Judas Hanged Himself
by Hugh DeLong
As we read the sad end of Judas's life (Matthew 27:1f), we can outline the final events.
Matthew tells us that Judas:
- Recognized what had happened — Jesus had been condemned (Matthew 27:3).
- Regretted or reconsidered his action — [metamelētheis is the word used here].
- Returned the money — Matthew 27:3.
- Confessed his sin — “I have sinned” (Matthew 27:4).
- Acknowledged Jesus' innocence — “by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4).
- Yet, after being rejected by the priests, he hanged himself (Matthew 27:5).
The New Testament uses two Greek words here in Matthew: metanoeoo and metamelomai. You don’t have to be a Greek scholar or even know how to pronounce them to understand their meaning in context. You can know that their meanings overlap. It is tempting to use Judas and his ‘remorse’ (metamelomai) to show that there is a distinct difference in their meaning and then mechanically apply that to every inclusion of these words in the text, but that simply doesn’t hold up to further study! Thayer, after discussing the traditional distinction, cautions that such a rigid separation is “hardly to be sustained by usage.”
As you study the various episodes that use these two words, you'll see different outcomes, and their usage isn't always consistent. In the above text concerning Judas, everything appears to be leading to a change of action in his life – what we would call repentance. However, instead of turning his life around and serving God, he hung himself. How tragic. He wasn’t the only one to betray Jesus at this time!
He felt remorse for what he had done. He confessed that it was wrong. He tried to make it right by returning the money. He acknowledged Jesus’ innocence – at least concerning the charges that were being thrown at Jesus. The difference centers on what he did next! He hung himself!
This happens in our lives as we make mistakes; as we do things that we almost instantly regret because we know they are wrong. The test is simply how we then respond. As someone quipped: hanging oneself is an eternal solution to a temporary problem. He could have come to the throne of grace, then gone on to serve Jesus as the Christ. He died ‘in his sin’ – died without forgiveness.
When you come to ‘point #6’ in your life, what do you do? As Paul said: "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death" (II Corinthians 7:10). Look how the other apostles responded to their failure; look at how Peter in particular reacted. Look at Paul, the persecutor of the church, and how he responded. They all found forgiveness and continued in their life of discipleship and faithfulness. Which solution will you apply?
