John 6:71
He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon:
for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
This Judas was the son of Simon (John 6:71), and Iscariot is Ish Kerioth, a man of Kerioth (Joshua 15:25). This was in Judah, so he was the only one of the 12 that was not a Galilean.
Judas was a chosen man, chosen to be one of the 12 (Luke 6:13). He was an ordained minister (Acts 1:17, Acts 1:20) . He went out with the other Apostles and cast out evil spirits and healed all manner of sickness and disease (Matt. 10:1).
He lived such an exemplary life that the other Apostles did not suspect anything was wrong, even at the last supper. To all appearances, he was the same as they were.
But he carried the bag (treasurer), and he was a thief (John 12:6). He had the love of money, and it got the best of him. So he began to take money from what he carried for the expenses of the little band and for the poor. But Judas really gave himself away at the feast when Mary anointed the feet of the Lord with some costly spikenard (a fragrant essential oil), and Judas just could not stand seeing that "waste" when it could have been sold and the money put in the bag (John 12:5).
Judas also tried to infect the rest of The Apostles with dissatisfaction but failed. He was so angry about this money slipping away from him that he resolved to hurry along the prophecies of Messiah, Who would set up His Kingdom and rule the world. If he could force Messiah to set up The Kingdom, then The Apostles would be co-rulers with Christ, and he could be treasurer of all the riches of The Kingdom. He thought if he could arrange for Jesus Christ to be captured, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, The Lord would have to call the mighty angels from heaven and begin The Kingdom and fulfill the prophecies. So he plotted with the Jews to betray Christ.
Judas ate that last supper with his Lord and also had his feet washed at the supper. And as a special favor, the Lord took a piece of bread, dipped it in the bitter herbs, and handed it to Judas (John 13:26). No appeal could be made to Judas to turn him from his purpose. Right after the sop (the host or master of the house would give the sop, a small piece of bread dipped in the communal bowl to the person to whom He wanted to show His greatest love and esteem) was given to him, Satan entered into his heart, and Judas immediately left and went and betrayed his Lord.
When The Lord Jesus did not escape from His foes as Judas planned by forcing his Lord to show He was Messiah, Judas immediately awoke to what he had done and what had happened. He was not really a murderer; he was a moral man, except for his weakness for filthy lucre. So he repented and tried to undo what he had done by going to The Temple and bringing the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, but it was too late (Matt. 27:3-10). The money he had received from them he flung into the sanctuary, which the priests took to buy a potters field for graves.
The money he had been stealing he previously had used to buy a nice property outside Jerusalem. It would have been a nice place to live and commute to and from Jerusalem during The Kingdom, which he was expecting.
But to this nice place, he then went out and hanged himself. That place was avoided as cursed since then by the Jews who called it Aceldama, meaning the field of blood (Acts 1:18-20).
Scripture says that Judas was the betrayer and was called "the son of perdition," a type of antichrist. Another took his bishopric, Matthias. And, of course, his name will never be in the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:14). Acts 1:25 should read, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, that he might go to his own place, from which Judas by transgression fell.
Many a one has sold out for less than Judas did.
