Just registered today. I’m glad this forum exists. I’m a Christian and have read the Bible with emphasis on the New Testament. I believe the Bible is wonderful, inspirational, devotional, but the one thing it cannot be is historically accurate.
The gospels differ, which isn’t the issue. In many instances they have conflicting detail which cannot be reconciled. Matthew and Luke differ on Joseph’s father, Mark and Acts differ on the circumstances of Judas’ death, Mark and John differ on what day of the week Jesus died. Matthew has wise men visiting baby Jesus, Luke has shedherds. Mark and Matthew differ on when the stone was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb. Mark and Luke differ on when the curtain was torn at the temple. I could go on and on and on. Any thoughts?
Judas death ...............................
This is a study I did years ago on Judas death ...It is contrary to what is typically taught, but it fits with what is written.
The first thing to remember when it comes too apparent contradictions is “that there are no contradictions in the Bible”. Errors in transmission, deliberate forgeries, mistranslation, or misunderstanding are all causes for what appears, as apparent contradictions.
Matthew 27:5 seems to indicate that Judas hanged himself before the crucifixion.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Because of the verse in Matthew we have always thought that Judas immediately went out and hanged himself, but the verse in
1Co 15:5 and the records in both
Luk 24:33-36 and
Jhn 20:20-24 show Judas being present after the resurrection, which is a notable or apparent contradiction.
Because God is perfect, so also is His word in its original form. So when we run across something that doesn’t fit or appears to contradict itself, we must look in one of the above four categories; in this case it is “misunderstanding” of the words
“hanged himself” in
Mat 27:5
The word translated
hanged himself in the King James version is
apanchomai from the Greek word
apanchô it is used only once in the New Testament.
In classic literature it means to “strangle” or “to choke” and is used figuratively to mean “to choke with anger” or “grief” (1.)The Expositor’s Greek Testament suggests that
apanchô points to death by grief rather than literal choking. (2.) This is correct only to the extent that Judas did not die immediately in Matthew 27, but he was extremely grieved over the betrayal This figurative usage is also verified in the classical writings Aristophanes (3.)
(1.) Henry G. Liddell and Robert Scott. A Greek – English Lexicon, rev. by Henry S. Jones {1843; 9th ed., Oxford Press} 1940 p.174
(2.) W. Robertson Nicoll , The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 6 vols. {London Hodder and Stoughton, 1897} 1: 323.
(3.) Aristophanes Vespae 686.
This seems to be what this word
“hanged himself” suggest, and would fit with the emotional torment and grief that Judas would be going through.
We can, from a purely human aspect, understand just how one might feel after betraying not just a friend, but also someone who you now realize was the redeemer for Israel.
But there is a greater depth to his betrayal culturally that we must understand in order to fully grasps the agonizing grief that was taking hold of Judas; and that is “the covenant of salt.”
In short
: the salt covenant is an oriental custom still in practice today. It means that when you partook in the covenant, be it from salted food, drink, or exchanged a pinch of salt at the marriage ceremony, your words were your bond, you would never …..even at the cost of death, betray that person you had a covenant with.
There is no reference I could give you, at least in American culture that would equal that of the covenant of salt. It is so honored that you could leave a known thief with all your worldly possessions and money, and not worry about a thing, if you had a covenant of salt with that person.
The honorable thing to do if you broke the covenant of salt was to commit suicide, and if you did not, someone else would be obliged to do it for you.
Many references of salted words and salt covenant are found throughout the old and new Testament; Judas, as did the rest of the Apostles had a salt covenant with Jesus.
But if Judas is alive after the resurrection ………..when and how did he die?
Follow the pronouns from verse 3 through 10
Acts 1:1-11
Acts 1:1 The former treaties {scrolls of Luke}
have I made O theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.
2.
Until the day in which He was taken up after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles {Luke 6:13-16}
whom he had chosen:
3.
To whom he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them {the 12 apostles whom he had chosen}
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
4.
And being assembled together with them commanded them {the 12}
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he, ye have heard of me.
5.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6.
When they {the 12}
therefore were come together they {the 12}
asked of Him, saying, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom if Israel?”
7.
And He said unto them, {the 12}
it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.
8.
But ye shall receive power after that the holy ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
9.
And when He had spoken these things, while they {the 12}
beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10.
And while they {the 12}
looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.
11.
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Sometime between verse 10 and verse 11 Judas Iscariot left to commit suicide. We know this by following the pronouns from verse three to verse 10, speaking of “the apostles whom Jesus had chosen” (in verse two).
In verse
eleven it changes from
“them” to
“ye men of Galilee,” Judas Iscariot was the only non-Galilean, he was from Kerioth, a town in Judea. We do not know how much time took place between verse 10 and 11 but it was sufficient time for Judas to take a hike.
Two things to keep in mind here………First: I didn’t write the book… I understand this is contrary to what most of us have been taught about the death of Judas, but God is the author, and clearly the author shows Judas being alive after the resurrection ….
Secondly: words mean thing! God has a purpose for everything he says, where he say it, why he says it, when he says it, how he says it, and to whom ……….if that is what the Word says, that is what it means ….we just read and believe …………end of story …..well not quite the end ……
what happened to Judas is explained in
Acts 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Even after seeing Jesus at least three times, and having been forgiven by the Lord, it must have been too much for him to cope with. Through his agonizing grief opened himself up to being possessed with the spirit of suicide, impaling himself on a sharp instrument, possibly sword, or a sharp stake.
Some food for thought …. If Judas did kill himself before the ascension …………wouldn’t Jesus be the likely candidate to select a new apostle?
And if Judas did kill himself immediately after the betrayal ….and Jesus did not find it necessary to replace him …………why would the apostles feel it necessary to do so?
)
