How did Judas Iscariot die?

Questions of Faith

Judas Iscariot is known as the apostle who betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane – an act which ultimately led to the crucifixion. Emeritus Pope Benedict explained in 2006 that the betrayal took place in two moments: “first of all in its planning phase, when Judas comes to an agreement with Jesus’ enemies for 30 pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16), and later in its execution with the kiss he gave the master in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:46-50)”.

However, on the surface the Bible seems to offer contradictory accounts about the death of Judas.

Most people hold the belief that Judas committed suicide by hanging. This account is outlined in Matthew 27 where upon realising he had betrayed “innocent blood”, Judas repents for his sin “and went and hanged himself”.

However, the book of Acts provides an alternative description of Judas’ demise: “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18).

This depiction seems at total odds with Judas hanging himself, so how can this discrepancy be explained?

Sequence

Scholars have offered plenty of suggestions. The most popular one for Christians is that there is no contradiction; the two biblical accounts need to be understood in a sequence. Judas hanged himself and the rope later snapped causing him to fall headlong and ripping open his body, or alternatively, he was left to decompose causing his organs to eventually fall out.

This is a neat theory which upholds the authority of the Bible. Some scholars like Bart D. Ehrman don’t buy this account – surely you would land on your legs immediately if the rope snapped, rather than head- first?

Others have suggested that Judas didn’t actually hang himself; the words recorded in Matthew were just a general phrase meaning a dishonourable death. For example, Ahithophel, who was a trusted counsellor of King David, hanged himself after betraying him (2 Samuel 17:23). Perhaps this meant that both men died in dishonourable ways, or maybe the author of Matthew wanted to allude to Athithophel’s death by placing Judas at the centre of the hanging.

Others have suggested that Judas didn’t hang himself”

Another more esoteric theory is proposed by the early 2nd-Century writer Papias who wrote in the Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord that Judas was so impious that his flesh had blown out and eventually his “entrails were poured out”. Scholars are still in disagreement about how reliable a source Papias’ writings are.

Just as historians are unsure about Judas’ death, the Church is equally in the dark about his ultimate fate of whether he entered Heaven or Hell. Theologian Alan Shreck writes in Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism: “The Catholic Church teaches that we cannot judge or determine whether any particular person has been condemned to hell, even Hitler or Judas Iscariot. The mercy of God is such that a person can repent even at the point of death and be saved.”