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The Persecuted Church

 

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How did Judas actually die, by hanging himself or by falling headlong?

Many people point this out to be a contradiction. But a contradiction is when two statements says the opposite  and one of the statements deny the possibility of  the other statement being true. 

The Bible tells us that Judas went and hung himself- it also says his body fell down and split open.

 

Matt 27:3-5 “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

 Matthew specifically tells us how Judas died, by hanging himself. 

Luke writes in  Acts 1:18 “Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out”

Acts 1:18-19 tells us he fell down a cliff his bowels gushed out. What it does not say is that this was means of his death, but Matthew’s record does.  Most hold the position that his body later fell down from where he was hung and split open by the branch of the tree breaking.  This is in close proximity of what happened.  The first night of Passover was Thursday night (the Jewish day ends at sundown when 3 stars are visible). The first day of Passover is Friday morning, the early day before the Sabbath that evening.  Jewish law stated there is to be no dead body within the walls of Jerusalem or it would be defiled, unclean and it would prevent the Passover sacrifice from being offered. So they took Judas’ already hung body and removed it by throwing it over the wall into the valley of Hinnom and his guts split open, so there is no contradiction in these scriptures.

 

Both of these accounts are necessary, Matthew telling us exactly how he died and Acts relating this to the field of blood purchased with the money he used to betray Jesus.

And this why the apostles picked another and said of him in this way “to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” (Acts 1:25).

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