Category:Judas Iscariot (subject)

BACK TO THE PEOPLE INDEX

Judas Iscariot (1st century CE) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus of Nazareth, the one who betrayed him.

Overview

Judas Iscariot is mentioned only in Christian sources (Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, and John), where is consistently indicated as "the betrayer" of Jesus.

One of the Twelve, the Betrayer. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke mention Judas Iscariot in the lists of the Twelve, which all end with "Judas Iscariot, who betrayed [Jesus]" (Mk 3:19; see also Mt 10:4; Lk 6:16). The Gospel of John (which does not provide any list of the Twelve) also introduces Judas as "one of the Twelve who was about to betray [Jesus]" (Jn 6:71). John also adds that the name of Judas' father was "Simon" (Jn 6:71; 13:2.26).

The money-keeper. According to John, Judas was the treasurer of the group: "Judas kept the common purse" (12:5; 13:29).

The thief. The Gospel of John charges Judas of being "a thief". When "Mary took a pound of costly perfume... and anointed Jesus' feet" (Jn 12:3), Judas openly complained that "the perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor" (12:5). John claims that Judas "said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief... and used to steal what was put into [the common purse]" (12:6). Jesus replied: "You always have the poor with you but you do not always have me" (12:8).

The Betrayal. The Gospels of Mark and Luke claim that it was "the chief priests" who promised Judas some money, when he contacted them. "Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him" (Mk 14:10-11; see Lk 22:4-6)). For the Gospel of Matthew it was Judas who asked for money and made a bargain with the chief priests. "What will you give me if I betray him to you? They paid him thirty pieces of silver" (Mt 26:15).

The last supper. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke claim that Jesus announced to the disciples that one of them would betray him, and cursed the betrayer: "Woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!" (Mk 14:21). According to Mark and Luke, the identity of the betrayer was not revealed. Matthew and John, on the contrary, claim that Jesus identified Judas. According to Matthew, "Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him, You have said so. (Mt 26:25). According to John, Jesus since the beginning "knew who was to betray him" (Jo 13:11) and explicitly indicated Judas, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot... and said: Do quickly what you are going to do. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor (Jn 13:26-30).

Possessed by the Devil. According to the Gospels of Luke and John, the betrayal of Judas should be attributed to the intervention of the Devil. They differ on the timing of the possession. According to Luke, "Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot" (Lk 22:3), before he went to the chief priest. According to John, when Judas joined the other disciples for the last supper, "the Devil had already put it into [his]... to betray [Jesus]" (Jn 13:2), but "Satan entered him, [only] after he received the piece of bread" from Jesus (Jn 13:27).

The Arrest of Jesus. The opportunity to size Jesus came at night when Jesus went "to a place called Gethsemane" (Mk 14:32). According to Mark, Luke and Matthew, "Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived" and identified Jesus with "a kiss" (Mk 14:43-45; Mt 26:47-50; Lk 26:47-48). The gospel of John also has Judas leading the guards, but omits the detail of the kiss; it was Jesus, who "knowing all that was happening to him, came forward" (Jn 18:3-5) and identified himself.

Death of Judas. The Gospel of Matthew, the Acts of the Apostle and Papias offers three different accounts of the death of Judas. The story of the repentance and suicide of Judas is only in Matthew. "When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood... Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself" (Mt 27:3-5). With the money the chief priests "bought the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day" (27:7-8). According to Acts, it was Judas himself who "acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and his his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language: Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood" (Acts 1:18-19). The two sources read the event in light, and as the fulfillment, of two different biblical passages: Zechariah (Matthew) and Psalms (Acts). Papias claims: "Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out." The Gospels or Mark and John are silent about the whereabouts of Judas after the death of Jesus.

Since the lack of evidence outside the Christian tradition makes it virtually impossible any attempt at a historical reconstruction of the life of Judas Iscariot, scholarly discussion is limited to details of the tradition. For instance, some interpret the name "Iscariot" as "man of Karioth" (which will make Judas the only apostle from Judea), or "man from Issachar"; others have suggested that it could be a corrupted form of sikarios ("assassin").

Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan