One of the most frequently asked questions by Bible skeptics is, “How exactly did Judas die?” According to Matthew, after Judas betrayed Jesus, Judas “went and hanged himself” (27:5). In the book of Acts, however, Luke mentioned that “falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out” (1:18). So, which is it? Did Judas hang himself, or did he fall headlong and burst his midsection open?
The truth is, Matthew 27:5 and Acts 1:18 cannot logically contradict each other if it is possible for both to be true—and it certainly is possible for both incidents to have occurred.
Consider a brawl in which two men are fighting to the death. The larger man strikes the undersized man in the throat, crushing his larynx. For nearly 60 seconds, the wounded man stumbles around, trying to breathe, but he cannot. Then he falls, striking his head on the cement, and he dies.
One witness may declare, “James hit John and killed him.” Another person may say, “John suffocated after being struck in the throat.” A third witness might add, “Falling headfirst, John hit his head on the ground and died.” Are the witnesses’ statements contradictory? No. They are supplementary.
Likewise, neither of the Bible statements concerning the death of Judas is contradictory. Simply put, one does not exclude the other; thus, logically, they can both be true.
Matthew does not deny that Judas fell and had his entrails gush out, and Luke does not deny that Judas hanged himself. In short, Matthew records the method by which Judas attempted his death, while Luke reports the end result.
—Eric Lyons
