didn’t believe in the Force, even though the galaxy was full of telekinetic Jedi within his living memory (especially when Chewbacca could tell him war-stories of him and Yoda).
If it wasn’t for Judas, there would be no crucifixion, no salvation, according to the NT it was necessary,there is a quote(Ican’t remember it word for word or where it is in the NT) but it does say,it was necessary that Judas betrayed him so the prophesy would be fullfilled.
The bible also says in another place:
Acts 1:18-19
18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out.
Interesting to compare and contrast the two different tales. In this one, it sounds like he was killed gorily by an external force. Was it god? Why would god punish him for carrying out his necessary task? Was it Satan? Was it Jigsaw?
Judas Iscariot. I want to play a game… I have alerted the Roman guards to the location of your dear teacher, Jesus. The guards were told that Jesus has a habit of kissing his disciples. If you truly love your teacher, kiss him for all the guards to see. You will be taken in Jesus’ place and executed. Inside your tunic, and you will find 20 pieces of silver to pay for Jesus to get safe passage out of Jerusalem. Hurry, time runs short.
In a previous thread on this topic, several posters subscribed to the idea that he attempted to hang himself, the rope broke or the limb broke, and he was dashed to the rocks and burst open.