(Note: this article contains graphic information).

Matthew 27:5 said of Judas after he betrayed Jesus, “Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself.” However, Acts 1:18 recorded that Judas “purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.”

At first glance, these passages seem to state two opposing things about Judas. One said he discarded the silver coins in the temple and hanged himself. But the other said he purchased a field with the blood money, then fell headfirst, and his abdomen split open.

So, which is correct? Did Judas discard the coins in the temple and hang himself, or did he purchase a field with it and ultimately fall to his death?

Let us address the issue of Judas’ wages first. Matthew 27:5 correctly stated that Judas abandoned his thirty pieces of silver in the temple after betraying Jesus. Matthew went on to reveal how Judas became the owner of the field purchased with his money, which corroborates Acts 1:18. He wrote in Matthew 27:6-7, “But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.’ And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.”

Judas relinquishing the thirty pieces of silver in the temple (Matthew 27:5) and the chief priests using his money to buy the potters’ field (Matthew 27:6-7) explains how Judas “purchased a field with the wages of iniquity” (Acts 1:18). Hence, no contradiction exists between Matthew’s gospel and Acts regarding the owner of this purchased field.

Next, let us address Judas’ death. Matthew 27:5 correctly recorded Judas’ manner and cause of death as suicide by hanging. Acts 1:18 identified neither element but disclosed the location of Judas’ death (the potter’s field) and some gruesome details surrounding his demise, namely that he fell headfirst and burst open on the ground.

Based on the graphic description in Acts 1:18, some assume Judas jumped to his death in the field and died upon impact instead of hanging himself. However, that exploit contradicts Matthew’s account and is also an impossibility, given the field’s topography.

The tallest surfaces in the potter’s field were softly sloped hillsides, a rocky ledge, and tall trees. Jumping from these marginal heights would never produce the velocity required for a person’s abdomen to split upon impact with the ground if they jumped while alive. However, a deceased and decaying body suspended from those places could easily burst open if it fell and struck the ground, and here is why.

Human decomposition begins within minutes of death. In its early stages, cell membranes rupture, intestinal walls begin to break down, and gases bloat the body—sometimes doubling a corpse’s size. In the active stage of decay, the body’s blood decomposes, and gases accumulate in the abdominal organs. Considering these medical facts, a decomposing body could effortlessly rupture after impacting the earth due to a fall.

We will never know how or why Judas fell to the ground after hanging himself because Scripture is silent on that issue. Perhaps Judas tied a noose to a tall tree, and the ligature or branch broke under the weight of his decaying body. Maybe he suspended himself over a rocky ledge, and the trussing eventually loosened, deteriorated, or was tampered with by animals. Another reasonable explanation for Judas’ fall would be if someone tried to retrieve, remove, or release his hanging corpse from its ligature.

Regardless, Matthew 27:5-8 and Acts 1:18 provide accurate, consistent, and harmonious accounts of what happened to Judas before and after he ended his life.

I hope this information equips you to answer questions about Judas Iscariot’s somewhat confusing death account in Scripture.