"Judas" was an extremely common name in first century Judea, so the gospel writers identify him as "Judas Iscariot" in order to distinguish him from all the other men named Judas in the Bible. It is widely believed that the addendum to his name is derived from the Hebrew ishq'riyoth, meaning "man from Kirioth". If so, Judas was the outsider of the group, the only man not from the region of Galilee.
Why would a man from Kirioth come to Galilee and join himself with a band of misfit disciples and with a poor carpenter who suddenly began preaching about the kingdom of God? Some scholars believe Judas was of the Zealot political party, a group that was vehemently opposed to Roman rule over Judea. Unlike the Pharisees, the Zealots did not want to get along with the Romans in order to keep life as they knew it going along as usual. There were many advantages for the Pharisees and the other religious leaders in keeping peaceful relations with the Roman government, but the Zealots wanted war. They recognized no authority but God's and they believed it was a sin to pay tribute to the Roman government and to its emperor who considered himself a god. They wanted to re-establish Jewish sovereignty and place a man from King David's line on the throne to rule over them. Jesus must have looked like a good candidate for this position, so much so that we know for a fact that one of His other disciples was a Zealot, the one known as Simon the Zealot, although little else is known about this particular disciple.
The gospel writers never describe Judas' political leanings to us, so we can only speculate on this matter. In the days before Jesus became known to the public, Judas would have heard that a man named John the Baptist suddenly appeared on the scene, the first prophet God had sent to the nation in four hundred years, and then he would have heard that John identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. Right after that, following the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, He began His public ministry, and Judas would have heard that the man from Nazareth was now healing the sick and casting out demons. This was exciting stuff for a young man in first century Judea! Naturally he would have wanted to come and see these things for himself. Did Judas view Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? I tend to think his ideas of the Messiah didn't lean in that direction, but I do think he believed Jesus was the political Messiah he was looking for. I think Judas thought Jesus of Nazareth, of the line of David, would be the man to to cut off the shackles of Rome and restore the kingdom to the Jews.
All through the gospel accounts we find Judas included as one of the Twelve. He had the same opportunities as the other disciples to learn from Jesus and to believe on Him as Lord. Yet we never find Judas addressing Jesus as "Lord" as the other disciples do. Judas instead always referred to Him as "Teacher" (rabbi). Judas worked miracles in the name of Jesus alongside the disciples. Judas witnessed Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, calming the sea, walking on the water, healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. But somehow his heart remained closed off to Jesus. His shallow thinking never went beyond the point of imagining a free Jewish state with Jesus at the head of it. I think Judas was a man of action, a man of ambition, who didn't spend time thinking deep thoughts about sins or the need for forgiveness, either nationally or personally. I can't help but picture Judas impatiently sitting through the long sermons and the long days of healing the sick while reassuring himself that they were spending their time engaged in these endeavors in order to gather a large following. Once they had enough of the population behind them, he likely expected Jesus to announce that the Jews should no longer pay taxes to Rome or recognize the emperor's authority over them. He probably expected a day would come when Jesus would order an uprising against the occupiers.
But time and again Judas is disappointed. Jesus is not saying the things he wants Him to say. Jesus is not doing the things he wants Him to do. Instead of backing up the idea that it's sinful to pay taxes to a heathen government and its emperor who calls himself a god, Jesus says to render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Instead of talking about war, Jesus keeps proclaiming a gospel of peace: not the political peace Judas hopes will ensue following a successful uprising, but peace between man and God. Instead of predicting Himself seated on David's throne, Jesus keeps predicting Himself hanging on a cross. Judas knows his Scriptures; he knows the Bible says "anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse". (Deuteronomy 21:23) Judas wants glory at Jerusalem for Jesus, not the shame of the cross. Judas wants glory for himself and the disciples, not persecution. While it's true that the Bible says anyone who hangs on a pole is under God's curse, Judas can't understand that Jesus is choosing to be cursed by God for man's sake. Judas doesn't want a Messiah who sets people free from their sins. He wants a Messiah who sets people free from Rome.
Some scholars think Judas betrays Jesus believing Jesus won't allow Himself to be arrested, put on trial, or executed. Perhaps he thinks Jesus will call down legions of angels to fight on His side. Perhaps he thinks he can force Jesus' hand by betraying Him to His enemies. Personally, I don't know whether I agree. I am more inclined to agree with the scholars who think Judas is finished with Jesus at this point. Judas is finished with a man who has the capacity to set the people free from Rome, and who has the popularity to reign over the nation, but who chooses instead to martyr Himself. Jesus simply will not go into the box Judas wants to put Him in. Jesus doesn't fit Judas' narrow idea of who the Messiah should be, and because he is unwilling to accept Jesus as He is, Judas rejects Him.
We all know what happens to Judas after Jesus is arrested and condemned to death. He tries to undo his dark deed. The chief priests laugh at him when he brings back the thirty pieces of silver and says to them, "I have betrayed innocent blood." They reply, "What is that to us? That's your responsibility." (Matthew 27:4) Realizing he is responsible for the death of a man who has committed no crime, Judas is eaten up with guilt. Unable to live with this guilt, he goes out and hangs himself. So does this mean he repented? Does this mean he realizes Jesus is the Lord? Matthew gives us a clue about Judas' state of mind when he uses the word "metamelomai" for the sorrow of Judas. This word means "to have regret or remorse". Matthew does not choose the word commonly used for true repentance, "metanoia", which means "a change of mind, a change in one's way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion, a change in the inner man". I tend to think Judas experienced the normal human guilt that anyone might feel in knowing he has committed a terrible grievance against another human being. I think the words of the Apostle Paul would apply here, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Corinthians 7:10) Judas feels worldly sorrow. He knows he has done something wrong and that he deserves to die for causing the death of an innocent man. He passes sentence on himself and hangs himself from a tree, trying in a worldly way to atone for his sin. If Judas had believed Jesus was Lord, he would also have believed Jesus was going to rise from the dead as He said He would, and his repentance would have been the godly repentance that leads to salvation, causing him to wait for Jesus' resurrection so he could obtain forgiveness from Him face to face just as Peter will obtain forgiveness from Jesus for denying Him three times.
Does this mean Judas died with a lost soul? Jesus Himself refers to Judas as "a devil" (John 6:70) and says that of the Twelve "none has been lost except the one doomed to destruction" (John 17:12). Jesus' own words seem to indicate that Judas never accepted Him as Lord or repented in the right spirit to obtain salvation. It would seem logical that if he came to true repentance in those moments, and that if he believed everything Jesus had said, he would not have taken his own life. On the other hand, believers do sometimes take their own lives because they are so overcome with depression they can't envision a day when they will feel better. This could have been Judas' state of mind when he put the noose around his neck. He may have thought, "I don't deserve to live. Even if Jesus does rise from the dead, how could He ever forgive me? I've lost all my rights as a disciple. I could never be used for His kingdom in any way. I took a life, so I owe a life. I don't want to live with this guilt." What went on in the mind of Judas as he hung from the tree gasping for air? Did his soul reach out to the Lord? We are not going to know the answer to that until we ourselves are in the presence of the Lord. I would like to believe Judas obtained salvation in his final seconds of life. The gospel writers give no indication this happened, but they couldn't see inside his heart.
We are going to have to leave the question of Judas' soul open-ended. I tend to believe he was "doomed to destruction" as Jesus said, but if so he sealed his own doom. His doom wasn't sealed by suicide, but by unbelief. That is the only thing capable of sealing our doom. Either Christ is Lord of our lives, or He isn't. We can't do anything about the eternal fate of the soul of Judas, but we can do something about our own.
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