This Judas was the son of Simon (John 6:71
), and Iscariot is Ish Kerioth, a man of Kerioth (
Joshua 15:25). This was in Judah, so he was the only one of the 12
that was not a Galilean.
Judas was a chosen man, chosen to be one of the 12 (
Luke 6:13). He was an ordained preacher (
Matt 3:14) . He went out with the other apostles and cast out evil
spirits and healed all manner of sickness and disease (
Matt 10:1).
He lived such an exemplary life that the other apostles did not suspect that
anything was wrong, even at the last supper. To all appearances he was the
same as they were.
But he carried the bag, and he was a thief (
John 12:6). He had a love of money. It got the best of him. So he
began to take money from what he carried for the expenses of the little band
and for the poor. But Judas really gave himself away at the feast when Mary
annointed the feet of the Lord with some costly spikenard and Judas just
could not stand seeing that waste when it could have been sold and the money
put in the bag (John 12:5).
Judas also tried to infect the rest of the apostles with dissatisfaction,
but did not succeed so very far. But he was so angry about this money slipping
away from him, that he resolved to get even. So he plotted with the Jews
to betray Christ.
Judas ate that last supper with his Lord, and also had his feet washed at
the supper. And as a special favor, the Lord took a piece of bread and dipped
it in the bitter herbs and handed it to Judas (
John 13:26). No appeal could be made to Judas to turn him from his
purpose, and after the sop was given to him Satan entered into him. (He did
that to Peter once, too, Matt 16:23
).
But when the Lord did not escape from His foes as He had always done before,
Judas all at once awoke to what had happened. He was not really a. murderer.
He was a moral man, except for his weakness for filthy lucre. So he tried
to undo what he had done. But it was too late.
The money he flung into the sanctuary was taken by the priests to buy a potters
field for graves.
The money he had been stealing he used to buy a nice home outside Jerusalem.
It would have been a nice place to live and commute to and from Jerusalem
during the kingdom which he was expecting.
But he went out to this nice place and hanged himself. It must have been
several days till the neighbors found him and by that time he had swollen
till he had bursted open. That place was avoided for a longtime by the neighbors
(Acts 1:18-20).
No Scripture says that Judas was unsaved or did not have life. But he suffered
a. terrible loss. His bishopric was taken by another, Matthias. And of course
his name will never be in the foundations of the New Jerusalem (
Rev 21:14). Acts 1:25 should
read, That he may take part of this ministry
and apostleship, that he might go to his own place, from which Judas by transgression
fell.
Many a one has sold out for less than Judas did.
