Cliff-hanger

Question:

Why are there seemingly contradictory accounts as to how Judas died? In Matthew 27, Matthew states that Judas hanged himself. However in Acts 1, Luke states that Judas fell from a cliff and burst open. Which is true, and what do we do with the other one if all scripture is infallible?

Answer:

In Acts 1:12-26, Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, describes the process by which the vacancy left by Judas was filled. Luke was a medical doctor and we often find that he provides details that other biblical authors do not…Luke was a trained observer used to documenting his findings. The detail that Luke provides has to do with the circumstances of Judas’ death. Matthew gives a very brief account in Mt. 27:5:

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Luke provides a much more detailed account, and a seemingly contradictory one:

18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

It is interesting that Luke adds the detail that Judas hanged himself over the very field that was bought with the money by which Jesus was betrayed. It is confusing that Luke mentions Judas’ body falling headlong and bursting open, a completely different description than Matthew’s brief one. Bible scholars suggest that this was probably a complex event. Judas hanged himself from a tree, perhaps stretching over a cliff. The bough was weak, the branch broke and Judas died in the manner Luke described. Other scholars have suggested that it might be that Luke is describing a post-mortem, CSI style. Judas hanged himself, but as his body decayed it bloated, burst and he fell headlong. These may seem like fudges. However, we have to take the overall reliability of Scripture into account. It is not hard to believe that there is a way to harmonize these accounts when you consider the trustworthiness of Scripture as a whole.

If you want to listen to this explanation as part of a broader discussion on the selection of Matthias as a replacement to Judas, listen to the January 2nd edition of Soaring Through the Bible.

http://www.southshorechurch.com/uploadimages/MP3/soaring_20100102.mp3