The Puzzle of Judas' Death

Do the accounts of Matthew and Acts contradict?

I recently asked for your questions on the gospels and the historical Jesus, and they were absolutely brilliant. In this piece, I answer a question by Mystic Skeptic:

Do you think the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Acts of the Apostles give contradictory accounts surrounding Judas Iscariot’s death?

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I personally think that Matthew and Acts’ accounts of Judas’ fate are very difficult to reconcile. It is often said that the main contradiction between Matthew and Acts concerns the manner of Judas’ death. In Matthew, Judas hangs himself; in Acts, he falls headlong in a field. This is then typically harmonised by saying that when or after Judas hanged himself, he fell headlong in the field, spilling his guts. This was a classic harmonisation employed by the Church fathers, and is still used today.

Yet the accounts differ in at least two further ways beyond Judas’ manner of death:

1. The Purchase of the Field: In Matthew, Judas returns the money and the priests use it to buy a field (27:7), while in Acts, Judas himself acquires the field ‘with the reward of his wickedness’ (1:18). The fact that Acts uses the word ‘acquire’ is sometimes taken to mean that he did not buy the field, but rather it was ‘acquired’ in his name. If that is what Luke meant, that is what he could have said.¹

2. The Name of the Field: In both Matthew and Acts, the field is known as ‘the field of blood’. But the reason for this differs. In Matthew, it is called ‘the field of blood’ because it was bought with the blood money that Judas returned. In Acts, it is called the ‘field of blood’ because Judas’ death in the field was bloody. To reconcile this, one might suggest that the field was known for both reasons.

There is also a third potential discrepancy between Matthew and Acts with respect to Judas’ response. In Matthew, Judas shows remorse for the part he played in Jesus’ death. This is why he gives away his blood money – because he realises that he had sinned. But in Acts, there is no indication of Judas’ remorse. On the contrary, Judas goes on to buy a house. This seems to suggest that Judas had the purpose of taking up residence there (hence Acts 1:20, ‘let his house become desolate’).