CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p.

1
Judas

Dr. George E. Meisinger *
Chafer Theological Seminary
[*Editors note: George E. Meisinger is dean of Chafer
Theological Seminary, as well as teaching in the Old and New
Testament departments. He earned his B.A. from Biola University,
a Th.M. in Old Testament Literature and Exegesis from Dallas
Theological Seminary, a D.Min. in Biblical Studies from Western
Seminary, and presently pursues a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology.
Dr. Meisinger also pastors Grace Church in Orange, California.]
Introduction
Don Richardson wrote a book that I encourage everyone to read. The title is
Peace Child
1
and is the story of his missionary labors among a tribe in Papua New
Guinea.
When Richardson had finally learned their language, there came a day when
he had opportunity to tell them the Gospel. He started with Christs miraculous
birth, His life and ministry, and then proceeded to the end of Jesus time on earth.
He set the stage talking about how Jesus made His final journey to Jerusalem,
the incredible reception of the people on Palm Sunday, then the treachery of Judas
who worked behind the scenes to betray Jesus to death. To his amazement, when
he finished telling them about the traitor, the people showed complete delight in
Judas. Richardson was appalled at their reaction.
He discovered that the highest virtue in their culture was deceitand Judas
was the greatest example of deceit about which they had heard. Here was a man
who successfully betrayed to the death a great and good man, thus Judas became
their instant hero. It was obvious to Richardson that he had his work cut out for
him to evangelize this tribe. You need to read the book to discover the beginning
and end of this incredible and true missionary story.
The Men named Judas
Judas was a common first century name. In fact, there are eight mentioned in
the New Testament:

1
Don Richardson, Peace Child (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1974): you may call Regal @
1800-4-GOSPEL.
(1) Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus and one of the twelve apostles
(Matthew 10:4);
(2) Judas the son of James, and one of the twelve apostles (Luke 6:16);
(3) Judas, a brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55);
(4) Judas, Pauls host in Damascus (Acts 9:11);
(5) Judas, called Barsabbas, a leading
CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 3
Christian in Jerusalem and a companion of Paul (Acts 15:22);
(6) Judas, a revolutionary leader (Acts 5:37);
(7) Judah, an otherwise unknown person in the genealogy of Jesus (Luke
3:30);
(8) And Judah, a son of Jacob in the genealogy of Jesus and an ancestor of an
Israelite tribe (Matthew 1:2; Revelation 7:5)Judas or Judah.
2
Observe a verse in Luke 6 regarding the first Judas, who is the subject of this
study: Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor (Luke 6:16b). In what follows
we will provide a panorama of the career of the Bibles most notorious man.
However, do not turn the page to another article yet. There is, what I will call,
considerable backdoor encouragement from the story of Judas.
Judas Background
The New Testament does not reveal much about Judas family and the
environment in which he grew up. His surname was Iscariot ( = man
of Karioth). Most scholars understand it to refer to the place of his origin, from
Kerioth, in southern Judaea (Matthew 10:4; 26:14; John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 26;
14:22).
3
The best estimation today would be to identify Kerioth with Kerioth-
hezron (Joshua 15:25), which is about 15 miles south of Hebron. Judas was, then,
the only apostle from Judea; the rest were from Galilee. All we know of his
family is that his fathers name was Simon (John 6:71).




2
[Editors note: this footnote text was omitted in the print, so was not included here.]
3
Vine, W. E., Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, [Logos Library
System 2.1, CD-ROM] (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell), 1981.
Judas Infamous Titles
Traitor
Luke 6:16 says Judas became a traitor, denoting a double-crosser, or
betrayer. The New Testament uses the term traitor of Judas and of evil people
in the End Times (2 Timothy 3:4). The term to betray () literally
means to give over, and the New Testament uses it several ways including to
deliver over treacherously by way of betrayal (Matthew 17:22; 26:16; John
6:64). The noun form, , deriving from , to betray, does
not occur in the New Testament, and speaks of one who delivers a person without
justification into the control of another.
Son of Perdition (John 17:12)
As terrible as traitor is, that title pales into insignificance compared to this
one. To be the son of perdition denotes that Judas is a man identified with
eternal destruction, or whose destiny is the Lake of Fire. Son of perdition is a
predictive designation.
Furthermore, Acts 1:25 says that Judas went to his own place, the thought
being the place of his own choosing. Accordingly, it is not that Judas was
foreordained from eternity past to go to hell, without opportunity to be saved.
Instead, he chose to reject Jesus Christ and will suffer the consequences of any
person who rejects the Savior.
Judas Inclusion in the 12
[Jesus] called His disciples to Him; and from them He chose
twelve whom He also named apostles and Judas Iscariot, who
also became a traitor (Luke 6:16).
According to Mark 3:19, after Jesus selected the 12 they went into a house.
This is probably the same house mentioned in Mark 2:1 in Capernaum, quite
possibly Peters home. As Mark 3:20 continues, we see that such a large
multitude gathered together in the house, they could not so much as eat bread.
Being involved in an exploding ministry, Jesus and His disciples found frequently
that it was a challenge to find time to eat (cp. 6:31b).
When you commit yourself to ministry, giving your time, energy, and best
efforts to the Lords work, others may view you with raised eyebrows. In fact,
Jesus family thought He was out of His mind and tried to seize Him (Mark 3:21).
When his relatives heard that His ceaseless ministry worked against what they
considered proper care of Himself, they came (no doubt from Nazareth) to lay
hold of Him, a term used for making an arrest (Mark 6:17; 12:12; 14:1, 44, 46,
51).
Why apprehend the Lord? For (yap) they thought that he was out of His
mind (Mark 3:21b), that is a mentally unbalanced religious fanatic (cf. Acts
26:24; 2 Corinthians 5:13).
4
So, what did Judas experience as soon as Jesus selected him? (1) Selection
into the unique circle of the 12, becoming an apostle; (2) he observed great
crowds flocking to Jesus; and (3) he saw Christs own family thinking Him crazy.
Nevertheless, Judas was no fool. He observed that Jesus had extraordinary
charisma and attracted large crowds, which meant potential political power,
influence, and wealth. Judas wanted in on the action. Linking with Jesus seemed
to be a fast track to success.
Judas Place Among the 12
We might have supposed that Matthew would handle the money needed to
sustain the Lords ministry because he had been a tax collector and well
acquainted with money matters. Judas, however, was the treasurer of the Lords
group of apostles indicating that he was no imbecile (John 12:56; 13:29). He
knew the ins-and-outs of collecting, managing, and spending money better than
the others did, including Matthew. We will see what kind of treasurer he was
next.
CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 4
Judas Character
In the village of Bethany six days before the Lords final Passover, where
Lazarus had been raised from the dead (John 12:1), Martha served supper with
Lazarus at the table (12:2), but Mary anointed Christs feet with expensive oil of
spikenard, wiping His feet with her hair (12:3). It was a wonderful display of
love, gratitude, and worship.
Then Judas asked
Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the
poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he
was a thief and had the money box; and he used to take what was
put in it (John 12:46).
Character trait #1: He did not care about the poor. He was a hard-hearted
man, too concerned with feathering his own nest while others, less fortunate,
suffered around him.
Character trait #2: He was a thief, pilfering funds from the Lords money
box, which exposes that Judas was full of avarice, or greed.

4
Walvoord, John and Zuck, Roy, Bible Knowledge Commentary [Logos Library System 2.1, CD-
ROM] (Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, 1983), 985.
Accordingly, Judas was not in tune with Jesus, rejecting the Lords message.
To the poor, Jesus preached the gospel (Luke 7:22). And for the needy, Jesus
taught that we should go out of our way to help them so far as we are able
(parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:2937). Judas did not welcome that
message, nor did he want to help the needy. The man was not regenerated for in a
believer God works to will and to do of His good pleasure, which includes
ministering to those with pressing needs (cp. Philippians 2:13 with Titus 3:14). Of
course, carnality can quench this work of the Spirit in believers also.
Observe the opposite attitude of Paul, a man who was in tune with the Lord
(Galatians 2:10; cp. 6:10).
One commentary says this about Judas:
The comment of the Evangelist [that Judas was a thief] is intended
to stress the avarice of Judas, who saw in the price of the ointment
nothing of the beautiful deed which Jesus praised (Mark 14:6) but
only a means by which the apostolic fund would be increased, and
thereby his own pocket lined. And even this motive was cloaked
under a specious plea that the money could be given away to
relieve the poor. Thus to covetousness there is added the trait of
deceit.
5
Commentators have suggested many possibilities to explain Judas character:
Love of money; jealousy of the other disciples; fear of the
inevitable outcome of the Masters ministry which made him turn
states evidence in order to save his own skin; an enthusiastic
intention to force Christs hand and make him declare himself as
Messiah a bitter, revengeful spirit which arose when his worldly
hopes were crushed and this disappointment turned to spite and
spite became hateall these motives have been suggested.
6
What is clear is that Judas was a self-serving thief. who followed Jesus not
because his inner man had converted to Him, but because he hoped for personal
gain by the relationship.
Jesus did not permit Judas criticism of Marys generous worship to go
unchallenged. He said Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial
(John 12:7). In other words, mind your own business and let her worship Me as
she wants; it is a straightforward rebuke.


5
The New Bible Dictionary (NBD) [Logos Library System 2.1, CD-ROM] (Wheaton: Tyndale
House Publishers), 1962.
6
NBD.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
King David was the first to predict that someone would betray the Messiah:
Even My own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate My bread,
Has lifted up his heel against Me (Psalm 41:9).
Jesus quoted this verse of Himself at the Last Passover (John 13:18). Shortly
after the Transfiguration, while they were in Galilee, Christ predicted:
The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hand of men and
they will kill him, and on the third day He will be raised up And
they were exceedingly sorrowful (Matthew 17:22 23).
On His way to Jerusalem, the Lord repeats his prediction:
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be
betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will
condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock
and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again
(Matthew 20:1819).
Thus those who had eyes to see, and ears to hear, should not have been
shocked that one of His inner circle (familiar friend) would betray Him to the
religious leaders.
Judas Betrays the Lord Jesus
The trigger event
What finally motivated Judas to betray the Lord? The setting is the anointing
of Jesus in Bethany. The trigger was the rebuke that Jesus gave Judas. Therefore,
CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 5
being stung by the Lords rebuke, and becoming increasingly disenchanted
because Jesus messianic prospects seemed to be dimming, Judas decided to cut
his losses.
Judas contacts the religious leaders to make a deal
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief
priests and said, What are you willing to give me If I deliver Him
to you? And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So
from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him (Matthew
26:1416).
Then denotes after Mary anointed Jesus in Bethany with costly fragrant oil.
Moreover, the disciples (plural) were indignant, saying it was a waste and should
have been given to the poor, and Jesus rebuked them (26:613).
Though all of the disciples were indignant and complained, it was particularly
Judas who asked, Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to
the poor (John 12:4)?
The role of the devil
Jesus knew that ultimately His battle was with the evil one. On an occasion
well before His final trip to Jerusalem, He implied that the devil would be
involved.
Then Jesus said to the twelve, Do you also Simon Peter answered
Him, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God Jesus answered them, Did I not
choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil (
)? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was
he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve (John 6:6771).
When Jesus says, one of you is a devil, it reveals His omniscience (cp. 1:47;
2:2425; 6:15, 61). He knew that the devil would possess Judas and use the traitor
as a puppet to accomplish satanic objectives.
And sure enough, on Tuesday night following a dinner party at Mary, Martha
and Lazarus home in Bethany-where Jesus rebuked his disciples and particularly
Judas-the traitor rejected the Lord one time too many. The devil then possessed
him the first of two times this final week of Jesus life.
Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered
among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief
priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they
were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and
sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the
multitude (Luke 22:36).
The Night Judas Betrayed the Lord
The gospels do not state why Judas betrayed Jesus. Yet, we may infer at least
two reasons:
Judas did it after becoming convinced that Jesus was going to die and not
reign as King (Mark 14:311). This dashed Judas hopes for political power
and influence.
Judas did it for money (Matthew 26:1416). Thus, his expectation of
financial wealth no longer existed, so he bargained for what he could receive
from the religious leaders (30 pieces of silver).
Judas thought, Whats the use of continuing to follow Jesus when the whole
world is turning against Him and the governmental authorities may swallow me
up with Him?
Now the night of Christs betrayal began with the Passover feast and Judas
apparently was still smarting from Jesus rebuke. Judas sat at the table seething
and frustrated about how things looked to be coming down. At the same time, the
religious leaders were meeting to discuss how they could arrest Jesus and put Him
to death, but the multitudes intimidated them. Thus, they needed and discussed a
private way to apprehend the Lord (Mark 14:12).
Count on it, Satans demons attended that meeting also. Once they knew of
the religious leaders desire, they beat a path to Satan with the news. The devil
had stepped out of Judas life for a short time. Satan then hatched a plan and
imparted it to Judas soul while he sat at the Passover table with Jesus.
And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the
heart of Judas Iscariot, Simons son, to betray Him (John 13:2).
This Satan apparently did without possessing Judas because it is not until after
Jesus gives bread to him that Satan re-enters Judas.
As the Last Supper continues, Jesus proceeds to train His apostles, giving
them a huge lesson in humility, servanthood, and forgiveness, which He illustrates
by washing their feet (John 13:320).
When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and
testified and said, Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will
betray Me (John 13:21).
In John 13:2225, the Lords announcement of betrayal, during the solemn
Passover occasion, bewilders the apostles. Thus, Peter gets John to ask Jesus who
the traitor is.
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
(John 13:2627).


CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 6
This is the second time during the final week that Satan possesses Judas.
Consequently, in John 13:31, Judas departs the Upper Room where the Lord and
apostles were eating the Last Supper.
Now as we compare the other Gospel accounts, we see the devil next motivate
Judas to tell the religious leaders that he will find a way to betray Jesus. His plan
would avoid confrontation with the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover
(Luke 22:6). The religious leaders promptly paid Judas for his treacherous scheme
(Mark 14:1011).
Judas figured that the Garden of Gethsemane would be an ideal place to arrest
Jesus because it was outside the citys eastern wall and away from the crowds.
Satan, who anticipated the Lords movements, had put this plan into Judas head.
The traitor notified the religious leaders that he would identify Jesus with a
kiss. Why a kiss? Because it would be nighttime and not immediately apparent
to the soldiers who Christ was among his disciples!
Once the religious leaders called together the Roman soldiers (a military unit,
or cohort, of 600), they tagged along themselves, and Judas led them to the place
in the Garden where Jesus prayed. For this leadership, Judas became known as
a guide to those who arrested Jesus (Acts 1:16).
In the Garden of Gethsemane
And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often
met there with His disciples. Then Judas, hawing received a
detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and
Pharisees, Came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus
therefore. knowing all things that would come upon Him, went
forward rind said to them, Whom are you seeking? They answered
Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, l am He. And Judas,
who betrayed Him, also stood with them (John 18:56).
This treacherous act by Judas became embedded in the minds of the apostles,
so much so that Paul, when explaining the communion service says:
I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that
the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took
bread (1 Corinthians 11:23).


Judas Death
The morning of the day of Christs crucifixion
Seeing that Christ was condemned to death, Judas was remorseful, admitted
he betrayed innocent blood, threw the 30 pieces of silver (about $220.00) the
leaders paid him into the temple, then hanged himself (Matthew 27:35).
The religious leaders, ever scrupulous of keeping the Law (at least the parts
they liked!), did not take back the blood money, but instead purchased from a
local pottery maker a field in which to bury strangers. It was renamed the field of
Blood (Matthew 27:68), which fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah
11:13).
Judas suicide: A mystery explained
Matthew says that Judas hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). This establishes the
fact that Judas fastened a noose around his neck and jumped from the branch to
which the other end of the rope was attached.
7
In addition, Acts 1:18 reveals that falling headlong, [Judas] burst open in
the middle and all his entrails gushed outa considerably more dramatic picture
than Matthew gives. It is terrible enough to commit suicide, but to take a fall,
have your body burst open, and your inner parts gush out, is horrendous to say the
least.
The question is: Do we have a contradiction in the Bible, or is it possible to
harmonize Matthew and Luke? It is possible to harmonize:
8
The limb from which Judas hung was over a precipice, that is, the valley of
Hinnom. In fact, to this day there are many dry trees on the brink of this
canyon near the traditional site of Judas suicide. Thus, it could be that the
weight of his body on a dry and dead limb broke the limb causing his body to
plummet into the canyon and burst open.
Or, perhaps the rock shattering earthquake that ripped through Jerusalem at
the moment Jesus yielded up His spirit caused the limb to break and
plunged the swollen, three day old corpse into the canyon splitting it open (cp.
Matthew 27:51).
Or, even a strong gust of wind, funneled through the canyon, could have
caused the limb to break.

7
Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1982), 344.
8
See Archer, 344.
Whatever, there is no contradiction in Gods Word; a contradiction here is
only in the minds of those who want a discrepancy. The ultimate tragic end of the
son of perditionan end immeasurably more dreadful than his burst open
bodyis that he went to Hades, to await the second resurrection and judgment at
the Great White Throne, then an eternity in Hell.
Jesus had said at the Last Supper:
Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would
have been good for that man if he had not been born (Matthew
27:24).
CTSJ 3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 7
Two Lessons
Lesson #1: The life of Judas Iscariot is an enormous tragedy. It shows what
happens when one exposes himself to the truth day-after-day, but does not
embrace it, use it, obey it! By application, we cannot go to church Sunday after
Sunday, and even attend Bible classes during the week, thinking that our mere
presence there will keep God pleased with us.
Nearly every day for three plus years Judas listened to the best Bible teacher
who ever walked this planet. He heard the truth not only preached, but also saw it
perfectly lived-out in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Yet, the more Judas heard, the more he possessed to reject, and the more he
rejected the more his heart became hardened. His conscience became seared so
that he no longer felt the critiquing ministry of the written Word and the
convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. His inner man gradually hardened to the
point that it became a convenient habitation for the devil himself, leading to
betrayal and finally suicide.
We must not let be lost on ourselves what happened to Judas. The corrective
is diligently to put into practice what we learn from Gods Word. Do not permit
your intake of the Bible to be merely an academic head-trip.
If you learn that you may confess your sin: Keep confessing.
If you learn that you should pray: Keep praying.
If you learn that you are to witness to Christ: Keep witnessing.
If you learn that you should not forsake the assembling of yourselves
together: Keep assembling.
If you learn that God gave you a spiritual gift for the common good: Use
your gift to serve your fellow believers in love
As Christians, we must become vigorous doers of the Word, not mere hearers
only, lest the hardening process overtakes us and we lose opportunity for eternal
reward to the glory of God.
Lesson #2: For those who are servants in various leadership positions as
pastors, teachers, evangelists, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and so on,
there is encouragement from the tragic life of Judasback door encouragement!
Every leader eventually experiences the disappointment and grief of someone
close to him turning traitor. It may not be as dramatic as what Judas did to our
Lord, but betrayal it is.
Judas violated Jesus, deceiving Him with the worlds greatest hypocritical
kiss, resulting in Christs execution. However, in three days God turned the tables
on Jesus enemies and raised Him from the dead. And the same God who raised
the Lord Jesus out of seemingly utter, devastating treachery and defeat is still in
the business of supporting and protecting us, even reversing our losses.
The devil thought he had won. The demons threw their biggest celebration
party ever. The religious leaders danced home after the crucifixion and toasted
their success. However, God raised Jesus from the dead!
There are other examples of the Father delivering His people from treachery
and defeat. The Lord raised David from sure defeat to victory in the civil war with
his treacherous son, Absalom. Why? Because David confessed his sin, repented,
and his heart was still inclined to serve the Lord.
The Lord brought Jonah back from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea to
minister to Nineveh. Why? Because in the belly of the great fish, Jonah repented!
Although he still needed an attitude adjustment about the Assyrians, God worked
through Jonah the greatest evangelistic crusade recorded in the Old Testament.
So, where are we? Though there may be a Judas in our church, or school, or
fellowship group, God will never desert or abandon those who fear the Lord and
take refuge in Him.
Therefore, let us take heart! Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in
due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). God will take
care of the Judases of life; our business is to be faithful so long as He gives us
breath and energy to serve.