Judas Iscariot — The Betrayal That Horribly Backfired

From Idiotic Things People Did in the Bible

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:14–15

What He Did

He betrayed Jesus—the Son of God—for the price of a slave.

Why It Was Idiotic

He had walked with Jesus, seen the miracles, heard the truth… and sold Him out for a pocketful of coins. And then, realizing what he’d done, he threw the money back and hung himself. Tragic, preventable, and foolish beyond words.

Here’s the Scoop

Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus and is best known as the one who betrayed Him. The name “Iscariot” means “man of Kerioth,” indicating he may have been the only Judean among mostly Galilean apostles. He served as the treasurer of the disciples, entrusted with the money box, though he was dishonest and frequently stole from it.

Over time, Judas became increasingly disillusioned and greedy. His dissatisfaction culminated when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive oil at Bethany. Judas objected under the pretense of concern for the poor, though his real motive was selfish gain. Shortly after, he went to the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus to them in exchange for thirty pieces of silver.

“While we can be horrified at what Judas did, we should also be horrified by our own sinful nature. That should make us grateful for the mercy and love that God extended toward us in Christ.”

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During the Last Supper, Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer by giving him a piece of dipped bread. Later that night in Gethsemane, Judas led a crowd armed with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus, identifying Him with a kiss. Overcome with guilt when Jesus was condemned, Judas tried to return the blood money to the priests. Then he went away and hanged himself. His tragic legacy stands as a warning about the destructive power of greed, hypocrisy, and unrepentant sin.

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The New Testament tells us that his father was Simon Iscariot (John 6:71; John 13:2). His mother’s name isn’t given in the Bible. We can imagine that when Judas was born, both his father and his mother delighted in him. Being Jewish, he was no doubt taught the Law:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9)

But it’s clear that Judas departed from the Law. Perhaps he secretly lusted after the women who continually flocked around Jesus. Maybe he was sinfully jealous of the adoration they gave Him. We don’t know. But we do know that his conscience became so seared that it no longer did its duty when he began stealing from the money box.

The name “Judas” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah (Yehudah), which means “Praise,” “Let Him (God) be praised,” or simply “Praised.” It was a very common Jewish name at the time—there are several people with the name Judas/Judah in the New Testament. More than likely, his parents gave him that name because they wanted him to glorify God. What a tragedy that even his name, 2,000 years later has come to mean the very opposite. Judas proved to be truly evil.

But here is a sobering thought: there’s a little bit of Judas in all of us. Think again of what Judas saw and heard. He likely saw Jesus raise Lazarus and others from the dead. He heard Jesus speak to the storm and watched a great calm settle over the raging Sea of Galilee. Didn’t he think with the other disciples, “What manner of Man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” He likely witnessed hundreds of miracles by the hands of Jesus—and yet he gave himself to sin. How could this be?

John 12:3–8 gives us insight through one incident involving Judas:

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:3–5)

At this point, one could almost admire Judas for his apparent love and concern for the poor. But the Bible then tells us what was really going on:

This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. (John 12:6)

But Jesus said:

“Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” (John 12:7–8)

One explanation as to why Judas did what he did, is that he was not regenerated by the Holy Spirit. When we are born again God gives us a new heart and new desires. He opens the eyes of our understanding, causes us to thirst for righteousness, and to delight to do His will. We are brand new creatures in Christ.

This was not the experience of Judas. And this is why you and I can identify with him. Who among us, before we were born again, didn’t love money and find a sense of security in it? Didn’t we look to it to give us peace, relieving us of concern about the future? Money was our idol, taking the place of God—just as it did with Judas.

When Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray Him (see Mark 14:18), and added that it would be the one who put his hand in the dish, the disciples didn’t look to Judas. He hid his sin well—even from those closest to him. Wasn’t that the case with us? Our hearts were filled with sin, and no one knew about it but God. Had we not been given that new heart, we probably would’ve joined the multitude and betrayed the Son of God with a kiss—not a physical betrayal, but we would have followed the crowd to get approval rather than standing for truth. We would not have seen any reason for allegiance to Him.

And so, while we can be horrified at what Judas did, we should also be horrified by our own sinful nature. That should make us grateful for the mercy and love that God extended toward us in Christ.