of
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Judas Iscariot
NOTE: All Scriptures used here are from The New International Version of the Bible.
"All the demons in hell and all the
tempters on earth
could do us no harm whatsoever except
for the cooperation of our own corrupt
hearts."
-
Adapted from C. H. Spurgeon
Some of our Christian brothers and sisters have a sympathy
for the traitor Judas Iscariot.
Their tender hearts find it very difficult to believe that anyone, no
matter how evil, will actually be excluded from the kingdom of heaven. This non-biblical belief that God must
eventually save everyone, even against their will, is called
“universalism.”
Therefore it is important to “universalists”
that wicked people such as Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot,
Osama Bin Laden, and Judas Iscariot not be eternally lost.
However, as Christians, our beliefs must be firmly grounded
upon the teachings of God’s Word.
We cannot believe something simply because it “feels good,”
for in order to be good it must agree with the Bible. The Bible is very clear that Judas is
forever lost as a result of his personal decision to betray Christ and not
repent of his evil deeds. But
perhaps you are thinking this “send ‘em
all to hell” teaching sounds too unpleasant to be true. If so, I invite you to take a few
moments now to examine what God’s Word has to say about Judas.
His Family Background
Let’s begin with Judas’ family
background. The Scriptures tell us
both he and his father Simon shared the same last name: Iscariot -- John 6:71
The first name
“Judas” is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name “
His parents probably named him
“Judas” because it was a very common name in those days, honoring
the great Jewish hero Judas Maccabaeus. Judas Maccabaeus
had successfully led their nation in a war of independence against
Judas’ last name, “Iscariot,”
means: “man of Kerioth.” – Just
like “American” means someone who comes from
Kerioth was a small town near
Kerioth was in the State, or province, of
Jesus Called Judas “a Devil”
From the very beginning, Jesus referred to Judas
as “a devil” (John 6:70-71). Jesus warned
His disciples Judas was not loyal, he was not to be trusted, and he would
actively work against Christ. Jesus
chose Judas to be His disciple because He knew Judas would later choose to
betray Him. Remember, God sent
Jesus to this earth be crucified, and through His death, pay the penalty for
our sins and give us the opportunity to repent and be forgiven (John
Judas Was a Thief
Judas was the disciples’
“treasurer” – Judas was in charge of the contributions that
people gave Jesus. The Bible tells
us that Judas carried the disciples’ money bag, and that he was a thief
because he helped himself to any of their money anytime he wanted: “He was a thief.
As keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into
it” (John 12:6).
Remember when Mary brought that
expensive perfume (John 12:1-8), and poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet
with her hair? That was just a week
before Judas betrayed Jesus in the
Judas had something to say about
Mary’s extravagance. Judas
said: "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the
money given to the poor? It was
worth a year's wages" (John 12:5). Does that sound like Judas was a kind,
caring, benevolent man? If
so, then was Jesus wrong to call Judas a “devil”? Not hardly! Read verse
6 (Judas) “did
not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as
keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it!”
You
see, this city-slicker Judas knew an expensive perfume when he smelled it!
– And he knew exactly what that perfume cost when he smelled it: a
year’s wages – twenty-five thousand dollars in today’s money.
Notice the difference between
Mary and Judas: Mary was gratefully thinking about Jesus, while Judas was
thinking about himself. In this
last week of Jesus’ life, where was Judas’ focus? It was on the money, because he is
a thief! He’s helping himself
to the money that people give to Jesus and he’s upset that he
couldn’t get his hands on the large sum of money that perfume
represented. Do you see how
Judas put himself before the people, before the disciples, before Jesus
Christ! No wonder Jesus called him “a
devil.”
Judas Sold Jesus for “Thirty Pieces of Silver”
Did you know the day Mary poured
that perfume on Jesus, Judas made arrangements to betray Jesus? Judas conspired with the priests to send
their Messiah to the cross to be murdered.
Judas received the thirty pieces of silver the day Mary poured that
perfume on Jesus’ feet (Matthew 26:9-16). And the
Scripture says: “From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand
Him over.” Think about that! The whole last week of Jesus’
life, Judas was tracking Jesus, watching His every move, plotting how he could
maneuver Jesus into a place where the priests could arrest Him! – No
wonder Jesus called Judas “a devil.”
Why was Jesus betrayed for
“thirty pieces of silver”?
It wasn’t a whole lot of money, just about a month’s wages. Think about that: Judas sold Jesus out
– handed Him over to murderers for a couple thousand dollars in
today’s money. That’s
the amount paid for a slave back in those days. And that’s what Judas thought of
Jesus: “He’s just some guy that I can sell for thirty pieces of
silver!” Now you understand
why the very first time Jesus met Judas, Jesus called him “a devil.”
Judas at the Last Supper in
the Upper Room
Let’s move forward now a
few short days to the night of the Lord’s Supper – the night when
Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss.
The twelve disciples are gathered with Jesus around a table in the Upper
Room for the Passover Supper.
It’s early Thursday evening,
Judas Spurned His Many
Opportunities to Repent
Judas sat there at the
Lord’s Supper, acting like nothing was wrong! So Jesus has to tell His
disciples, “Look, guys, there’s a traitor sitting here at the table
with us. This traitor has sold Me
for thirty pieces of silver!”
But what’s interesting is that Jesus didn’t mention Judas by
name. Instead Jesus protected Judas
by using anonymous terms. – Jesus did that to give Judas one last
opportunity to repent! Look at what
Jesus said:
"I am not referring to all
of you; I know those I have chosen.
But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares My bread has lifted
up his heel against me.' I am
telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe
that I am He. I tell you the truth,
whoever accepts anyone I send accepts Me; and whoever accepts Me accepts the
One who sent me." – John 13:18-20
Do you understand those words?
-- This was Jesus’ last verbal appeal to Judas. In effect Jesus was saying,
“Look, Judas, I know who My true disciples are, and you are not one of
them! Instead you sit here at My
table, you eat My food, and you pretend to be a true believer but you are a
liar, you’re a thief and a traitor.
And I want you to know that I know what you’re up to. – But
if you’ll change your mind, if you’ll accept Me as your Savior,
you’ll be accepting the Father who sent Me and be in His good graces.
– But if you don’t accept Me, you’ll be rejecting God and
crucifying your Messiah.”
What if that had been you?
– What if Jesus himself had made that appeal to you? Wouldn’t you have fallen to your
knees and confessed what you had done and asked Jesus to forgive you? Of course! But not Judas! He just sat there and pretended he was
just as ignorant about who would betray Jesus as the rest of Christ’s
disciples. And Judas’ refusal
to repent and confess his sin just broke Jesus’ heart!
Let’s read on. John
chapter 13, verses 21-26 –
“After He had said this,
Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘I tell you the truth, one of
you is going to betray
The “Sop” Was Another Appeal to Judas to Repent
What was the significance of
that piece of bread Jesus gave Judas during that last supper? If you’re reading John
And so Jesus used this
well-known gesture of loving friendship to try to melt Judas’ hard heart
-- He gave a “sop” to Judas – and by doing that Jesus also
let His disciples know Judas was the one who would betray Him. When Jesus handed Judas that
“sop” it should have cut Judas to the heart! Anyone else would have broken down and
asked Jesus for forgiveness. But
not Judas! No, that Thursday night
Jesus knew Judas had crossed the line of no return. Knowing all this before it happened is
why Jesus had earlier called Judas a “devil.” –
Judas Was an Agent of Satan
Now, in John
Did you catch that? Jesus dipped the bread into the
sauce, handed it to Judas as the last gesture of friendship and kindness! And Judas took it, trying to deceive the
disciples into thinking he was just like them – but the moment Judas took
the “sop” Satan entered into Judas!
Why? Because Judas had crossed the line of no
return. He had rejected every
appeal, he’d sold his soul to the devil, and now Satan could rightfully
claim Judas as his own. Think about
that: not only did Jesus call Judas a “devil,” but now Judas had
actually become the physical home for Satan himself! And so Jesus separated Judas from the
rest of the disciples by sending Judas out into the night to do his dirty work
of betrayal! You see, there was
nothing more Jesus could do for Judas because Judas had spurned every
opportunity Jesus offered him.
The Bible tells us that when
Judas left the table that night, the disciples thought Jesus had sent Judas out
to buy some supplies, or give some money to the poor (John 13:28-30). So Judas took the money bag with him
when he left – he stole all the disciples’ money when he left the
table that night! Did you ever
wonder why, as Jesus was dying on the cross the next day, Jesus asked John to
care for His mother (John
Why Did Judas Betray Christ
With a Kiss?
Have you ever wondered why the
temple guards needed Judas to point out which of the twelve men in the
Now think about this. That night at the table, when Jesus
handed Judas the “sop,” it was a last sign of friendship meant to
bring Judas to repentance. But now,
a few hours later in the
Did Judas Repent for Betraying Christ?
Sometimes people read Matthew 27:3-4 and think
Judas repented. But did he? Let’s carefully read the
Scripture:
“When Judas, who had betrayed
Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the
thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said,
‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’
they replied. ‘That's your
responsibility.’”
Did you notice in verse 3, the Scripture says
Judas was “seized with remorse”? – The
Greek word means he had a “moral anguish, a selfish dread of the
consequences of what he had done.”
It does not in any way mean “repentance”. You see, in both Greek and English,
“repentance” is a completely different word which means having such
“regret for past actions that a person changes his life so it
doesn’t happen again!”
The Greek word for “repentance” actually means to
“turn around, to make a U-turn – to completely change the direction
of your life.” In other
words, no one can “repent” and still continue walking the same sinful
road he was on before.
So think about it: the Bible
tells us Judas was “seized with remorse,” he was not seized
with repentance. Judas had such
mental anguish from betraying “innocent blood,” that verse 5 says he went out and
hanged himself! Why? Because Judas knew what the Old
Testament said about “betraying innocent blood”: he would be shown
no pity, but would be hunted down and killed and forever cursed (Deuteronomy
Now, this is important: Judas
didn’t go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, instead he hanged
himself! That’s something to
think about. Remember that same
Thursday night Peter did something just as evil as Judas did: Peter denied he
ever knew Jesus. Not once, but
three times. Did Peter feel
“remorse”? – Of course:
Peter ran away into the darkness in great anguish – just like
Judas did! But, and here’s
the difference, Peter repented – he was “converted” -- and so
he was forgiven and Jesus reinstated Peter as a loyal disciple. Not so with Judas. According to Scripture, Judas felt
badly about what he had done, but he never repented. Judas went to his death a lost man –
as a “devil”.
Why Did Judas Hang Himself?
But why did Judas hang himself
if he wasn’t repentant? Good
question.
Do you remember Judas’
words, “I have betrayed innocent
blood” (Matthew
27:4)?
There is a law in Deuteronomy 19:11-13 that says: anyone who sheds “innocent blood” is
to be put to death. Any avenger can
kill him. So according to the Old
Testament law, Judas knew he would most certainly die for his betrayal of
Jesus. Not only had Judas betrayed
Jesus to death, but Judas had publicly stated Jesus was “innocent.”
That means Judas would be
executed by one of Jesus’ disciples -- like Peter who had already tried
to kill the high priest's servant when they arrested Jesus -- or by any of the
priests who wanted to cover up the fact they had paid him to betray Jesus. No matter how Judas looked at it, it was
easier to commit suicide than to face a cruel execution. Did you recognize the contrast? Notice how the followers of Jesus
receive eternal life, but Satan always takes his captives down to eternal death
(Romans
"Cursed is the
man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person." Then all the people shall say,
"Amen!"
Even the money Judas received
was polluted by his sin. The
Scripture states that the priests used the money Judas returned to them to buy
a field to bury unclaimed bodies.
It was the same worthless field where Judas had hanged himself. Apparently, after time, the rope broke
and Judas’ bloated body fell to the ground:
“(With the reward he got
for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body
burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in
Jesus Clearly Said Judas Is a
Lost Man
The Scripture tells us the
Thursday night that Judas betrayed Jesus, after Judas left the table, Jesus
prayed to His Heavenly Father. And
Jesus said something in that prayer that helps us understand how final Judas’
decision was when he rejected Christ’s last appeals to repent. Look at John
“While I was with them, I
protected them and kept them safe by that Name You gave Me. None has been lost except the one
doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”
We Christians have the
Lord’s own words that none of His twelve disciples were lost – they
were all saved -- except for one, Judas. Judas is the one disciple, whom Jesus
Himself said is “lost” and “doomed to
destruction!”
Even
the Disciples Were Positive Judas Is a Lost Man
A month or two later, the disciples met to
replace Judas. As they deliberated
between two candidates, Joseph and Matthias, the disciples said something which
indicates they were certain that Judas had been sent to “hell.” Being unclear as to which of the two
candidates was the Lord’s choice to replace Judas, they prayed:
“‘Lord, you know everyone's heart.
Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic
ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.’” – Acts
What is the meaning of the phrase “Judas left to go where he belongs”? Think about
it, Judas spurned all of Christ’s offers, sold his soul to the devil, was
literally possessed by Satan, and betrayed his Savior with a kiss. Jesus said Judas was “doomed to destruction.” Therefore the
place where “Judas … belongs”
is the same place where Satan and all unforgiven
sinners belong: they are doomed to destruction in “the lake of fire”
(Revelation
What Was Judas’ Sin?
Why will Judas spend eternity
apart from God? Why does Judas forfeit
all the joys and rewards of heaven?
What really was his “unpardonable” sin? Certainly Judas is remembered for his
unrepented sin of betraying his own Savior – that alone qualifies Judas
for a place in the fires of hell.
But that act of betrayal was just the tip of the “iceberg”
of his sinful life. The underlying
cause of his betrayal was pure selfishness. Judas missed out on the joys of heaven
simply because he thought more of himself than he did of Jesus. His focus was on himself instead of on
Jesus. His love was for himself, rather than for Jesus. He valued the possessions of this world
above Jesus Christ.
And because Judas refused one
opportunity after another to ask for forgiveness, because Judas refused to
repent, in the end Judas was shocked to discover that he had sold his soul for
a few pieces of silver and had lost everything for all eternity.
The lesson is clear, isn’t
it? God isn’t going to save
everyone – not because God is powerless to do so, but because God gives
every one free choice. So the long
and short of it is this: we alone choose our final destiny. We can accept Christ and be loyal to Him
and enjoy what He is preparing for us in heaven (John
“If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
“Unless you repent,
you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3).
”There will
be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous
persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).
© 2004 Sydney Cleveland