About Judas

Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. Matthew 27:1-5

Judas Iscariot. From the tribe of Judah, a man who was probably respected in the community. Luke's gospel doesn't mention him again after the kiss of betrayal, but we can learn some things from the other gospel writers. He was numbered among the original Twelve, called by Jesus to assist in His ministry and learn of the Kingdom. Jesus always knew Judas was not a true believer. In John 6:71, immediately after Peter's confession of faith in the Messiah, Jesus called Judas a devil. Matthew 10:4 also numbers him among the Twelve. John 12:6 identifies him as the treasurer of the group, so he was considered trustworthy. Certainly, he was always concerned about money, as when he criticized Mary for wasting expensive ointment on the feet of Jesus. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. John 12:3-6.

He was confronted by Jesus at the Last Supper, John 13:26, when he was identified as the traitor who would soon betray the Lord to the Jewish leaders. In Mark 14:10 and Matthew 26:14-16 we see his offer to the authorities and the deal he made with them, to betray the Lord for the price of a slave. And then we saw the kiss. Of betrayal. Luke 22:47. Jesus was expecting it.

So, what about Judas? Matthew 27:3 tells us he "felt remorse." Please notice the technicality here, that Judas did NOT repent. The Greek word for repent is metanoeo. It means to change one's attitude. Think differently than before. Do an about face. The word in Matthew 27:3 is metamellomai. Regret. Sorry about the consequenses. Not a change of mental attitude about the Person of Christ. Hey, guys, you can have the money back. This wasn't what I wanted, after all. That is not repentance. That is remorse for a stupid mistake one cannot undo.

And he went away and hanged himself. That sealed Judas' eternal fate. Not the act of suicide, but the lack of true repentance. Being sorry doesn't fix anything. Changing one's attitude does. When a person who did not believe in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ changes his mind about that, and does believe, that is repentance. That is new birth. It happened to the thief on the cross. It happened with many who encountered Jesus in His ministry. It has happened with many of us. It did not happen with Judas Iscariot. Betrayal didn't condemn him. Unbelief condemned him. Others failed Jesus in their human weakness and lack of comprehension, but they held fast to their faith in Him, no matter what.

Acts 1:18 gives the details of Judas' gory end. Having bought a field where he hanged himself, his body apparently hung there until it bloated, fell and burst. Sorry. I don't like that imagery, either. Judas is one of many individuals in the Bible who were threads in the tapestry of God's plan of grace. God didn't make him evil, but his willingness to be an agent of the evil plot to kill Jesus simply became part of the outworking of destiny. He is forever famous for being a traitor to the Lord of Life. We don't know his motives, but Jesus does, and He treated him graciously throughout their ministry together.

Judas was a respectable man. A respectable, evil man, whose human viewpoint ideals didn't approve of the direction the Messiah's career was taking. He agreed to participate in an evil deed that brought about the suffering and death of the Messiah. He was sorry about the way things turned out, but he never received Jesus Christ as Savior. He just decided to die in his sins.