Did Judas Get a Raw Deal?

Some aspects of the story of Judas are contradictory. All four evangelists number Judas among "the twelve" apostles. It is astonishing that Paul, the earliest Christian writer, does not mention Judas explicitly but does say in 1 Corinthians 15:5 when speaking of the resurrection of Jesus "that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve." Whenever the phrase "the Twelve" is used in New Testament scripture the meaning is very clear that the reference is to the original twelve apostles of Jesus. Paul implies here that Judas was a witness to the resurrection.


If we turn to the Gospels we quickly discover that in Mark, Luke and John the story of Judas ends with the betrayal and nothing further is mentioned of his fate. It is more explicit in Matthew 27:3-5 "When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 'I have sinned,' he said, 'for I have betrayed innocent blood.' 'What is that to us?' they replied. 'That's your responsibility.' So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself." This event clearly took place after Jesus had been seized but before the crucifixion and the resurrection. Acts 1:18 gives a more lurid description of the suicide of Judas but is not helpful in placing the time. The Acts account also provides further contradictions both in the manner of his death and what happened to the money.


Note also in Acts 1:24-26 that Matthias, the replacement for Judas, was elected after the ascension and just before Pentecost and thus could not be counted as among "the twelve" as a resurrection witness. There is a clear contradiction here. Either Paul is wrong or Matthew is wrong. Let me suggest to you that Paul knew nothing of any betrayal by Judas because the story was not developed until after Paul's death. The story itself is a midrashic construction based on a number of Old Testament references. The necessity to develop Judas as a reviled scapegoat was to deflect blame from the Romans to the Jews in order to assist Christian survival in a Roman world, which was already turning a very negative eye on the early Christians. What better way to do so than to choose a character bearing the very name of the nation of the Jews? This aspect of scriptural motivation could be developed much further.


Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


Luke 22:28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


In both citations above Jesus is addressing “the twelve” (including Judas) indicating to them that they (including Judas) would be with him in the kingdom. If Judas did indeed betray Jesus and is condemned then either Jesus was unaware of Judas’ impending betrayal or Jesus lied to Judas (and the other eleven). Everywhere a reference is made to ”the twelve” the roster includes Judas. But then we come to the following citation.


1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.


Paul here is telling us that Judas was a witness to the resurrection. No mention is made of the betrayal or the “fact” that Judas committed suicide before the resurrection. It must also be pointed out that Mattias was not chosen to replace Judas until almost two months after the resurrection. There are some serious contradictions in these three sources. We do not have to invent ways to reconcile these problems when there is a single simple explanation --- the betrayal and suicide of Judas are a late developing interpretive mythology that Paul was unaware of.


One further point deserves to be mentioned and that is the historicity of the ‘thirty pieces of silver’. The fact of the matter is that pieces of silver were not used in the Temple in the first century and had not been used for over 200 years. They had been replaced by minted coins thereby avoiding the necessity of weighing on a balance to determine value. It would also appear that Matthew in mentioning this was using the literary technique of haggadic midrash in referencing Zecharia 11:12-13.

The eleven fled because they didn't yet have the power of the Holy Spirit. Judas must have had more than that going on. The eleven still didn't know what to do, so they went back to fishing. (I'm not sure where Matthew went, if he didn't join them...)

The eleven repented. Judas only experienced remorse. It parallels the differences between Kings Saul and David.

JackRT said:

Some aspects of the story of Judas are contradictory. All four evangelists number Judas among "the twelve" apostles. It is astonishing that Paul, the earliest Christian writer, does not mention Judas explicitly but does say in 1 Corinthians 15:5 when speaking of the resurrection of Jesus "that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve." Whenever the phrase "the Twelve" is used in New Testament scripture the meaning is very clear that the reference is to the original twelve apostles of Jesus. Paul implies here that Judas was a witness to the resurrection.


If we turn to the Gospels we quickly discover that in Mark, Luke and John the story of Judas ends with the betrayal and nothing further is mentioned of his fate. It is more explicit in Matthew 27:3-5 "When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 'I have sinned,' he said, 'for I have betrayed innocent blood.' 'What is that to us?' they replied. 'That's your responsibility.' So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself." This event clearly took place after Jesus had been seized but before the crucifixion and the resurrection. Acts 1:18 gives a more lurid description of the suicide of Judas but is not helpful in placing the time. The Acts account also provides further contradictions both in the manner of his death and what happened to the money.


Note also in Acts 1:24-26 that Matthias, the replacement for Judas, was elected after the ascension and just before Pentecost and thus could not be counted as among "the twelve" as a resurrection witness. There is a clear contradiction here. Either Paul is wrong or Matthew is wrong. Let me suggest to you that Paul knew nothing of any betrayal by Judas because the story was not developed until after Paul's death. The story itself is a midrashic construction based on a number of Old Testament references. The necessity to develop Judas as a reviled scapegoat was to deflect blame from the Romans to the Jews in order to assist Christian survival in a Roman world, which was already turning a very negative eye on the early Christians. What better way to do so than to choose a character bearing the very name of the nation of the Jews? This aspect of scriptural motivation could be developed much further.


Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


Luke 22:28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


In both citations above Jesus is addressing “the twelve” (including Judas) indicating to them that they (including Judas) would be with him in the kingdom. If Judas did indeed betray Jesus and is condemned then either Jesus was unaware of Judas’ impending betrayal or Jesus lied to Judas (and the other eleven). Everywhere a reference is made to ”the twelve” the roster includes Judas. But then we come to the following citation.


1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.


Paul here is telling us that Judas was a witness to the resurrection. No mention is made of the betrayal or the “fact” that Judas committed suicide before the resurrection. It must also be pointed out that Mattias was not chosen to replace Judas until almost two months after the resurrection. There are some serious contradictions in these three sources. We do not have to invent ways to reconcile these problems when there is a single simple explanation --- the betrayal and suicide of Judas are a late developing interpretive mythology that Paul was unaware of.


One further point deserves to be mentioned and that is the historicity of the ‘thirty pieces of silver’. The fact of the matter is that pieces of silver were not used in the Temple in the first century and had not been used for over 200 years. They had been replaced by minted coins thereby avoiding the necessity of weighing on a balance to determine value. It would also appear that Matthew in mentioning this was using the literary technique of haggadic midrash in referencing Zecharia 11:12-13.

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I have always considered Paul referencing the 12 to not include Judas and to refer to the 11 but not a contradiction.

I think that the number isn't as significant as it being a way to reference which Apostles he was talking about. If he had said the eleven it wouldn't necessarily have been as understandable as saying the twelve. There were 12 disciples before and 12 apostles after. I think it is a construct rather than him numbering how many apostles were there. We do the same today when referring to things, we will say something understandable even if not literal.

redleghunter said:

That could mean Matthias as he was selected based on being one who was with Christ from the beginning of the ministry:

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And IIRC, Matthias was already an apostle before Paul was ordained.

redleghunter said:

Or you can share with us the Scriptures showing Judas was present in Jerusalem when Paul visited?

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Non sequitur.

During the middle ages, Judas became a stereotypical image of "the Jew". His name is synonymous with "Jew". He was even traditionally left-handed and red-haired.

I also think its interesting Paul says nothing about him. It could be he simply was not an important figure in the earliest days of Christianity. As time goes on, the Gospels seems to focus more and more on Judas' depravity and guilt, with Acts in particular containing a lurid account of his death (also, the NT itself doesn't seem to agree how exactly he died).

Personally, I think its entirely possible there was a real Judas, but what we have is the development of an oral tradition about his character and death. We can only speculate about his true motivations, though obviously he had some kind of disagreement with Jesus, or perhaps he was insane or mad and believed somehow he was fulfilling prophecy, "immanentizing the eschaton", perhaps.

Paul seems unaware of Judas altogether. But then Paul did not know about Jesus' earthly life in great detail, probably only familiar with some early sayings gospels of Jesus and major events in his life.

Lastly, Judas himself is not mentioned in the ancient creeds of the Church.

Can a prophecy from God fail? Could anybody other than Judas have been the fall guy?

I don't believe Judas ever truly believed in Jesus. He was a zealot that was expecting the Messiah to come and conquer Rome. Jesus' preaching on peace never aligned with his nature and therefore I do not think that Judas was ever saved.

We all have freedom to believe or suppress the truth. I believe Jesus knew that Judas would suppress the truth, thus allowing the scriptures to be fulfilled. Judas still had the ability to chose to believe and not betray, but that was not in his character/nature.

DJ Allan said:

I don't believe Judas ever truly believed in Jesus.

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He did the miracles with the rest of them [Mark 6:7-13]. He had to believe to get to that point.

The fundamental question begged by the story of Judas is predestination,
Thomist vs Molinist vs Calvinist views and in the last case double predestination.

The question of whether Judas had free will, but our Lord foresaw how he would use it. Or if he was in effect an automaton, destined to play his part, in which case how can he blamed for following the path he was destined to take? which path enable salvation for the rest of mankind since it resulted in the passion of Christ so was it all bad that he did what he did..

Or do we presume, that Judas was just inconsequential: that the evil in society would have delivered up Jesus, by some means or agent, and Judas just happened to be the bad guy on that day, others would have replaced him had he used his free will for good instead...

Hard philosophical and theological questions!
Discuss.....

redleghunter said:

We see Judas used a lot in debates to show various plot lines.

One is we can lose our salvation because Judas was obviously “saved” and then rejected Christ. Yet Peter and the other Disciples ran on first contact with the enemy thus also betraying Jesus Christ. Therefore there were at least 12 deniers or those who took flight from the Messiah the night Jesus was arrested. Peter we are shown at least took up the sword and tried defending Christ. But later see that passion melt when he denied our Lord three times.

Yet Judas plotted with enemies to hand over Jesus. He then later regrets this decision and even through tears cannot believe Christ would forgive him and then kills himself.

Did Judas really believe the Kingdom of God was at hand? Meaning the Kingdom Christ preached or did he believe in the Kingdom the Jewish authorities believed in, a political kingdom where Rome was defeated and the throne of David established again in Jerusalem? And when Judas realizes this kingdom would not materialize in his day, he handed over Christ Jesus.

The aforementioned is important in how we answer the survey.

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I have always had sympathy for Judas. In many ways, we all 'betray Christ' when we sin, when we reject His example and opt to turn to Mammon or some other.

In Matthew 19:28, Christ tells the disciples that there are 12 thrones in the afterlife, Judas obviously being present. So I am not willing to pontificate that he is damned, son of perdition and 'better that he not have been born' not withstanding. For someone had to betray Jesus, it being a necessary event for our ultimate Atonement to occur. To have to have the opprobrium of all time poured upon you, with the guilt of innocent blood, the blood of God no less, that is hard. I would not wish such a hard fate on anyone. Judas was imperfect, but who is?
He did show contrition and although he couldn't live with himself anymore, I don't think we can argue this represents 'rejecting Christ'. It was all too human weakness, when running away from his own sinful nature.

Judas betrayed Christ. I don't buy Judas as a Sicarii necessarily, I don't think Iscariot should be so understood. So the nationalist angle is often overplayed. None of the disciples understood the Kingdom in Jesus' lifetime though, only after His death. The narrative follows the pouring of oils on Jesus and the entrance into Jerusalem, so fear of an excessive Roman reaction (Pilate being quite cruel, and would massacre Samaritans later), or a 'social' concern that Jesus was wasting money best given to the poor, are equally plausible causes for Judas' actions.

Someone had to do it, for the Salvific Passion to occur. This does not mean Judas is a required part of the Salvation process anymore than Mary that bore Jesus or every person that ever gave Him food is, but this specific fate was an especially terrible one. I am not going to condemn Judas, as I am not sure that if I had somehow been deceived into doing some egregiously similar act, I might not also have been unable to bear it. We humans aren't strong, and only through Christ can we be saved. Judge not lest thee be judged, applies to Judas too, as his lot is literally the worst one in history bar none.

Quid est Veritas? said:

I have always had sympathy for Judas. In many ways, we all 'betray Christ' when we sin, when we reject His example and opt to turn to Mammon or some other.

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In the mystical sense, perhaps.

O dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession, --
What dark transgression?

Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.

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redleghunter said:

One is we can lose our salvation because Judas was obviously “saved” and then rejected Christ.

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Not true. The Bible never says Judas was regenerate. It is far more clear he was not regenerate since he betrayed the Lord of Glory.

redleghunter said:

Yet Peter and the other Disciples ran on first contact with the enemy thus also betraying Jesus Christ.

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How is their running away a betrayal of Christ? And how do you claim that is was the "first contact with the enemy"? Peter and the disciples certainly had contact with unbelievers before they ran away from Christ.

redleghunter said:

Therefore there were at least 12 deniers or those who took flight from the Messiah the night Jesus was arrested.

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Do you mean 11?

Those 11 also repented later. Judas regretted what he had done, but he did not repent.

redleghunter said:

Yet Judas plotted with enemies to hand over Jesus. He then later regrets this decision and even through tears cannot believe Christ would forgive him and then kills himself.

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Because Judas regretted the consequences of his actions, not because he had Godly sorrow and realized he had sinned against the holy God.

Tears alone does not mean that someone is righteous before God.

redleghunter said:

Did Judas really believe the Kingdom of God was at hand?

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We are not told.

JoeP222w said:

Not true. The Bible never says Judas was regenerate. It is far more clear he was not regenerate since he betrayed the Lord of Glory.



How is their running away a betrayal of Christ? And how do you claim that is was the "first contact with the enemy"? Peter and the disciples certainly had contact with unbelievers before they ran away from Christ.



Do you mean 11?

Those 11 also repented later. Judas regretted what he had done, but he did not repent.



Because Judas regretted the consequences of his actions, not because he had Godly sorrow and realized he had sinned against the holy God.

Tears alone does not mean that someone is righteous before God.



We are not told.

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How do you know that he didn't repent? Was not trying to return the money turning away from evil?