Yehuda Skaryota aka: Judas Escariot

About the only thing that comes to mind about Judas for most people is that he was the one who revealed Messiah to the authorities and committed suicide soon afterwards. We know that Y'shua was in conversation with the Father before choosing his twelve apostles and quite possibly knew the reasons why they were chosen and what part they were to fulfill.

Luke 6:12

And it happened in those days that Y'shua went out to a mountain to pray and there he had spent the night in prayers with YHWH. When the day broke he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, those who he named Shlichim:

Simon who he named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and his brother John; and Philip and Bartholomew. And Matthew and Thomas and Ya'akov (James) son of Khalpai; and Simon who is called the Zealot; and Yehuda (Judas) son of Ya'akov and Yehuda Skaryota.

Luke 6:16

.... and Yehuda Skaryota, he who was the betrayer.

John 6:71

He was speaking now concerning Judas Escariot, the son of Simon, for he was about to betray him, being one of the twelve (apostles).

John 13:2

And when supper was done, Satan placed it into he heart of Judas, the son of Simon Escariot, that he would betray him (Y'shua).

Y'shua knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he came from the Father and was going back to Him.  Y'shua knew the role Judas was to play.

John 12:3

And Maryam took an alabaster vase of very expensive perfume of the choicest nard and anointed the feet of Y'shua and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Yehuda Skaryota, one of the disciples (who was to betray Y'shua) said, "Why was not this oil sold for three hundred denarii and it be given to the poor?" (He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief).  He carried the treasury bag with him (he was the financial officer for the group). Y'shua said, "Leave her alone! She has kept it for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor with you but you do not always have me."

Matthew 27:3

Then Yehuda the traitor, when he saw that Y'shua was convicted, he repented and returned those thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and to the elders. He said, "I have sinned because I have betrayed innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? That's your problem." Yehuda threw the silver into the temple, departed and went and hanged himself.

The priests cleverly cover their own crime by considering the silver Judas threw at them as an offering. These were the same thirty pieces they had paid him, but they also knew it was blood money so they purchase some land for a cemetery with it.

It seems possible that Yehuda was a thief prior to becoming a follower of The Way eventually being named by Y'shua as one of the twelve and put in charge of the money bag. Money was the temptation dangled in front of him by Satan which led to the betrayal of Y'shua. After the fact Yehuda was remorseful and repented but was shunned by the chief priests and the elders.  He ran off and killed himself.  

In Matthew 27 we read that Judas hung himself yet in Act Chapter 1 verse 18 we read:

This is he who obtained a field for himself from the reward of sin; fell upon his face on the ground and burst from his middle and poured out all his insides.

The act of throwing the silver back at the priests did indeed result in the priests buying some land and turning it into a cemetery for strangers (a field for himself). It is possible that after he hung himself and died, he fell resulting in the description given in Acts; that he fell face first into the ground, the impact causing him to split open and his guts fall out. I don't see any real contradiction here; just a lack of detailed information which doesn't affect the matter at hand.

Can one repent and be forgiven their sins yet turn around and commit suicide and expect salvation? I don't think so because suicide is the murdering of one's self, is it not?  And we are commanded not to commit murder.  I shall put this on the list for further study but share it now as thoughts to ponder.

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