Monday, August 1, 2011

The Death of Judas

The Death of Judas

Consider the accounts of Judas’ death from Matthew and Acts (NetBible translation). While reading through each passage, I encourage everyone to make a brief list of events which occurred. You will find my list underneath each passage.

Matthew 27:3-10

27:3 Now when 5  Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus 6  had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, 27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself! 27:5 So 7  Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. 27:6 The 8  chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” 27:7 After 9  consulting together they bought the Potter’s Field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. 27:8 For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Bloodto this day. 27:9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah 10  the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel, 11  27:10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” 12 

  • Judas regrets his actions and attempts to return the silver coins
  • The chief priests and elders reject him
  • Judas throws the silver coins into the temple
  • Judas hangs himself
  • The chief priests use the silver to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial place for foreigners.
  • This occurrence was a fulfillment of something Jeremiah said

Acts 1:16-19

1:16 Brothers, 39  the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through 40  David concerning Judas – who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus 1:17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.” 41  1:18 (Now this man Judas 42  acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, 43  and falling headfirst 44  he burst open in the middle and all his intestines 45  gushed out. 1:19 This 46  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language 47  they called that field 48  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”)

  • Judas acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed
  • Falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out

Now, here are a few questions:
    1. Did Judas keep the silver?
    2. Who bought the field?
    3. Who used the silver (to acquire something)?
    4. How did Judas die?
    5. When people hang themselves, do they jump head first or feet first?
    6. If someone was to hang themselves and the rope broke, would they rotate 180 degrees and fall head first?
Also, you may be interested to hear what C.S. Lewis thought about this matter! “It seems to me that 2 and 4 rule out the view that every statement in Scripture must be historical truth.” (The issue discussed on this post fell under subpoint 2) To see what I mean, check out his letter to Clyde S. Kilby (http://www.crivoice.org/lewisbib.html)! It is the second letter on the page.

Keep in mind that he wrote this after he wrote Mere Christianity (so it wasn’t something he said before he was converted).

If you leave a comment, please answer the 6 questions I have asked. Also feel free to leave other comments, thoughts, or additional questions for discussion!

3 comments:

  1. No Judas didn't keep the silver. Judas clearly threw the coins back into the temple.

    This gives an answer to both 2 and 3. (I hope.) The priests bought the field. The money was given to Judas as compensation for his betrayal of Christ. Those are Judas' thirty silver coins by legal right. The priests used Judas' ill-gotten money to purchase the field. So it can be construed that it was Judas paying for the field while the priests used the money.

    Judas hanged himself.

    My translation of verse 18 of Acts 1 does not give a time frame or follow with a dependent clause. Mine says "With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought the field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out." According to mine I infer that a certain time passed after he hanged himself (which is stated in Matthew). Decay took place. There he fell headlong after advanced decay (or someone could have cut him down) and broke open down the middle.

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  2. Hey Will!
    Thanks a lot for your response. First let me point out the things that I agree with you on- some time could have passed after he hung himself, decay would have resulted, and his intestines could have spilled out (what wonderful subject material we have here, haha).

    However, I have 2 new questions for you:
    1. If you were not trying to harmonize a possible discrepancy, what would your interpretation of "With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought the field" be? For me personally, I think the verse simply means what it says: With the reward (the silver), Judas bought the field.

    2. If the rope broke or Judas was cut down, how can you account for him falling "headlong" instead of feet first?

    Anyway, thanks for all of your involvement on my blog! I have enjoyed reading your notes on facebook as well.

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  3. My own logical interpretation of this is in fact the two are disparate...at first. It clearly states Judas purchased the field in one account. It clearly states again in another account that the priests used Judas's money to buy the field. However, the matter of this is a point of perspective and a state of mind, I think. If you're going for a strictly literal interpretation then I can see where confusion happens. But in a new light, I see this. Think about the saying for a moment "Be careful what you wish for." Judas committed evil. (Albeit a completely forgivable evil had he simply asked for forgiveness from God.)However, Judas ignored this and let evil be repaid with evil upon him. Judas betrayed the Son of God and, in payment, he received a field in which he hung himself. With the reward (evil for evil) he got for his wickedness, Judas bought the field.

    As for the headfirst part of this, if someone cut him down, he probably would have used some kind of knife in a sawing action. This applies force in a horizontal direction and a likelihood of the body of Judas swinging as the rope was being cut. Maybe someone held Judas' remains up so another could more easily cut the rope. The person holding Judas' remains then threw him down. In the case of decay, Palestine is a desert with no windbreaks. The wind could have begun to make Judas' body swing until he either fell apart or the rope broke.

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