JUDAS.
Some New Testament characters attract more curiosity than others, Judas is one. Curiosity produces speculation. Speculation, however is not for us here. We may look at probabilities, even unlikely possibilities, but not at pure guesswork.

The question why Judas betrayed Jesus is one we can look at. It has no certain answer but we can look at probable ones.

The question why Jesus chose Judas as an apostle is one we must leave. There is no evidence on which to base even a probable answer. What we do know is that Jesus spent a night in prayer before He chose the twelve, that Judas was included and that when Jesus sent them out in pairs, he went out with Simon the Zealot .

There is no suggestion that Judas did not preach or share in doing miracles in Jesus’ name. When Jesus fed the five thousand, the loaves and fishes were multiplied as much in the hands of Judas as of Andrew or Philip. A miracle is not proof that everyone present is rightly tuned in to heaven. Even a miracle-working church may have its Judases.

The Treasurer.
We also know that Judas was treasurer. He kept and looked after the apostles’ funds, purchased supplies and distributed gifts to the poor (John 13:28-29).

This tells us something about the group of apostles - although simple it did have some organised structure and financial support. Expenses would be low, travel was on foot, and travellers accepted the very basic hospitality which was normal in that culture. Judas had, as treasurers do, the opportunity to know what was going on, whether at any one time they had plenty or very little. He may have grown weary of the austerity.

The Thief.
Before Judas was a traitor he was a petty pilferer. John 12:3-6 is quite clear about his stealing, though at what stage it was discovered we do not know - maybe after the bag was taken over by one of the others.

But why? It was a costly business following Jesus, not attractive to one whose motive was money. It is safe to say Judas had, like all the others, given up a great deal financially in order to join the group. Probably his pilfering was seen as repaying himself for what he had lost.

This leads us to a likely motive, one which could lead equally to petty theft or to treason - disappointment. If Judas joined in high hopes of great and grand success he was probably no different from the others at that point. If he saw himself as chancellor of the exchequer in a new kingdom - well James and John had looked higher than that - but as the truth dawned on them that their master was despised and rejected and heading for suffering, the others stood that test. Judas did not. And his first response to the feeling that he had been cheated was to cheat.

The Motive.
If he was ever going to escape from the dead end to which he had committed himself, he would need, somehow, to restore himself to favour with the authorities. The Chief Priests had ordered that followers of Jesus be put out of the Synagogue (John 9:22). Judas could foresee a lonely future as an outcast, bearing the double shame of having followed the wrong leader and then having deserted him.

If this was his motive it was not the thirty pieces of silver which tempted him, but the reinstatement into favour with the authorities.

The Betrayal.
Why was a traitor needed?

The Chief Priests, once they had decided to have Jesus arrested, were faced with two major difficulties. First was the crowds. Jesus was so popular, especially among Galileans but with many Judeans as well, that He was extremely difficult to arrest. He could ride into the city with crowds cheering Him - even when they had ordered His capture. They feared riots. Every riot put them in worse standing with the Roman authorities.

During that last visit to Jerusalem, Jesus was keeping hidden except when crowds were present. Before the feast He had remained unobtrusive, once the many pilgrims were in Jerusalem He appeared. The priests’ original plan was to wait until after the feast was over, then rely on Judas to locate their quarry.

The other reason for needing Judas, possibly even more significant, was their own officers’ fear of Christ Himself. The arrest was not, as is commonly depicted, made by Roman soldiers. Only the crucifixion was carried out by the army. Both the arrest and the guard on the tomb were handled by security guards who were under the Chief Priests’ authority. Their duties included keeping order in the temple courtyard and they had seen Jesus there when He taught the crowds. They had seen Him do miracles. Once before they had been sent to arrest Him (probably only for questioning) but had come back with the seemingly lame excuse, “No man ever spoke like this man.” Christ had personality and power and they feared both.

Judas, therefore, was employed to lead the guards to Jesus in a place free from crowds and also to walk up to Him, leading the way, familiar and therefore unafraid, giving confidence to those who must capture Him. The kiss was probably to put the disciples off their guard for the critical moment when they might possibly have hurried Jesus away and blocked the guard’s path.

It was the combination of these fears which made Judas critical to the Chief Priests’ plans.

What you have to do, do it quickly.
Two days before the Passover Jesus prophesied that He would be arrested at the feast. At the same time the Chief Priests were still planning to leave the arrest until afterwards, (Matthew 26:1-5).

What made them change their mind?

When they actually came to arrest Jesus they were horrendously unprepared - hence the time it took to get the band of guards together, the hastily-called night-time court and the false witnesses who were so badly briefed that their evidence contradicted each other.

The only reason they could have had for such a last minute change of plans is the sudden arrival of Judas, breathless, with the information that he could do it then or not at all.

At the last supper, Jesus had given Judas his last chance to repent, warning that one would betray Him and passing food to Judas, creating the bond; so strong in the east, between those who have eaten together. Then, knowing that there was no change of heart, Jesus told Judas, “What you have to do, do it quickly.”

Jesus set the whole event in motion Himself.

Remorse and Death.
It may be a cynical suggestion, but Judas’ remorse could have been triggered by the realisation that traitors do not enjoy the favour of those they have served. Traitors are despised even by those who pay their fees. If he was looking for a comfortable future as a respected colleague of the ruling authorities he could look again. His thirty pieces of silver were to be his only reward. Even anonymity was unlikely, wherever he went he would be known as a traitor.

Less cynically, it can be said that the sudden cutting off of the life he had been living was an unforeseen traumatic shock. His friends were friends no more. Never again would he tramp the road in the company he had kept for nearly three years. It was all over with nothing in its place. Coupled with these emotional shocks, there may have been an element of real remorse and a memory of the relationship with Christ he might have had. (It is just possible that Caiaphas had given Judas an assurance that Jesus would face only prison or banishment and not death).

As to the manner of Judas’ death, everyone quotes that “He went out and hanged himself” but the word “hanged” is only used this one time in the New Testament. It means suicide, but the exact method is uncertain.

The account in Matthew 27:3-10 describes the priests’ refusing the money, Judas throwing it back at them and their using it to buy a potters field. According to Luke’s account in Acts 1, Judas is credited with the purchase of the field, and reported to have died in it. A scenario which could be consistent with both is as follows.

Judas first goes to the priests as recorded in Matthew, throws the money back and goes away. Leaving the city he finds a lonely spot where, by whatever method, he kills himself (even hanging with rope is not quite inconsistent with the messy death described in Acts, if the drop is long.)

The potter comes to his field to dig clay and is distraught. His land has been defiled by a suicide. He cannot use it while it is ceremonially and literally unclean. He goes to the priests and unwittingly presents them with a solution. They can use the thirty pieces of silver to buy the land in the name of Judas and give it as his last charitable act to the municipal cemeteries department (or its equivalent) for strangers who die without anyone to take responsibility for their burial.

Not even Judas’ treachery can compare with the sick hypocrisy of those to whom he went with his money. “What is that to us? It is your affair.” We only employed and paid you to do our dirty work for us, it is none of our business. We are only the priests appointed by Moses’ law to make sacrifice for sins, it is none of our business. And afterwards, “We cannot give it to God, it is dirty money.”


References - Judas:
Apostles listed Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16
Mary & the ointment John 12:3-6
The betrayal agreed Matthew 26:14-16 Mark 14:10-11 Luke 22:3-6 John 13:2
At the last supper Matthew 26:21-25 John 13:21-30
The arrest Matthew 26:47-50 Mark 14:43-45 Luke 22:47-48 John 18:2-5
Suicide Matthew 27:3-10 Acts 1:15-20