Judas

At least six men named Judas (Hebrew, Yehudah, meaning “God is praised”) are mentioned in the New Testament: (1) the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) and author of the epistle of Jude; (2) one of the Twelve, not Iscariot, brother of James (Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13); (3) leader of a revolt in Galilee, who was regarded by some as the Messiah but was killed along with his followers (Acts 5:37); (4) Judas Barsabbas, church leader in Jerusalem, declared to be a prophet (Acts 15:22, 27, 32); (5) a person of Damascus, the host of Paul after the latter’s conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:11); (6) Judas Iscariot, the most famous of them all, a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (Bible Dictionary, “Judas”).

Judas Iscariot was the son of one Simon (John 6:71). The surname Iscariot is probably a contraction of two Hebrew words meaning “man (ish) of Kerioth” (a village in southern Judah; Joshua 15:25; see also Bible Dictionary, “Kerioth”). He was the only one of the Twelve not from Galilee (Acts 1:11; Talmage, 225). He betrayed Jesus by delivering him into the hands of the chief priests, a contractual agreement for which he received thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16; Luke 22:4–6). In an episode that foreshadowed the life of the Messiah, Judah, son of Jacob, proposed selling his brother Joseph for the price of a slave (Genesis 37:26–28). Similarly, Judas (Judah) Iscariot sold Jesus for the price of a slave (Matthew 27:3, 9; Talmage, 592), the amount foreseen by prophets (Zechariah 11:12; Exodus 21:32).

The four Gospels paint a uniformly negative picture of Judas Iscariot, all referring to him as a betrayer or traitor even before they describe his carrying out “the blackest deed of treachery of which man is capable” (Talmage, 592; Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16; John 6:71). The Gospels imply that his treachery is all the more shocking precisely because he was one of the Twelve.

The Gospel of John attributes Judas’s false concern for the poor to his role as a thief. That is, he “had the bag” (he may have been the treasurer of the Quorum of the Twelve), and because he used to steal from it, he undoubtedly was concerned that his thievery remain secret, covered up by a constant flow of money coming in—in this case by selling costly ointment instead of using it to anoint Jesus (John 12:4–6). John also reports that Jesus referred to Judas as “the son of perdition” (John 17:12). Both John and Luke state that Satan entered into Judas as the conspiracy of betrayal unfolded, though they seem to disagree as to exactly when it occurred (Luke 22:3; John 13:27). It is possible that this demonic possession was literal, since Satan is a spirit personage capable of such a thing and two Gospel witnesses attest to it. Thus, it also seems possible that Satan entered into Judas both before he made his final agreement with the chief priests and during the Last Supper.

It should be observed here that Satan has no power over individuals except as they permit him (Joseph Smith, 214). Judas was not predestined to betray Jesus, as explained by Elder James E. Talmage: “It would be contrary to both the letter and spirit of the revealed word to say that the wretched Iscariot was in the least degree deprived of freedom or agency in the course he followed to so execrable an end. His was the opportunity and privilege common to the Twelve of living in the light of the Lord’s immediate presence. Judas Iscariot was no victim of circumstances, no insensate tool guided by a superhuman power, except as he by personal volition gave himself up to Satan and accepted a wage in the devil’s employ. Had Judas been true to the right, other means than his perfidy would have operated to bring the Lamb to the slaughter. His ordination to the apostleship placed him in possession of opportunity and privilege above that of the uncalled and unordained; and with such blessed possibility of achievement in the service of God came the corresponding capability to fall” (650).

There also seems to be disagreement between the two reports of Judas’s death. Matthew says that after he “repented himself” and tried to return the blood money to the priests, he committed suicide by hanging (Matthew 27:3–5). Peter says that Judas purchased a field called Aceldama (“the field of blood”) with the conspiracy money, and falling headlong, “burst asunder,” and “his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18–19). Various attempts have been made to harmonize the two accounts. A reasonable suggestion from the medieval theologian and church father Augustine proposes that Judas hanged himself in the field, and afterward the rope broke and Judas’s body fell to the ground and burst open (see also JST, Matthew 27:6).

On the question of Judas’s station in the eternities as a son of perdition, President Joseph F. Smith said the following: “If Judas really had known God’s power, and had partaken thereof, and did actually ‘deny the truth’ and ‘defy’ that power, ‘having denied the Holy Spirit after he had received it,’ and also ‘denied the Only Begotten,’ after God had ‘revealed him’ unto him, then there can be no doubt that he ‘will die the second death.’ That Judas did partake of all this knowledge—that these great truths had been revealed to him—that he had received the Holy Spirit by the gift of God, and was therefore qualified to commit the unpardonable sin, is not at all clear to me. To my mind it strongly appears that not one of the disciples possessed sufficient light, knowledge nor wisdom, at the time of the crucifixion, for either exaltation or condemnation; for it was afterward that their minds were opened to understand the scriptures, and that they were endowed with power from on high; without which they were only children in knowledge, in comparison to what they afterwards become under the influence of the Spirit” (433).

Either way, Judas Iscariot chose to do evil deeds. He became “Satan’s serf, and did his master’s bidding” (Talmage, 592). His story is one of great tragedy, filled with valuable lessons for us all.

Sources

Joseph Smith [manual]. Teachings of Presidents of the Church series. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2007.

Smith, Joseph. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Edited by B. H. Roberts. 7 vols. 2d ed. rev. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932–51.

Smith, Joseph F. Gospel Doctrine. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1939.

Talmage, James E. Jesus the Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1973.

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