Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Relationships and Religion
What Was the Sin of Judas?

What Was the Sin of Judas?

Last updated on: October 21, 2026 at 8:21 am by Jocelyn Soriano

What Was the Sin of Judas? 2026-10-17T12:24:58+08:00 Jocelyn Soriano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Judas and thirty pieces of silver

AI-Generated Image from Meta AI

Whenever people talk about betrayal, the name of Judas can’t help but come to mind. After all, who could ever forget that terrible act of betraying Jesus with a kiss?

He may not have been the one who ordered His crucifixion. And he may not have been the one who scourged him, crowned him with thorns or nailed him to the cross. But it was through his betrayal that Jesus was handed over to all of those who wanted to put him to death.

The more painful thing was that he wasn’t just an unknown acquaintance. He wasn’t even among those who opposed Jesus during His ministry.

Judas was part of Jesus’ inner circle. He was among the twelve whom Jesus called. He listened to His parables and instructions. He witnessed almost every miracle that He performed.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’” – Luke 22:48 (NABRE)

What Could Have Prompted Judas To Be a Traitor?

It isn’t easy to accept how someone so close to you can betray you. Along with the unbearable pain, all you have are questions at the back of your mind like:

How could someone so close hurt you so much?
When did your relationship fall apart?
What possible reason could he have had to betray his friend?

In the case of Judas, many people have also tried to process those questions as they tried to portray him in movies and television shows.

Some have guessed that he may have wanted Jesus to show His power and establish His kingdom on earth.

Some have focused on his self-appointed role as an instigator of a revolution against Rome.

When we look at the Bible, however, we see a clear reason for his betrayal:

“Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.’” – Matthew 26:14-16 (NABRE)

The Sin of Greed and Love for Money

Jesus knew from the start who was going to betray Him. Was Jesus thinking about Judas when He preached that we cannot serve both God and money at the same time?

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” – Matthew 6:24 (NRSVCE)

When Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus’ feet with precious perfume before His death, Judas protested that the oil could have been sold to give to the poor.

But John’s Gospel quickly gave us an insight into Judas’ true motives:

“He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.” – John 12:6 (NABRE)

In the Gospel of Matthew, the anointing of Jesus at Bethany was immediately followed by the incident of Judas betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Sometimes, we can think of certain excuses that seem to give us greater reasons for our actions. We can talk about fighting for justice or caring for the poor when the truth is that our hearts are bent on wealth alone and we prefer money over God.

Jesus’ answer to Judas about Mary’s anointing allows us to see the true condition of Judas’ heart:

“Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” – John 12:7 (NABRE)

Jesus knew clearly that Judas’ heart was far from him. He cared neither for the poor nor for Jesus.

Why he cared for money so much is something only he could say. But for some of us, money is something that symbolizes our love of self over our love for God and neighbor. It is something that can buy us comfort, security and pleasure. And these are the things we can prefer and choose over God.

The Sin of Pride and of Choosing Our Own Will

Even if we give Judas the benefit of the doubt and see him as someone fighting for a deeper cause, his sin of pride will remain.

Isn’t this also a common temptation for most of us in our daily lives?

What are our motivations for our everyday tasks? While we may start with noble objectives and the desire to follow God’s will, we often end up prioritizing our own goals.

My agenda, my plan, my way. Some people even carry this as a tagline for their lives:

“I will live my life the way I choose it.”

And while God has given us the freedom for that, only in uniting our will to His can guarantee that we do not hurt ourselves or others in the end.

The Ultimate Sin of Despair

Whatever Judas’ intentions may be in betraying Jesus, reality has showed him the final outcome of his actions.

He was instrumental in handing over Jesus to His persecutors. And this resulted in Jesus’ tortures and excruciating death upon the cross.

Having seen the results of his betrayal, Judas ultimately took his own life.

“Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.” – Matthew 27:5 (NRSVCE)

It is said that the worst sin of Judas was not his act of betrayal but his final act of despair. While we can read from the Bible that he repented of his sins, this repentance did not seem to lead to trust in God’s mercy but to despair.

Many compare Peter’s sin of denial against Judas’ sin of betrayal. Although Peter also sinned against Jesus and denied Him three times, deserting Him in His darkest hours, Peter’s repentance did not lead to despair.

Instead of taking matters into his own hands, Peter accepted the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus Christ.

“The first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption: By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God’s goodness, to his justice – for the Lord is faithful to his promises – and to his mercy.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (2091)

It should be noted, however, that the Catholic Church has not definitively taught that Judas is in hell. Even if he took his own life, only God knows his specific circumstances and state of mind and repentance at that final moment. The Church entrusts all of those who have died in the same way to the mercy of God.

“We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (2283)

Lessons from Judas’ Life

The life of Judas can teach us many things about our own life.

First, we can learn that not all of those who seem to be religious are truly close to God by heart. This can help us grow in humility, realizing that even as we see ourselves performing religious activities, we can still stray away from God.

Furthermore, our attachment to money can ruin our relationship to God. We must be cautious about whether we are already prioritizing wealth, security, comfort and other material pleasures over love of God and neighbor.

We should also practice complete surrender to God’s will even when we can’t fully understand His ways. Our knowledge is limited and only God can see what is best. Let us learn to trust His holy will.

Finally, we must never despair, no matter how great our sins may be. God can forgive even the most terrible sins if we allow Him to cleanse us and enter our hearts.

The greatest injustice is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But it is also the greatest act of mercy where God took upon Himself all of our sins so that all who trust in Him may have eternal life.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 (NRSVCE)

“Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother.” – Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul (par. 1541)

For all of those who are weary and burdened, come to Jesus Christ and find rest for your souls. No matter how great your sins may be, God is still there as a loving Father who is waiting to welcome you with open arms.

Related article: Does God Still Love Sinners?

Jocelyn Soriano is the author of Mend My Broken Heart, Questions to God and 366 Days of Compassion. She also writes about relationships and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer.

Get the book from Amazon.

See Jocelyn’s books from other digital stores.

General Christian

History and Religion

About Jocelyn Soriano

Jocelyn Soriano is an author, poet, and book reviewer. She is an introvert who enjoys a cup of coffee and listening to the cello ****** while working.

She wrote the books To Love an Invisible God, Defending My Catholic Faith and Mend My Broken Heart. She also wrote books on poetry including Poems of Love and Letting Go and Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief. She has published more than 15 books and developed her own Android applications including God’s Promises and Catholic Answers and Apologetics.

She writes about relationships and common questions about God and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer. She is currently single and happy and she would like everyone to know how happy we can be by drawing close to the love of God!

Previous Post

October 14, 2026

6 Ways To Prevent Resentment From Breaking Our Relationships

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christmas Church Issue Divine Mercy End Times Grief Healing Heaven Joy Miracles Movie Review Movies New Age Prayer Questions to God Relationships Single Life Spiritual Growth Technology Virgin Mary Wealth Management

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Job David Isaiah Solomon

Books by This Author Books by Beloved

See All Titles »