As a part of the Unbelievable series, we have made a way for listeners to text in questions concerning the sermon. Here’s one question that came in:

If the gospels are an eyewitness account, why does the account of Judas’ death contradict itself? One account says he was hanging and another tells of his falling down. Eyewitnesses can have different accounts but we’re talking about something as concrete as the cause of death of a person.

First, thanks for taking the time to ask the question. It’s a good one. To give some background on the question, the gospel of Matthew records the death of Judas as follows:

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. Matthew 27:3-5

However in Acts, Peter speaks of Judas’ death saying:

Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. Acts 1:18

Gruesome. So the question is, given the two accounts of Judas’ death, is the Bible contradicting itself? No. And here’s why.

Complementary accounts. Not Contradictory.

If a man was involved in a car accident, one eyewitness might report that he died from a car accident. The doctor at the hospital might report that he died of internal bleeding. One doesn’t necessarily contradict the other. The two accounts are complementary rather than contradictory. That Matthew reports that Judas hung himself doesn’t follow that his body couldn’t have fallen headlong and burst open. That Peter reports that he fell headlong doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have first hung himself.

The ESV Study Bible (a good resource to have) explains it this way:

One possible explanation suggests that the field overlooked a cliff, and as Judas hanged himself, the rope (or the branch) may have broken, with his body falling headlong over the edge of the cliff onto jagged rocks below. Others have suggested that Judas’s body may have remained hanging for some time decaying and decomposing, eventually falling to the ground and bursting open in its decomposed condition. In either case, there is no reason to see the two accounts as contradictory, since they focus on complementary details of the same event.

What about all the other contradictions?

Your specific question about the two accounts of Judas’ death leads to a bigger question in general about the inerrancy of Scripture. Christians believe that the Scriptures are completely trustworthy and that while there are plenty of difficult texts, there are no contradictions. Here are some additional resources that may be helpful as you think through this important question. Hope that’s helpful and thanks again for asking!

Photo Credit: lpk90901

Ajay Thomas

by Ajay Thomas

Ajay lives in Philadelphia with his wife Shainu and their kids Hannah and Micah. He is responsible for preaching and vision as a pastor at Seven Mile Road.