Did Judas die from hanging himself, or did he die from falling? Critics claim the Bible contradicts itself about how Judas died. Is this the case?
The Bible Answer
(Mathew 27:5) So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
(Acts 1:18) With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
With these two scriptures we have another contradiction in the Bible according to skeptics. Neither Mathew or Luke wrote details about the death of Judas worrying that skeptics and critics would try to make contradictions appear in the Bible that just aren’t there. What we read in Acts and Mathew are different details of Judas’ death. It’s not two different stories of how he died.
Mathew Tells Us How Judas Died, Luke Tells What Happened After
If Mathew wrote that Judas hung himself, and Luke said he drowned, it could then be said there is a contradiction. This isn’t what happened. Mathew says Judas hung himself, and that is how he died. Luke is telling us what happened to the body of Judas after the hanging.
The human body begins to decay and bloat very soon after death. A body can swell to the point of not even being able to be moved without bursting open, depending on how long it is left unattended. Knowing this, it’s not hard to see how after Judas hung himself, the bloated body eventually fell and burst open. The rope, or the limb the rope was attached to, obviously broke at some point causing the fall.
Falling Headfirst
In regards to the body falling headfirst, several things could have occurred. If the body was cut down from the tree, it could have hit headfirst if someone was attempting to hold the feet. If the limb broke, the body could have twisted any number of ways on the way down. Some have suggested he may have hung himself over a cliff and fell. We are not told this detail, and it really doesn’t matter. To say it’s not possible that a body could fall and burst open after being hung from a tree or over a cliff is just not being honest with yourself.
