Judas Iscariot

The Traitor

He is mentioned last in every list recording the Disciples.

Acts 1’s list does not include him at all

He is always referred to as the traitor

He was as common a man as the other eleven and had every opportunity they did.

We learn two things from Judas’s actions

It is possible to be near to Christ, but ultimately hardened by sin

No matter how sinful someone is, and the plans they have against God, His sovereign plan cannot be overthrown.

His Name

Judas is a form of Judah

It Means “Jehovah Leads”

Iscariot signifies the region he came from:

probably Kerioth-hezron

Joshua 15:25 “Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor),”

He was possibly the only one of the twelve not from Galilee

Although a possible outsider he moved into a position of trust in the group

John 12:6 “He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

His father was named Simon

John 6:71 “He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.”

He was so ordinary and common that the other eleven never even pointed a finger of suspicion that he was the betrayer.

Matthew 26:22–23 “And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.”

Jesus knew from the beginning

John 6:64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)”

His Call

He followed Jesus willingly

He lived in a time of heightened, Messianic hope

He even stayed when other disciples left

John 6:66–67 “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?””

He followed Jesus for selfish ambitions and greed

Jesus called him

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

The Old Testament reveals that his betrayal was already known

Psalm 41:9 “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

Psalm 55:12–14 “For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.”

Zechariah 11:12–13 “Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.”

Matthew 27:9–10 “Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.””

How do we rationalize his predestination and his free will

Ephesians 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Luke 22:22 “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!””

Spurgeon said this about the tension between divine sovereignty and human choice: If … I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.

God ordained the events that would lead Christ to his death

Judas acted on his own ability

Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Judas had every opportunity to turn from his sin

His Disillusionment

Being a young, zealous Jewish person, he was anticipating a Messiah that would deliver them from Roman oppression.

He probably even expected a great reward

Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?””

Luke 18:29–30 “And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.””

Where the rest of the twelve caught on to who Jesus truly was, Judas hid his disappointment inside his hypocrisy

By the time Jesus returns to Bethany to raise Lazarus, Judas is done

His Covetousness

Matthew 26:6 “Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,”

John 12:2–3 “So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

John 12:4–5 “But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?””

This was one year’s wages

Today represents about $62,000

In the moment no one thought anything of Judas’s response but later John records it was motivated by greed

John 12:6 “He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

At some point in this narrative Judas slips away to the High priest

Matthew 26:14–16 “Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.”

30 pieces of silver: The price of a slave

Exodus 21:32 “If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.”

His Hypocrisy

Judas was such a trickster that even during the events of the Last Supper no one questioned if it was he

John 13:23-30 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.

They thought he simply left to take care of business for Jesus

They all examined themselves when faced with accusation of betrayal

Matthew 26:22 “And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?””

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”

Most of the Gospel accounts reveal that Judas was not present when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper

His Betrayal

Judas sought for opportunities to betray Jesus

Mark 14:11 “And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.”

It was not a sudden impulse. it was premeditated and planned

Luke 22:6 “So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.”

He was a coward and waited till the cover of night

He knew Jesus’ pattern

Luke 22:39 “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.”

He know the place

John 18:2 “Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.”

Judas took a detachment of troops

Possibly hundreds

John 18:3 “So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.”

Jesus did not wait for Judas, He went to him

John 18:4 “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?””

Judas betrayed Him with a friendly kiss

Mark 14:45 “And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him.”

Jesus greeted him as friend

Matthew 26:50 “Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”

His Death

He changed his mind but it was too late

Matthew 27:3–4 “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, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.””

He hung himself

Matthew 27:5 “And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”

The Field of Blood Debate

Matthew 27:6–8 “But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.”

Acts 1:18–19 “(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. 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.)”

The Moral of His Life

1. Judas is a tragic example of lost opportunity

2. Judas is the epitome of wasted privilege

3. Judas is the classic illustration of how the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil

4. Judas exemplifies the ugliness and danger of spiritual betrayal

5. Judas is proof of the patient, forbearing goodness and loving-kindness of Christ

6. Judas demonstrates how the sovereign will of God cannot be thwarted by any means

7. Judas is a vivid demonstration of the deceitfulness and fruitlessness of hypocrisy