When Judas Hanged Himself
When Judas Hanged Himself
The topic of when Judas hanged himself is worthy of
research because of the common teaching that Judas
hanged himself before Jesus’ crucifixion. God’s Word
teaches that Judas Iscariot not only was alive at the time
of the crucifixion, but he saw the resurrected Christ and
was also an eyewitness of Christ’s ascension.
To understand the accuracy of God’s Word regarding
the activities of Judas after his betrayal of Jesus, let
us begin our research in I Corinthians.
I Corinthians 15:3-5:
. . .how that Christ died for our sins according to
the scriptures;
And that he [Christ] was buried, and that he rose
again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the
twelve.
If the resurrected Christ was seen of the twelve as
verse 5 states, then Judas had to be alive during the
appearances of Jesus.
Proceeding to search The Word regarding all of Christ’s
appearances, let us consider the accounts recorded in
the Gospels of Luke and John. We need to establish
first of all that the accounts in these two Gospels are
identical. It is on this occasion which was Jesus’ first
appearance to His apostles that Jesus showed the apostles
His scars. It is inconceivable that Jesus, after He had
once shown them His hands, side and feet, would upon
another occasion deem it necessary to show them again.
The day and the time of that day when this singular event
took place is clearly stated. The time of this appearance
is the first day of the week, after the resurrection, toward
evening.
John 20:19:
Then the same day at evening, being the first day
of the week. . . .
Luke 24:1 and 29:
Now upon the first day of the week. . . .
. . .for it is toward evening, and the day is far
spent. . . .
Luke 24:33 and 36:
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to
Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together,
and them that were with them.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the
midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto
you.
There were eleven of the apostles gathered together,
and those who were with them, when Jesus stood in the
midst of them.
John 20:24 gives the same account only this time the
record states the name of the absent disciple.
John 20:24:
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was
not with them when Jesus came.
Thomas was absent; the other eleven apostles assembled
when Jesus came; thus Judas Iscariot had to
have been living and present.
John 20:26 tells us that “. . .after eight days again his
disciples were within. . . .” These are the same apostles
as were gathered at the first appearance in Luke 24.
Luke 24:33:
. . .the eleven [without Thomas] gathered together,
and them that were with them.
The time that Jesus was seen of the twelve, then, is
specifically stated in John 20.
John 20:26:
. . .again his disciples were within, and Thomas with
them [eleven and Thomas made the count twelve]:
then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in
the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Jesus came and stood in the midst of the twelve, confirming
the information in I Corinthians.
I Corinthians 15:5:
. . .he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.
Matthew 27 records the events of Judas’ life after he
betrayed Jesus.
Matthew 27:5:
And he [Judas Iscariot] cast down the pieces of silver
in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged
himself.
This account does not say that these events happened
in quick succession. This simply summarizes Judas’ life.
How wonderful the Word of God is and how plain when
once we understand it.
Another account also confirms that Judas was alive
after the resurrection.
Acts 1:1, 2:
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Until the day in which he was taken up, after that
he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments
unto the apostles whom he had chosen.
Luke 6:13 tells that Jesus had chosen twelve, not
eleven, and Acts 1:2 says He gave “commandments unto
the apostles whom he had chosen [the twelve].”
Acts 1:3:
To whom also he shewed himself alive after his
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of
them forty days. . . .
“To whom” refers back to the apostles (of verse 2)
whom He had chosen. To the twelve apostles he showed
himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them—the twelve apostles—forty days.
In order to accurately divide The Word on the rest of
Acts 1, it is important to establish that eleven of the
apostles were Galileans, but the one named Judas Iscariot
was a Judean. He was from the town of Kerioth in southern
Judea. “Iscariot” is commonly thought to be from
the Hebrew ish Kerioth, that is “a man of Kerioth.”
The record of Judas from Kerioth is found in two of
the oldest codices. We need only Acts 2:7 to prove that
the other eleven apostles were Galileans. On the day of
Pentecost the multitude at the Temple said, “. . .Behold,
are not all these which speak Galileans?” referring to
the eleven apostles (without Judas Iscariot) plus Matthias.
Whenever any reference is made to men of Galilee or
Galileans, Judas is left out for he was a Judean.
Now, we must continue following the pronouns in
the first chapter of Acts very carefully.
Acts 1:4:
And, being assembled together with them, commanded
them [referring back to verse two, apostles
whom He had chosen which were twelve] that they
[twelve apostles] should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father. . . .
In verse 5, the “ye” refers to the twelve apostles.
Verses 5 and 6:
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they [the twelve] therefore were come together,
they [the twelve] asked of him, saying, Lord,
wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?
In verse 7 “them” refers to the twelve apostles, while
the “ye” in verse 8 refers to the twelve apostles.
Verses 9 through 11 continue the account.
And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while
they [the twelve apostles] beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their [the twelve
apostles’] sight.
And while they [the twelve apostles] looked stedfastly
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two
men stood by them [the twelve apostles] in white
apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven?. . . .
In verse eleven the “two men” addressed their remarks
to “men of Galilee,” the eleven apostles—not to Judas,
the Judean. Note the time of verse ten, when the two
men stood by them (the twelve), and verse eleven when
the two men spoke to men of Galilee (the eleven).
Judas Iscariot departed the scene at this time. There
is a passing of time between verses ten and eleven
which allows for this departure, so verse eleven could
well begin a new paragraph. Note that verse eleven
does not say, “Which also said unto them.” Had it read
“unto them,” the pronoun “them” would have referred
back to the twelve (the same as verse ten) and this
would be inaccurate for the “two men” spoke to only
eleven apostles from Galilee: “Which also said, Ye men
of Galilee. . . .” This change from using pronouns through
verse ten to “men of Galilee” in verse eleven is certainly
no accident. How wonderfully accurate the Word of God
is.
Acts 1:12:
Then returned they [the eleven] unto Jerusalem from
the mount called Olivet. . . .
They, the “men of Galilee” (without Judas, the Judean)
returned unto Jerusalem.
Verse 13:
And when they [the men of Galilee] were come in,
they [eleven apostles] went up into an upper room,
where abode. . . .
Eleven men of Galilee are then all named one by one.
Judas Iscariot is never heard of again. Peter tells what
happened to Judas in verse 18.
Acts 1:18:
Now this man [Judas Iscariot] purchased a field with
the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Choosing a replacement for Judas then followed in
short order. It was very fitting that this should take place
so close to the ascension, and yet before Pentecost. A
replacement was not chosen earlier because Judas was
still alive.
Now we have the whole story of Judas Iscariot who
betrayed the Son of God and then regained apparent
fellowship with the other eleven after the crucifixion
for he was with them during Christ’s several appearances.
Finally Judas was found at the scene of the ascension.
Afterwards he departed and hanged himself.
The term “hanged himself ” implies to the Western
mind that he took his own life by suspending himself
from the neck. This however is not the case according
to Eastern custom. We read of King Saul falling upon
his own sword. This was the method of hanging for
government or military personnel. Judas was not in this
category. Being a common man, he fell upon a stake.
The term “hanging” is used for this type of suicide
because the victims suspended themselves on pointed
objects. By such action the abdomen was punctured and
the bowels gushed out, as is described.
In order to note the so-called discrepancy regarding
Judas’ death as recorded in Matthew 27:3–10 and Acts
1:15–20, let us note the Word of God accurately and
see for ourselves that there is no discrepancy whatsoever
in these two accounts.
Acts 1:15:
And in those days [the days between the ascension
and the day of Pentecost] Peter stood up in the midst
of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together
were about an hundred and twenty).
Note that this is not the day of Pentecost, but this is
in the days before Pentecost. How long before Pentecost
we do not know but we do know that it was after
the ascension and before the day of Pentecost. On this
occasion before Pentecost, the names together were about
one hundred and twenty.
It was at this time that Peter stood up among the
disciples and led the meeting to elect someone to replace
Judas Iscariot who had hanged himself after the
ascension.
Verses 16-18:
[Peter said,] Men and brethren, this scripture must
needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by
the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas,
which was guide to them that took Jesus.
For he was numbered with us, and had obtained
part of this ministry.
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.
The word “purchased” is the word “provided.” It is
the same word used in Matthew 10:9 where it. states,
“Provide neither gold. . . .” Judas purchased or provided
for himself “. . .a field with the reward of iniquity. . . .”
The word “field” in this verse is the Greek word chōrion
meaning “property.” Judas provided for himself a property
which he purchased “. . .with the reward of iniquity.”
Most people believe that his reward of iniquity was the
thirty pieces of silver, which cannot be true because he
cast them down in the temple.*
In John 12:6 we are told that Judas “was a thief, and
had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” Judas was
the treasurer or the caretaker of the money of the apostles.
It also instructs us that he “was a thief.” Judas stole
money from the bag, and with this stolen money, which
is called the “reward of iniquity,” he provided for himself
a property.
After the ascension, as we have traced earlier in
this study, Judas returned to his own purchased property
which he had acquired with money stolen from the
bag “. . .and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the
midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” It plainly states
that he hanged himself on his own property sometime
after the ascension and before Pentecost because the
“about a hundred and twenty” elected someone to replace
Judas, as we noted in verse fifteen, “in those days” before
the day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:19:
And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem;
insomuch as that field is called in their proper
tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
Note very carefully that in this verse the property
which Judas purchased or provided for himself is called
Aceldama, the field of blood. It could not have been
called “the field of blood” when he purchased it or provided
it for himself, but it was called this later because
he hanged himself on his own property.
Matthew 27 gives the following account of Judas.
Matthew 27:3-5:
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw
that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought
again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests
and elders,
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood. And they said, What is that to us? see
thou to that.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple,
and departed, and went and hanged himself.
People have inferred from verse five that as soon as
Judas had cast the thirty pieces of silver back into the
temple, he immediately went and hanged himself. This
cannot be true as we have seen from our study of the
Word of God. Verse five is just a summary of what
occurred later; it simply telescopes time.
Verse six of Matthew 27 gives us some interesting
information regarding what the chief priests did with
the thirty pieces of silver that Judas returned and cast
back in the temple.
Matthew 27:6:
And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said,
It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury,
because it is the price of blood.
The chief priests said that these thirty pieces of silver
were “the price of blood,” the price of blood that the
chief priests had paid Judas to betray the Lord Jesus
Christ and to deliver Him to them. After Judas had done
this, the priests had Jesus crucified.
Matthew 27:7:
And they [the chief priests] took counsel [They got
together in a discussion as to what to do with the
thirty pieces of silver since it was not lawful for
them to be put back into the treasury, because they
were the price of blood.], and bought [purchased in
the open market place where the sales of properties
and fields were made] with them [the thirty pieces
of silver] the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
The word “field” in Matthew 27:7 is not the same
word chōrion as the word “field” in Acts 1:18, which
we have discussed. The word “field” in Matthew is the
Greek word agros meaning a larger area than the chōrion,
property, purchased by Judas.
The chief priests, after due consideration and counsel,
purposely decided to go to the open market and there to
buy a potter’s field. They did not buy the property on
which Judas hanged himself for that was Judas’ own
property. The chief priests took the thirty pieces of
silver and deliberately purchased a field in which to
bury strangers—meaning the poor people, criminals and
those who had no other place to be buried. This field
was called “the potter’s field.”
Matthew 27:8:
Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood,
unto this day.
When the chief priests went to the market place to
buy the potter’s field, they did not go out to buy a field
called “the field of blood”; but it was called thus by the
people later because the priests had purchased it with
the thirty pieces of silver. The word “field” in this verse,
again, is the word agros in the Greek, and the word
“blood” is the word haimatos in the Greek. This is an
entirely different field from the one referred to in Acts.
In the latter it was a property, and the property was “the
property of blood” using the word Aceldama, while in
Matthew it is called “the field of blood,” namely, agros
haimatos.
Thus, there is no contradiction between the records of
Acts and Matthew. As a matter of fact, a very careful
study of these facts makes the record detailed and real.
It thrills our hearts when we see the great accuracy of
the wonderful Word of God.