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Author: Stephen Weller
765 words, 4 minutes read time

Guilt and Death of Judas

Scripture: Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:18

With the previous lesson we find Jesus being condemned to death and delivered to Pilate for execution. With this lesson we will see Judas being overcome by guilt for betraying Jesus, resulting in him committing suicide.

^{Mt 27:3} Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ^{Acts 1:18} and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

It appears that Judas was not expecting the chief priests and the elders to condemn Jesus to death, simply to arrest him and punish him, but now that the sentence of death has been passed, Judas is having second thoughts. Feeling remorse, Judas attempts to return the blood money, the thirty pieces of silver along with the confession that he had betrayed innocent blood. This confession of feelings of regret and remorse is less than repentance. There was no change of heart with a seeking of forgiveness. When Peter sinned by denying Jesus and then realizing what he had done when the rooster crowed, he went out and wept bitterly. Judas, on the other hand, throws the pieces of silver into the temple, departs and goes out and hangs himself.

Another difference between Judas and Peter were the plans God had for them. God allowed the devil to use Judas, who God chose as a disciple, as the one who would betray Jesus and provide necessary information on the time and location of where Jesus could be arrested without public notice. Peter was chosen by God to have an important ministry in helping to establish Christianity. Both felt remorse over their sin but when the work of Judas was done Satan brings total destruction and disgrace to him as he does to anyone who comes under his control. The work left for Peter to do was enormous and after his sin he endures his intense feelings of guilt until Jesus comes to him, after his resurrection, and forgives him and restores him to service for God.

As final comments on Judas, we will look at Acts 1:18 – 19 ESV: ¹⁸ “(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)” There are two issues to be addressed here: (1) how Judas died and (2) who bought the field of blood.

Matthew said that Judas went out and hanged himself and Luke, in the Acts account, said he fell headlong and burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out (Acts 1:18). There are several suggestions as how this can be resolved. Maybe he hung himself and remained in that position until he rotted and the rope broke and he fell and burst open, maybe he hung himself on a branch overhanging a cliff and when he released himself the branch broke and he fell headlong down the cliff and burst open on a sharp rock, or maybe he hung himself and what do you think then happened? All we can conclude is that his death started by hanging and then what caused him to burst open is not told but left to our imagination.

How did “this man,” referring to Judas, purchase the Field of Blood with the thirty pieces of silver if he had thrown the silver pieces into the temple and he went out and hung himself? Since it was his money and since he gave it back to the chief priest and elders, and they used the money to buy the field, Judas did indirectly buy the field. It was his wickedness that resulted in the field being purchased and so he gets credit for the purchase.

Conclusion

Apparently things didn’t go as Judas had planned because hearing of the charges against Jesus, he changes his mind about what he did and brought back the thirty pieces of silver and confessed that he had betrayed innocent blood and goes out and hangs himself.