viewing him of little value. According to Exodus 21:32, the price of a slave was thirty shekels. Carrying this forward, for his work as a shepherd of the people Zechariah was paid “thirty pieces of silver.” Jehovah scorned this as a very meager amount, regarding the wages given to Zechariah as an estimation of how the faithless people viewed God himself. (Zech. 11:12, 13) Consequently, in offering just thirty pieces of silver for Jesus, the religious leaders made him out to be of little value. At the same time, though, they were fulfilling Zechariah 11:12, treating Jehovah as of low value by doing this to the representative he had sent to shepherd Israel. Corrupt Judas “consented [to the price], and he began to seek a good opportunity to betray [Jesus] to them without a crowd around.”—Luke 22:6.

LAST NIGHT WITH JESUS

Despite having turned against Christ, Judas continued to associate with him. He gathered with Jesus and the apostles on Nisan 14, 33 C.E., for the celebration of the Passover. While the Passover meal was in process Jesus ministered to the apostles, humbly washing their feet. Hypocritical Judas allowed Jesus to do that to him. But Jesus said, “Not all of you are clean.” (John 13:2-5, 11) He also stated that one of the apostles there at the table would betray him. Perhaps so as not to appear guilty, Judas asked if he was the one. As a further identification, Jesus gave Judas a morsel and told him to do quickly what he was doing.—Matt. 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; Luke 22:21-23; John 13:21-30.

Immediately Judas left the group. A comparison of Matthew 26:20-29 with John 13:21-30 indicates that he departed before Jesus instituted the celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal. Luke’s presentation of this incident evidently is not in strict chronological order, for Judas had definitely left by the time Christ commended the group for having stuck with him; that would not fit Judas, nor would he have been taken into the “covenant . . . for a kingdom.”—Luke 22:19-30.

Judas later found Jesus together with the faithful apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place the betrayer knew well, for they had met there before. He led a great crowd, including Roman soldiers and a military commander, likely from the Castle of Antonia. The mob had clubs and swords as well as torches and lamps in case clouds covered the full moon or Jesus was in the shadows. The Romans probably would not recognize Jesus, so, according to a prearranged sign, Judas greeted Christ and in an act of hypocrisy “kissed him very tenderly,” thus identifying him. (Matt. 26:47-49; John 18:2-12) Later Judas felt the enormity of his guilt. In the morning he attempted to return the thirty pieces of silver, but the chief priests refused to take them back. Finally, Judas threw the money into the temple.—Matt. 27:1-5.

DEATH

According to Matthew 27:5, Judas hanged himself. But Acts 1:18 says, “pitching head foremost he noisily burst in his midst and all his intestines were poured out.” Matthew seems to deal with the mode of the attempted suicide, while Acts describes the result. Combining the two accounts, it appears that Judas tried to hang himself over some cliff, but the rope or tree limb broke so that he plunged down and burst open on the rocks below. The topography around Jerusalem makes such an event conceivable.

Also related to his death is the question of who bought the burial field with the thirty pieces of silver. According to Matthew 27:6, 7, the chief priests decided they could not put the money in the sacred treasury so they used it to buy the field. The account in Acts 1:18, 19, speaking about Judas, says: “This very man, therefore, purchased a field with the wages for unrighteousness.” The answer seems to be that the priests purchased the field, but since Judas provided the money, it could be credited to him. Dr. A. Edersheim pointed out: “It was not lawful to take into the Temple-treasury, for the purchase of sacred things, money that had been unlawfully gained. In such cases the Jewish Law provided that the money was to be restored to the donor, and, if he insisted on giving it, that he should be induced to spend it for something for the public weal [well-being]. . . . By a fiction of law the money was still considered to be Judas’, and to have been applied by him in the purchase of the well-known ‘potter’s field.’” This purchase worked to fulfill the prophecy at Zechariah 11:13.

The course that Judas chose. was a deliberate one, involving malice, greed, pride, hypocrisy and scheming. He afterward felt remorse under the burden of guilt, as a willful murderer might at the result of his crime. Yet Judas had of his own volition made a bargain with those who Jesus said made proselytes that were subjects of Gehenna twice as much as themselves, who were also liable to the “judgment of Gehenna.” (Matt. 23:15, 33) On the final night of his earthly life, Jesus himself said, actually about Judas: “It would have been finer for that man if he had not been born.” Later Christ called him “the son of destruction.”—Mark 14:21; John 17:12; Heb. 10:26-29.

REPLACEMENT

Between Jesus’ ascension and the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., Peter explained to a group of about 120 assembled disciples that it seemed appropriate to select a replacement for Judas, applying the prophecy in Psalm 109:8. Two candidates were proposed and lots were cast, resulting in Matthias’ being chosen “to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas deviated to go to his own place.”—Acts 1:15, 16, 20-26.

5. One of Jesus’ four half brothers. (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3) Evidently he was with his three brothers and his mother Mary early in Jesus’ ministry when at Cana Jesus performed a miracle, and he later traveled with Jesus and his disciples to Capernaum for a short stay. (John 2:1-12) Well over a year later he apparently accompanied Mary and his brothers when they sought out Jesus. (Matt. 12:46) Nonetheless, in the autumn of 32 C.E. Jesus’ brothers, including Judas, were “not exercising faith in him.” (John 7:5) Shortly before dying, Jesus turned his believing mother over to the care of the apostle John, strongly suggesting that neither Judas nor his brothers had yet become disciples. (John 19:26, 27) Perhaps it was the resurrection of Christ that helped convince Judas, though, because he was among the apostles and others who, between the time of Jesus’ ascension and the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., met together and persisted in prayer. (Acts 1:13-15) Logically, then, Judas would have been among the believers who first received holy spirit. Evidently Judas is the same as the Jude who, about 65 C.E.,/16 wrote the Bible book by that name.—See JUDE.

6. A man of Damascus who had a home on the street Straight. While blind immediately after his conversion, Saul (Paul) resided in Judas’ home, and it was there that Ananias was sent to lay his hands on Saul. (Acts 9:11, 17) The account does not say whether Judas was a disciple at the time, but this seems unlikely since Ananias and others who were disciples hesitated to approach Saul in view of his reputation as a persecutor, yet Judas accepted Saul into his home.—Acts 9:13, 14, 26.

7. Judas, also called Barsabbas, was one of the two disciples sent by the governing body in Jerusalem to accompany Paul and Barnabas when they delivered the letter about circumcision (49 C.E.). Both Judas and his companion Silas were considered “leading men among the brothers.” (Acts 15:22) The letter was addressed to “those brothers in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.” Judas and Silas were mentioned only as being in Antioch, and there is no record that they went farther. They were to confirm by word of mouth the message in the letter. Judas was a ‘prophet,’ and as a visiting speaker he gave many discourses to the brothers in Antioch, encouraging and strengthening them.—Acts 15:22, 23, 27, 30-32.

Acts 15:33 indicates that Judas and Silas returned to Jerusalem after they had “passed some time” with the Christians in Antioch. Certain manuscripts (such as Codex Ephraemi, Codex Bezae) contain verse 34, reading: “But it seemed good to Silas to remain there further.” However, this verse is omitted in older reliable manuscripts. (Sinaitic, Alexandrine, Vatican MS. No. 1209) Probably it was a marginal note intended to explain verse 40, and in time it crept into the main text.

Some commentators have suggested that Judas called Barsabbas was the brother of “Joseph called Barsabbas,” a disciple proposed to take the place of Judas Iscariot. (Acts 1:23) But there is no evidence supporting this, other than mere similarity in name. Judas is not mentioned again in the Bible after he returned to Jerusalem.

JUDE

Jude [lauded].

“A slave of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James.” This is the way the writer of the inspired letter bearing his name introduces himself. Apparently he was not the same person as “Judas the son of James,” one of the eleven faithful apostles of Jesus Christ. (Luke 6:16) He speaks of himself as a “slave,” not an “apostle,” of Jesus Christ; also he refers to the apostles in the third person as “they.”—Jude 1, 17, 18.

Though the Christian Greek Scriptures speak of other Judes or Judases, this Bible writer distinguished himself from the others by mentioning the name of his brother. (See JUDAS.) From this it may be inferred that his brother James was well known among Christians. Only one person by that name appears to have been outstandingly prominent. The apostle Paul referred to this James as one of the “pillars” of the Jerusalem congregation and as “the brother of the Lord.” (Gal. 1:19; 2:9; see also Acts 12:17; 15:13-21.) Therefore, Jude or Judas was evidently a half brother of Christ Jesus. (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3) Yet humbly he did not seek to capitalize on his fleshly relationship to the Son of God, but calls himself a “slave of Jesus Christ.”

Almost nothing is known about Jude’s life. Early in the ministry of Christ Jesus, Jude may have been among those saying: “He has gone out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21) In any event, Jude and his other brothers did not then exercise faith in Christ Jesus.—John 7:5.

However, after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his half-brother James. (1 Cor. 15:7) Doubtless this had much to do with convincing, not only James, but also Jude and his other brothers, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Therefore, even before Pentecost of 33 C.E. they were persisting in prayer with the eleven faithful apostles and others in an upper room at Jerusalem. It appears that they were also among the some 120 persons assembled on the occasion that Matthias was chosen by lot to replace the unfaithful Judas Iscariot. (Acts 1:14-26) If this is the case, it would indicate that they received the holy spirit on the day of Pentecost.—Acts 2:1-4.

JUDE, THE LETTER OF

An inspired letter of the Christian Greek Scriptures written by Jude, a brother of James and therefore evidently also a half brother of Jesus Christ. (See JUDE.) Addressed to “the called ones who are loved in relationship with God the Father and preserved for Jesus Christ,” this general letter was evidently to be circulated to all Christians.—Jude 1.

At the time Jude wrote his letter a threatening situation had developed. Immoral, animalistic men had slipped in among Christians and were ‘turning the undeserved kindness of God into an excuse for loose conduct.’ For this reason Jude did not, as he had originally intended, write about the salvation that Christians called to God’s heavenly kingdom hold in common. Instead, directed by God’s spirit, he provided exhortation to aid fellow believers to cope successfully with corruptive influences inside the congregation. Jude admonished them “to put up a hard fight for the faith” by resisting immoral persons, maintaining pure worship and fine conduct and by “praying with holy spirit.” (Jude 3, 4, 19-23) Drawing upon such examples as the angels that sinned, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam and Korah, Jude forcefully proved that Jehovah’s judgment will be executed upon ungodly persons just as certainly as it was upon the unfaithful angels and wicked men of former times. He also exposed the baseness of those who were trying to defile Christians.—Jude 5-16, 19.

UNIQUE INFORMATION

Though short, Jude’s letter contains some information not found elsewhere in the Bible. It alone mentions the archangel Michael’s dispute with the Devil over Moses’ body and the prophecy uttered centuries earlier by Enoch. (Jude 9, 14, 15) Whether Jude received this information through direct revelation or by reliable transmission (either oral or written) is not known. If the latter was the case, this may explain the presence of a similar reference to Enoch’s prophesying in the apocryphal book of Enoch (thought to have been written probably sometime during the second and first centuries B.C.E.). A common source could have furnished the basis for the statement in the inspired letter as well as in the apocryphal book.

PLACE AND TIME OF WRITING

Likely Jude wrote his letter from Palestine, as there is no record of his ever having left this land. It is possible to arrive at an approximate date for the letter on the basis of internal evidence. The fact that Jude mentions neither Cestius Gallus’ coming against Jerusalem (66 C.E.) nor the fall of that city to the Romans under Titus (70 C.E.) suggests that he wrote before the year 66 C.E. Had even a part of Jesus’ prophecy regarding Jerusalem’s destruction been fulfilled (Luke 19:43, 44), Jude doubtless would have included this execution of divine judgment as another warning example. Since Jude seemingly quoted from Peter’s second letter about ridiculers appearing “in the last time” (compare 2 Peter 3:3 with Jude 18), it may be inferred that he wrote his letter later, possibly in 65 C.E.

AUTHENTICITY

The Bible book of Jude was accepted as canonical by early Scripture cataloguers. Among these from the second through the fourth centuries C.E. were Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzus, Philastrius, Jerome and Augustine. The letter is also included in the Muratorian Fragment (c. 170 C.E.).

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Identification of writer and salutation (vss. 1, 2)

II. Reason for writing: Immoral, ungodly men slipped into congregation (vss. 3 4)

III. Historical examples of wrong conduct and consequences (vss. 5-7)

A. Israelites whom God saved out of Egypt but afterward destroyed for lack of faith (vs. 5)

B. Angels that forsook proper dwelling place in Noah’s days reserved by God for judgment (vs. 6)

C. Sodom and Gomorrah and surrounding cities, because of excessive fornication and sexual perversion, underwent judicial punishment of everlasting fire (vs. 7)

IV. Description of disrespectful, immoral persons that seek to defile flesh (vss. 8-13)

A. Disregard lordship and speak abusively of glorious ones, not imitating respectful attitude of archangel Michael (vss. 8-10)