Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot, the traitor, was the son of Simon who lived in Kerioth of Judah. (Judas Iscariot, probably means, Judas of Kerioth.)

He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and afterwards hanged himself (Matthew 26:14).This man who became the traitor, is the supreme enigma of the New Testament because it is so hard to see how anyone who was so close to Jesus, who saw so many miracles and heard so much of the Master's teaching could ever betray him into the hands of his enemies.

His name appears in three lists of the 12 Apostles (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:19). It is said that Judas came from Judah near Jericho. He was a Judean while the rest of the disciples were Galileans. 

No one can deny that Judas was a covetous man and at times he used his position as treasurer of the band to pilfer from the common purse. 

“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?’ 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.” —John 12:4–6

So perhaps it was plain greed that led to his betrayal for the 30 pieces of silver offered by the priests.  However, his repentence after the fact and attempts to return the "blood money" may reveal different motives. Judas may have been a violent Jewish Nationalist who had followed Jesus in hope that through Him his nationalistic dreams might be realized. Once it became apparent that Jesus did not seek to be a worldly king, he may have become disillusioned and betrayed him.

Judas Iscariot’s death was unique among the disciples. While James son of Zebedee was the only apostle to be martyred in the Bible (Acts 12:2), Judas Iscariot was the first to die. 

According to the Gospel of Matthew Judas hung himself. (Matthew 27:5) The chief priests then used the money he gave back to buy a potter’s field (presumably the field Judas hung himself in), because it was blood money, so they couldn’t put it in the treasury (Matthew 27:6-10).

Luke records a somewhat different death for Judas in Acts 1:18–19:

“With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.”

The two accounts may be reconciled by suggesting that Judas hung himself, after which his body decomposed and the rope gave way, dashing him on the ground below.