"How did Judas die?" is a popular question during Holy Week and the Crucifixion as Judas' betrayal of Christ and death relates to these events. The Bible tells us that Judas committed suicide and died by hanging himself. However, there are numerous theories about the reasons for Judas’ actions and the circumstances surrounding his death.
As one of the trusted disciples, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The account for Judas’s death in Matthew 27 began when Jesus was led away to the cross. Judas saw the result of his actions and “was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priest and elders,” (Matthew 27:3). Judas confessed, but the chief priests and elders didn’t care. “What is that to us?” they replied in verse 4. “So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5).
The death of Judas is described in two different passages, each presenting a slightly different account:
Matthew 27:3-5 - According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas felt remorse after seeing that Jesus was condemned. He returned the thirty pieces of silver he had received for betraying Jesus to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." When they did not accept the money, Judas threw the silver into the temple and went away to hang himself.
Acts 1:18 - In the Book of Acts, another detail is provided, which does not explicitly mention suicide by hanging but describes his death differently. It says that Judas bought a field with the money he earned for his betrayal. There, he fell headlong; his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. This description suggests a different, gruesome end, possibly as a result of falling or some other violent incident.
According to Matthew 27:3–10, after Judas betrayed Jesus, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Then, in despair, he went out and hanged himself. In contrast, Acts 1:18–19 describes Judas purchasing a field with the "reward of iniquity" and falling headlong, causing his body to burst open and his intestines to spill out.
The accounts in Matthew and Acts about Judas’s death may seem different at first glance, but they actually complement each other to form a fuller picture. In Matthew 27:5, Judas hangs himself, a clear reflection of his despair and regret. Meanwhile, Acts 1:18 describes his body falling and bursting open, which probably happened after the hanging—possibly due to the rope breaking, decomposition, or even someone cutting him down. Rather than contradicting each other, these passages illustrate different stages of the same tragic event, adding depth to the narrative of Judas’s end. Together, they show how both accounts emphasize the consequences of betrayal while highlighting different details of the sequence.
These descriptions can be seen as two perspectives on the same event, where Matthew focuses on the act of suicide itself, while Acts gives insight into what occurred afterward.
Acts 1:18 says it was Judas who was referred to as the man who “bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out.” But in Matthew 27:6-7, we see the chief priests were the true purchasers of the field. Because they used the blood money (the 30 pieces of silver), the field was indirectly purchased by Judas. This field was even referred to as “the Field of Blood” because of the tainted resources that were used to make the purchase.
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. (Matthew 27:6-7)
“Most church traditions from at least the fourth century place this in the Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem, although it is difficult to confirm the precise location,” according to the ESV Study Bible.
There is some controversy surrounding the accounts of how Judas died. Did he really hang himself or fall headlong? Are the two biblical accounts conflicting, or can they be reconciled?
Plausible Reasons
Theory 1: Some Bible scholars say the accounts don’t conflict but are two events occurring in sequence. This point of view believes Judas hung himself, but because of the belief that his body was unclean and impure, he was left to hang there long enough to decompose and fall to the ground, thereby causing the eruption of “all his bowels.”
Theory 2: Other commentators believe Matthew merely referred to a general death of dishonor and not precisely the act involving a tree and a noose when he wrote, “went and hanged himself.”
The story of another traitor is detailed in 2 Samuel 17:23, “When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.”
Therefore, Matthew’s account in the New Testament could have used the traitor Ahithophel as a parallel to the demise of Judas.
Less Likely Accounts
Theory 3: In his “Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord,” Papias wrote Judas was cursed because of his actions in betraying Jesus. In this version of Judas’s demise, Papias wrote Judas’s whole body was swollen to such a degree that “he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, so that his bowels gushed out.”
His writing originated early in the first century, and it is interesting to note that he was not a first-person witness but received insight from those close to the apostles. He believed that the head of Judas was so enlarged his eyes could not be seen.
Theory 4: In the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, Judas was so depressed over his actions that he went home to inform his wife he was going to kill himself. When he arrived home, his wife was cooking a chicken over an open charcoal fire. Judas believed Jesus would indeed rise from the dead and he would be punished accordingly. Judas’s wife thought it was so funny and quipped that the chicken had a better possibility of being resurrected. The chicken, then, arose and crowed. As a result, Judas fled and hanged himself.
Ray Pritchard outlines several Bible verses that imply Judas went to hell:
In Acts 1:25, Peter spoke of Judas who left his apostolic ministry “to go where he belongs.” Literally, the verse reads “to go to his own place.” “His own place” is hell. If that seems harsh, consider the words of Jesus in John 6:70-71 when he said:
“Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him).
He did not literally mean that Judas was a demon, but that Judas was even then (about a year before the crucifixion) acting under Satan’s influence.
Listen to Jesus as he prays in the Upper Room on Thursday night. Judas has left to make the final arrangements. Even now the soldiers are gathering for the march to the Mount of Olives. The final act is about to play itself out. Meanwhile, Jesus is praying for his disciples: “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12).
These verses indicate Judas "went where he belonged" because he betrayed Christ, not because he committed suicide.
(Excerpted from "What Happened to Judas?" by Ray Pritchard)
Sources:
Green, Joel B.; McKnight, Scot; Marshall, I. Howard (1992). “Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.” Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. Pp. 406-407.
James R. White, “The King James Only Controversy,” Bethany House Publishers (2009) p. 213-215, 316.
Chad is a believer in Christ, attorney at law, wannabe golfer, runner, dog lover, and writer. He enjoys serving his church as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and at his golf devotion par3sixteen.com. He and his wife Brandi reside in Tennessee with their canine son, Alistair.
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