Judas Iscariot’s name first appears in the Bible in Matthew 10:4, when Jesus selected the twelve disciples for His ministry. Among these twelve, Judas, the son of Simon (John 6:71), was chosen. One speculation has it that he came from Kerioth, a town in the region of Judea. If that speculation is true then he happened to be the only disciple from that region. Like most of Jesus’ disciples, Judas was a simple man without high social status, fitting the profile of those Jesus often called into His ministry.
Judas held an honorable position as the treasurer for Jesus’ ministry, making him the only disciple with a position – a privilege. He was entrusted with the moneybag, which contained donations for their work (John 12:6). However, this position exposed Judas’s greatest weakness—his greed or love for money. He frequently stole from the money entrusted to him, as John noted, “He was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). His love for money gradually corrupted him, leading him to prioritize wealth over spiritual devotion.
Jesus, aware of all things, foretold Judas’s betrayal long before it occurred. While in Galilee, he said to his disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed …(Mark 9:31)”. Though Jesus had predicted his death before, this was the first time he mentioned betrayal as the cause. And he knew the would-be betrayer was Judas Iscariot, though, at that time, Judas Iscariot had not yet hatched any plan to betray Jesus. He was just as innocent as the other disciples. Normally, revelations or prophecies come at a time when the event in question is unlikely to happen. Jesus further predicted Judas’ betrayal on his way to Jerusalem (Mr 10:32-34) and at the Last Supper (Mr 14:18-21).
Judas’s greed opened him to Satan’s influence. Luke recounts, “Then Satan entered Judas…and he went and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him” (Luke 22:3-4). Judas asked them, “What will you give me if I deliver Him to you?” and they agreed on thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). This act fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy: “So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12).
Despite Jesus warning Judas at the Last Supper, saying, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24), Judas remained resolute. Later that night, Judas led a crowd armed with swords and clubs to Gethsemane, identifying Jesus with a kiss: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him” (Matthew 26:48-49).
Judas’s betrayal set in motion the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion. Overcome with guilt when he saw Jesus condemned, Judas returned the silver, declaring, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). The chief priests dismissed him, and Judas, out of despair, guilt, regret, self-judgment, and self-condemnation, hanged himself (Matthew 27:5).
Acts 1:18 provides additional detail that makes us understand that as his dead body was hanging there, it bloated as we all know bloating occurs in dead bodies, especially, in their abdomen. Then the rope broke and he fell with his head first to the ground, making his abdomen burst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Judas’s story is a tragedy that reminds Christians of the dangers of greed and the consequences of yielding to temptation. His betrayal fulfilled ancient prophecies, including Psalm 41:9: “Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Through Judas’s actions, God’s redemptive plan unfolded, leading to Jesus’ crucifixion and ultimate victory over sin and death.
The only honorable thing ascribed to Judas was his being the treasurer; aside from this, everything said about him was negative. He went from stealing from the money bag (John 12:6) to conspiring with enemies against Jesus (Matthew 26:15), then betraying Jesus with a kiss (Luke 22:48), and hypocritically rebuking Mary for anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume (John 12:1-8).
However, Judas Iscariot was not evil all the time. Like Peter and the others, he was a true believer in the beginning which is why Jesus appointed him. They saw something good in him, took him for an honest person, and entrusted him with the money bag. But he corrupted himself along the line and, at some point, Jesus even said he was not clean (John 13:10-11), and Satan also started manipulating him (Luke 22:3-4, John 13:27).
It will surprise you how Jesus sometimes described Judas Iscariot. One day in Capernaum, after many disciples abandoned Jesus over a difficult teaching, He asked the twelve if they too would leave. When they stayed, Jesus said, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil” (John 6:70). The one he referred to as the devil was no other person than Judas Iscariot.
While Jesus and his disciples were at the last supper and Jesus was praying for them, he said, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled (John 17:12).” The son of perdition means a person destined for destruction or hell. And he used his term to refer to the one who would betray him – Judas Iscariot.
Also at the Last Supper, while Jesus was washing Peter’s feet, he said, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean (John 13:10-11).” Jesus referred to the one who would betray him, Judas Iscariot, as unclean.
Judas Iscariot will forever be remembered as the betrayer who delivered the Son of God to his enemies for money. It is sad that such a great person who was counted worthy to be appointed into the first twelve apostles fell so low and never rose – all due to his weakness of greed for money. It means none is too spiritual or too great to fall. We present-day Christians should do well to check our weaknesses as a lesson learned from the life of Judas Iscariot.