Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot (last name means "Man of Kerioth") was one of the original disciples of Jesus. He is found in all four gospels of the New Testament. He is described as having betrayed Jesus for money, then killing himself. He is said to have been the treasurer for the apostles.

Even though he was one of Jesus' disciples, he helped the chief priests arrest Jesus. Then those priests told the Roman governor to kill Jesus. The priests paid Judas thirty pieces of silver for his help. Later; due to great sense of guilt for betraying Jesus, Judas tried to give back the silver. When he was unable to undo when he had done, he committed suicide.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him. Matthew and Luke wrote that Jesus implied that it was Judas.

While Jesus was praying on the Mount of Olives, Judas brought the priests and their men to him. Then he kissed Jesus, so that the priests could know who he was. Then the priests took Jesus away to be killed. The priests gave Judas money for helping them.

The Gospel of Matthew states that Judas felt guilty that he helped kill Jesus. He tried to give the money back to the priests, but they said it was illegal. So Judas threw the money into the temple, and then hanged himself. Then the priests used the money to buy a graveyard for strangers.

In the book of Acts, Judas used the money to buy a field for himself, but died there a while after. After Judas died, the other disciples chose a man named Matthias to take his place as a new disciple in the group of 12.

Judas Iscariot Media

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  The Kiss of Judas by Giotto di Bondone (between 1304 and 1306) depicts Judas's identifying kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane

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  Judas Iscariot (between 1886 and 1894) by James Tissot

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  Calling of the Apostles (1481) by Domenico Ghirlandaio

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  A 16th century fresco depicting Judas being paid the 30 pieces of silver

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  16th-century fresco from Tarzhishte Monastery, Strupets, Bulgaria, showing Judas hanging himself as described in Matthew 27:1–10

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  The Betrayal: Peter raises his sword; the soldiers seize Jesus after Judas has given the kiss of betrayal – note the bag slung behind his back (containing 30 pieces of silver?). Illumination from a western manuscript, c. 1504

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  First page of the Gospel of Judas (Page 33 of Codex Tchacos)

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  A red-haired Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss in a Spanish paso figure.

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  In the Church of St. John the Baptist, Yeovil, one stained glass window depicts Judas with a black halo.

Related pages

The following people were the other apostles of Jesus:

• Andrew
• Bartholomew
• James of Zebedee
• James of Alphaeus
• John
• Jude Thaddeus
• Matthew
• Peter
• Philip
• Simon the Zealot
• Thomas
• Matthias was chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas following his suicide (Acts 1:18-26)
• Paul became an apostle after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension