political second-temple

Betrayal of Judas

c. 30 or 33 CE (night of Last Supper/arrest) (scriptural)

The act of treachery by Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s twelve apostles, who betrayed his master to the religious authorities for thirty pieces of silver and identified him with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. This betrayal set in motion the events leading to Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, and stands as history’s most infamous act of treachery.

The Biblical Accounts

The Agreement with Chief Priests

Matthew 26:14-16:

  • Judas went to chief priests
  • “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?”
  • Counted out thirty pieces of silver
  • From then on Judas watched for opportunity to hand him over

Mark 14:10-11:

  • Judas Iscariot went to betray Jesus to chief priests
  • They were delighted and promised him money
  • Watched for opportunity

Luke 22:3-6:

  • Satan entered Judas
  • Conferred with chief priests and officers
  • Agreed to betray Jesus to them
  • Sought opportunity when no crowd present

John’s Perspective:

  • John 12:4-6: Earlier, Judas objected to expensive perfume poured on Jesus (cared about money, was thief)
  • John 13:2: “Devil had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus”
  • John 13:27: At Last Supper, “Satan entered into him”

At the Last Supper

The Prediction (Matthew 26:21-25):

  • Jesus: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me”
  • Disciples very sad, each asked “Surely not I, Lord?”
  • Jesus: “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me”
  • “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”
  • Judas: “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
  • Jesus: “You have said so”

John’s Account (John 13:21-30):

  • Jesus troubled in spirit: “One of you is going to betray me”
  • Disciple whom Jesus loved reclining next to him
  • Peter motioned to this disciple to ask who it was
  • Jesus: “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it”
  • Gave it to Judas Iscariot
  • “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him”
  • Jesus: “What you are about to do, do quickly”
  • No one understood why Jesus said this
  • Judas went out. “And it was night”

The Betrayal in Gethsemane

The Setting:

  • Garden of Gethsemane, on Mount of Olives
  • Jesus praying with disciples
  • After the Last Supper
  • Late night

The Arrest (Matthew 26:47-50):

  • While Jesus still speaking, Judas arrived
  • With large crowd armed with swords and clubs
  • Sent from chief priests and elders
  • Prearranged signal: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him”
  • Went straight to Jesus: “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him
  • Jesus: “Do what you came for, friend” (or “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” - Luke)
  • Men seized Jesus

Other Gospel Details:

  • Mark 14:43-46: Kiss of greeting became kiss of betrayal
  • Luke 22:47-48: Jesus questioned the kiss as means of betrayal
  • John 18:1-11: Judas leading soldiers; Jesus identified himself (“I am he”), no kiss mentioned

Judas’s Death

Matthew 27:3-10:

  • Judas seized with remorse when Jesus condemned
  • Returned thirty silver coins to chief priests and elders
  • “I have sinned, for I have betrayed innocent blood”
  • They replied: “What is that to us? That’s your responsibility”
  • Threw money into temple and left
  • Went away and hanged himself
  • Priests: “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money”
  • Bought potter’s field as burial place for foreigners
  • Called “Field of Blood”
  • Fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy (actually Zechariah 11:12-13)

Acts 1:16-20 (Peter’s account):

  • Judas was guide for those who arrested Jesus
  • Bought field with reward of wickedness
  • “Fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out”
  • Field called Akeldama (Field of Blood)
  • Fulfilled Psalm 69:25 and 109:8

Theological Significance

The Mystery of Evil

How Could a Disciple Betray?:

  • Walked with Jesus for three years
  • Witnessed miracles
  • Heard teachings
  • Chosen by Jesus as one of Twelve
  • Yet betrayed for money

Satan’s Role:

  • “Satan entered Judas” (Luke 22:3, John 13:27)
  • Satanic influence, but not removal of responsibility
  • Mystery of how evil and human choice interrelate

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

Prophesied:

  • Psalm 41:9: “Even my close friend…has turned against me”
  • Zechariah 11:12-13: Thirty pieces of silver
  • Jesus knew it would happen (predicted at Last Supper)
  • Part of God’s redemptive plan

Yet Real Sin:

  • Judas morally responsible
  • “Woe to that man” (Matthew 26:24)
  • Could have chosen differently
  • Paradox: Foreknown yet freely chosen

Thirty Pieces of Silver

The Price:

  • Exodus 21:32: Price of a slave
  • Zechariah 11:12: Insulting wage
  • Judas valued Jesus at slave’s price
  • What money can’t buy, Judas sold cheap

The Kiss

Symbol of Intimacy Perverted:

  • Kiss = greeting of friendship and respect
  • Used as signal of betrayal
  • Intimacy weaponized
  • External show masking internal treachery

Irony:

  • “Friend” Jesus called him (Matthew 26:50)
  • Even at betrayal, Jesus offers relationship
  • Judas’s kiss contrasts with woman’s kiss of devotion (Luke 7)

Remorse vs. Repentance

Judas’s Remorse (Matthew 27:3):

  • Regretted action when saw consequences
  • Tried to return money
  • Confessed: “I have sinned”
  • But: Turned to priests, not to Jesus
  • Remorse without repentance
  • Despair without faith

Contrast with Peter:

  • Peter also betrayed Jesus (denied three times)
  • Peter wept bitterly
  • But Peter returned to Jesus, was restored
  • Repentance vs. remorse

The Replacement

Acts 1:15-26:

  • Matthias chosen to replace Judas
  • Apostolic office must be filled
  • Judas’s place taken by faithful servant
  • Evil does not have final word

Historical Questions

The Death of Judas

Two Accounts:

  • Matthew: Hanged himself
  • Acts: Fell, body burst open

Harmonization Attempts:

  • Both happened: Hanged himself, rope broke, body fell and burst
  • Or: Hanged himself, body decayed and burst later
  • Or: Different traditions in early church

Motivation

Why Did Judas Betray?

Greed (John 12:6):

  • Thief, helped himself to money bag
  • Thirty silver pieces

Disillusionment:

  • Expected political Messiah
  • Jesus talking about dying, not conquering
  • Lost faith in Jesus’s mission

Satanic Influence (Luke 22:3):

  • Opened himself to evil
  • Spiritual forces

God’s Plan:

  • Predetermined
  • But: Doesn’t negate Judas’s choice

Likely: Complex mix of factors

Field of Blood

Location:

  • Traditionally south of Jerusalem
  • Hakeldama/Akeldama still identified today
  • Potter’s field

Judas in Christian Tradition

Symbol of Treachery

  • Ultimate betrayer
  • Archetype of apostasy
  • Warning against hypocrisy
  • Cautionary tale

Theological Questions

Was Judas Foreordained to Betray?:

  • If so, could he have chosen otherwise?
  • If not, how was it prophesied?
  • Mystery of predestination and free will

Could Judas Have Been Forgiven?:

  • Did Jesus offer grace even in betrayal (“friend”)?
  • Could Judas have repented like Peter?
  • Lost not because sin too great, but because turned from Jesus

Literary and Artistic Depictions

  • Often shown with money bag
  • Sometimes with dark/sinister features
  • Kiss in Gethsemane depicted in countless artworks
  • Modern reinterpretations exploring his psychology

Significance

The betrayal of Judas stands as a stark warning: Proximity to Jesus doesn’t guarantee loyalty. Judas walked with Christ for three years, saw miracles, heard parables, was called “friend”—yet sold him for a slave’s price. External association means nothing without internal devotion.

And yet, even this betrayal served God’s purposes. What Judas meant for evil, God meant for good. The thirty pieces of silver, the kiss in the dark, the arrest—all led to Calvary, where the world’s redemption was accomplished. God’s sovereignty doesn’t excuse Judas’s sin, but it does transcend it.

The tragedy is this: Judas could have been Peter. Both failed Jesus terribly. Both felt crushing guilt. But Peter ran to Jesus; Judas ran from him. Peter found restoration; Judas found rope. The difference wasn’t in the gravity of sin but in the direction of repentance.

“What is that to us?” the priests told Judas. “That’s your responsibility.” Cold words to a despairing man. But Jesus would have said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened.” The door was open—even for Judas. Even at the kiss, Jesus called him “friend.”

Judas teaches us that the heart matters more than proximity, that remorse without repentance leads to death, that Satan seeks whom he may devour—and that the greatest tragedy is not falling, but refusing to return to the one who can lift us up.

Thirty pieces of silver. A kiss in a garden. A rope in despair. And a question that echoes through centuries: “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

May we never value Jesus so cheaply. May we never use intimacy as weapon. May we run to him in repentance, not from him in remorse.

For Jesus still calls us “friend.” Even when we betray him. Especially when we betray him. The question is: Will we return the kiss with love, or with treachery?