The apostle who betrayed Jesus — what the Gospels actually say about him, in plain steps.
Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus's twelve chosen apostles, entrusted enough to serve as the group's treasurer — John 12:6 mentions he kept the money bag, and John adds, not neutrally, that he used to steal from it.
In all four Gospels, Judas arranges with Jewish religious leaders to hand Jesus over, reportedly for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16). At the Last Supper, Jesus identifies him as the betrayer, and Judas leaves to lead an armed group to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, identifying him with a kiss (Matthew 26:47–49).
The Gospels offer more than one angle rather than a single tidy motive: John's Gospel says “Satan entered into him” (John 13:27); other passages suggest greed (John 12:6), or, in Luke and John, demonic influence working alongside human choice. The text doesn't fully resolve the tension between Judas's responsibility and the larger plan the Gospels say his betrayal fulfilled.
Accounts differ on the details. Matthew 27:3–5 says Judas, overcome with remorse, returned the silver and hanged himself. Acts 1:18 describes him falling in a field he purchased with the money, “and burst asunder in the midst.” Various harmonizations have been proposed, but the Gospels themselves don't reconcile the details explicitly.
Most scholars think “Iscariot” derives from “Ish-Kerioth,” meaning “man of Kerioth,” a town in Judea — making Judas possibly the only non-Galilean among the twelve apostles.
“A Judas” is still used in English to mean a traitor, one of the clearest examples of a biblical name entering everyday language.
Acts 1:15–26 describes the remaining apostles choosing Matthias to take Judas's place among the twelve.