Who was Judas Iscariot’s Father?

The Bible tells us that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Christ, was the son of Simon. But which Simon? There are many “Simons” in the Bible:

Simon Peter, the disciple of Christ (Matt 4:18;10:2;17:25)

Simon, the Canaanite – another disciple of Jesus (Matt 10:4; Mark 3:18)

Simon, the step-brother of Jesus (Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3)

Simon, the Samaritan Sorcerer (Acts 8:9,13,18,24)

Simon, the Cyrenian – who carried Jesus’ cross (Matt 27:32; Mark 15:21)

Simon, the tanner in Joppa (Acts 9:43;10:6,32)

Simon, the leper in Bethany (Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3)

Simon, the Pharisee (Luke 7:40,43,44)

Could any of these “Simons” listed above be the SAME?

Could any of these “Simons” be the father of Judas Iscariot?

Supper at Simon, the Leper’s House

There is at least one place in the Bible, depicted in each of the four gospels, where Judas Iscariot and a “Simon” were together in the same home – the Supper for Jesus at Simon, the leper’s house, the supper where Mary anointed Jesus with expensive spikenard. (Matt 21:1-11; 26:6-13; Mark 11:1-10; 14:3-9; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:1-19)

There are some who believe that there were two incidents where Jesus was anointed by a grateful woman – one woman who poured the anointing oil on His

Head (2 accounts – Matt 26:13; Mark 14:3-9) and one incident where a woman poured the anointing oil on His feet (Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-3).

Some facts are clear:

The Supper was in Bethany.

Bethany was within walking distance of Jerusalem.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus, as well as Simon, the leper, all lived in Bethany and all knew each other. They even may have been related.

The Supper was in the home of Simon, the leper, but Martha was serving, revealing that the sisters and brother were close friends of Simon’s - because

Martha was serving in Simon’s home.

The meal was in the evening as it is termed “Supper.”

Simon was a Pharisee, the Bible says.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were all at the Supper at Simon, the leper’s house.

Simon, the leper, had already been healed by Jesus. He no longer had leprosy. (Lepers were not allowed to mingle with those who were uninfected, so Simon had to have, by this time, been healed.)

The disciples, including Judas Iscariot. were at the supper.

The Spikenard (ointment) that the woman poured on Jesus (head or feet) was very expensive. It was worth approximately $18,000-$24,000 by 2006 wage standards in the United States.

The disciple that instigated the complaints about the “wastefulness” of the woman pouring the ointment on Jesus (“It should have been sold and given to the poor.”) was Judas Iscariot.

Judas was the treasurer of the disciples and kept the bag (the purse that contained the money that had been donated to Christ and His followers), and was, according to the biblical account, a thief who stole from the bag the money that was to have been given to the poor.

Let us study this incident in greater detail.

1) Just WHEN did this supper occur?

There is a controversy. Some say it occurred SIX days before the Passover and others say it occurred TWO days before the Passover.

But a closer, more definitive look shows us that there is NO discrepancy.

John 12:1-3

Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead.

There they made Him a supper and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him.

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

Please note that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover. It does NOT say that the supper was six days before the Passover. It just tells us that Jesus journeyed to Bethany SIX DAYS before the Passover. In fact, in the following passages, we are told that the supper at Simon, the leper’s house, was TWO days before the Passover.

Mark 14:1-3

After TWO days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread; and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.

But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon, the leper, as He sat at the table, there came a woman having an alabaster flask of oil of spikenard very costly and she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

It is obvious that the dinner at Simon the leper’s house was TWO days before the Passover – NOT six days.

Matthew 26:1-7

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples;

Ye know that after TWO DAYS is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.

And plotted that they might take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

But they said, Not on the feast day; lest there be an uproar among the people.

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper

There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster flask of a very costly fragrance, and poured it on His head as He sat at the table.

So just WHEN did the Supper at Simon the leper’s house occur?

It occurred TWO days before the Passover. Jesus states that Himself.

So why does the passage in John 12: 1-3 give us the specific number of days (SIX) until the Passover when Jesus ARRIVED in Bethany?

There are many passages in the Bible where the phenomenon of Six (6) and One (1) occur. (Please see the next 2 pages.)

The number 6 is the number of “man” (mankind – anthropos in the Greek). We are told in Revelation 13:18:

Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of mankind (anthropos – mankind – NOT “a” man). The “a” has been added by the translators); and his (mankind’s) number is Six hundred threescore and six (666).

God’s perfect number is 7, that’s why God created a 7-day week. The ONLY way “man” can reach perfection is to be one with God. 6 + 1 = 7.

On the pages at the end of this study, see the many times that the Bible uses the “6 + 1” symbolism, revealing His redemption of the world. Six days are for man (God created the earth in six days), and the Seventh-day (Sabbath) for God (God made the seventh day Holy), symbolizing six thousand years since creation for mankind – and the seventh one thousand years (the millennium) for God, when the righteous will be in heaven and the earth will lay desolate.

So in this passage, John 12:1-3, John is again using the same symbolism. Jesus came to Bethany SIX days before the Passover. Jesus was slain at Passover, on Friday, proving that He was the ultimate “Passover lamb,” slain for the sins of the World, and He was resurrected immediately at sunset, at the beginning of the Seventh-day Sabbath – at sundown Friday night! (Please see, “Was Jesus Really Resurrected on Sunday?”)

This same symbolism of 6 + 1 is used hereby John to show the 6 days for “mankind” plus 1 for God - to save the whole world!

So Jesus CAME to Bethany SIX days before the Passover, but the supper at Simon, the leper’s house was TWO days before the Passover.

2) How can we be sure that the Supper, spoken of in all four Gospels was, indeed, at Simon the leper’s house?

The accounts in Matthew, Mark and John tell us directly that the meal was in Bethany, at the house of Simon, the leper. In addition, we are told in the account in John, chapter 12, that “Lazarus was sitting at the table with Jesus.” This would have been unnecessary to say in the biblical account if Lazarus had been hosting the supper in his own home. In that case, naturally Lazarus would have been sitting at the table with Jesus.

But since the supper was at the home of Simon, the leper, it is important to stipulate that Lazarus was a guest and sitting at the table with Jesus – and, obviously, Simon, the host.

3) And how do we know that Simon, the leper, was a Pharisee?

Luke tells us that the supper was at the house of Simon, the Pharisee. Luke 7:36-40:

And one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the table.

And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of oil,

And stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the oil.

Now when the Pharisee which had invited Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, ‘This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches Him; for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘Simon, I have something to say unto thee.’ And he said, ‘Teacher (Master), say on.”

4)   How did Simon, the leper, KNOW that Mary was a “sinner.”

The term “sinner” when given to a woman in that era virtually always referred to sexual sin – fornication, adultery or prostitution. (See the story of the woman “taken in adultery” in John, chapter 8)

Because we have no evidence that Mary was married, her sexual sin must have been fornication or prostitution.

Bethany was a small village and Mary’s specific sin may have been known by people in the village. However, Simon, the leper, apparently was the ONLY one sitting at the table (other than Jesus) who knew about Mary’s “sin” since we are not told that the others at the table were “thinking” the same thoughts.

It is probable that Simon KNEW that Mary was a “sinner” because HE may have been the one who had lured her into “sin” – either by defiling her himself, or by prostituting her to others.

Simon, just as many other Pharisees, was quick to point out the sin of others, particularly women, while standing in obnoxious self-righteousness, himself. (Please note that in the story of the “woman taken in adultery,” ONLY the woman was ripped from the bed and thrown on the ground in front of Jesus. The Pharisees wanted her to be stoned for her sin! But the hypocritical Pharisees allowed the man involved in the act of adultery, to go free!)

Simon, the Pharisee, even though having been miraculously healed, by Jesus, of his physical disease, leprosy, had not had a change of heart, witnessed by the following:

a. Simon was disdainful of Jesus for letting this supposedly “sinful woman” touch Him.

b. Simon was a poor host and did not honor Jesus, his guest, as he should have by providing for a servant to wash Jesus’ feet, a custom of courtesy ALWAYS provided for an important guest. Simon obviously did NOT recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God – as Mary did.

c. Simon did not greet Jesus with the warm greeting (termed “a kiss” – the greeting still used by men in the middle east) that would have been given to a man of great honor.

Here is the Biblical account:

And He (Jesus) turned to the woman, and said unto Simon. “Seest thou this woman? I entered into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet; but she has washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

You gave me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss My feet.

My head with oil you did not anoint; but this woman has anointed my feet with oil. Luke 7:44-46

Simon’s heart was still hard, even after he had been healed by Jesus of his leprosy, a disease in the Bible that always represents “sin.”

Miracles – signs and wonders – that the “Christian” church so longs for today, do NOT change hearts!

Only when we recognize our need for Jesus, and want to live HIS way and not our OWN, will our heart be changed.

How did Judas Iscariot KNOW where to find the Chief Priests at NIGHT?

How would Judas know the whereabouts of the leaders of the Jews who were plotting to kill Jesus? Judas was a purported follower of Jesus. He spent his time with the other disciples following Jesus, a “man” who was hated by the Pharisees and Chief Priests.

The Pharisees and Chief Priests were meeting at night, in secret, to plot the arrest and death of Jesus. This was a very private, secret session. They would have gone to great lengths to keep their whereabouts UNKNOWN and hidden from the average man in Jerusalem. The quarters where they were meeting would have been heavily guarded and only those familiar to, and in league with, the plotters would have been allowed entrance. Certainly they would never have allowed a true follower of Christ to enter their meeting!

It would be the equivalent today of a common man – a Constitutional Patriot - who had a complaint, to be able to walk into a secret, night meeting of the elitists of the world, such as the Council on Foreign Relations, or the Bilderbergers, or the Trilateral Commission. The common man would have no idea where they were meeting, and certainly would not be allowed to just walk in and sit down and talk with them. There would be heavy security – both THEN – and now – so access would be virtually impossible. UNLESS, of course, the person gaining entrance was KNOWN to, and in agreement with, the elitists!

Judas clearly had to have been in league with those who planned to arrest Jesus, otherwise he would not have known their whereabouts, and would not have been able to gain easy entrance! However, Judas may not have known that the leaders of the Jews were planning to kill Jesus.

So HOW would Judas know exactly where to find the Pharisees and Chief Priests?

Maybe because - - - his father TOLD HIM!

Who was Judas Iscariot’s father?

We now know that the supper was at the home of Simon, the leper, and that Simon, the leper, was also a Pharisee. We also know that Jesus’ disciples were at the supper, including Judas Iscariot.

In John 12:4, we read of this supper and we are told:

Then said one of His (Jesus’) disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray Him. . .

The only reason the author, John, would make this connection right here in this passage is to tell us that Judas Iscariot was, indeed, the son of Simon, the Pharisee, who had been healed of his leprosy by Jesus.

Lest you think this is too much of a “reach,” let us contemplate the following. We know that the Bible always refers to Judas, the betrayer of Christ, as Judas Iscariot, to differentiate him from another one of the disciples named Judas.

Well, the Concordant translation of the Bible, a literal translation, and the purest (even though not Perfect) translation of the Bible that I have found reveals the following:

Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is an adversary?” Now He said it of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, for this man was about to give Him up, being one of the twelve. John 6:70,71

So, Judas was the son of Simon, the leper, a Pharisee.

Simon, Judas’ father, would have known the meeting place where the Pharisees and Chief Priests were plotting the death of Jesus. It is possible that Simon, the Pharisee, actually had been given the specific assignment (by his fellow Pharisees) of deliberately inviting Jesus to supper at his home as part of a plan to establish and monitor Jesus’ movements while at the feast of the Passover, in order to arrest him out of sight of the masses of people, whom the Pharisees feared.

Simon clearly was not a follower of Jesus. He revealed it by the poor way he treated Jesus as a guest in his home. Simon was undoubtedly in on the plot.

It is highly likely that Judas Iscariot would have obtained the information on the location of the meeting of the Pharisees and Chief Priests who were plotting Jesus’ death - - - - from his father – Simon, the Pharisee!

That is why, when Jesus rebuked Judas Iscariot for demeaning Mary and her anointing of Jesus with the costly Spikenard ointment, Judas knew EXACTLY where to find those who were plotting to take the life of Jesus.

Immediately after Jesus rebuked Judas, he went out into the night to sell Jesus to His enemies, for thirty piece of silver. And Judas knew exactly where to find the secret meeting of those plotting the death of Jesus.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priests and said unto them, “What will you give me and I will deliver Him unto you? And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time on he sought the opportunity to betray Him. Matthew 26:14-16

Some authors write that the “Chief Priests,” spoken of as a different group from the “Pharisees” were actually the Sadducees, the group that did NOT believe in the Resurrection. Under normal circumstances, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were arch enemies, but they became united in the task of killing Christ.

The Bible tells us that they “also wanted to kill Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.” The Sadducees wanted to destroy ANY evidence of the resurrection, which of course proved their doctrines WRONG! The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed in the resurrection but they were threatened with loss of their control over the people who were now, by the thousands, following Christ.

So, as a matter of convenience, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who usually were enemies, came together in the plot to kill Christ, and – they hoped – Lazarus, too.

It will be the same in our day. The Jews AND the Muslims (their enemies) will unite - WITH the apostate Christians – to plot the deaths of all TRUE Christians!

How does this story of Judas Iscariot and his father relate to the times in which we live?

It is highly probable that Judas Iscariot was a “plant” – a spy – purposely placed by the Pharisees into Jesus’ inner circle, to keep an eye on Jesus, essentially, to spy on Jesus, to report what He said and did, to report where he went and with whom He talked, to report any plans (they thought) Jesus may have had to take over the earthly leadership of the Jews from the Pharisees, and eventually to deliver Him to His captors to be crucified.

Yes, Jesus “called” Judas Iscariot to be a disciple, but Jesus knew the heart of Judas and the plotting of the Pharisees and Chief Priests.

Was Judas a Galilean?

Judas was from Kerioth, a city close to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, in Judea. That is what the “Iscariot” after Judas’ name stands for - Kerioth.

Judas was a Judean – NOT a Galilean. ALL the other disciples apparently were Galileans.

In Acts, Chapter 2, when the disciples of Christ in the Upper Room, had received God’s Breath of Holiness (inaccurately translated the “Holy Spirit”) and were able to speak in the different KNOWN languages of the thousands visiting Jerusalem for the Passover (“every man heard in his own dialect” – dialektos – in the original Greek), they were all referred to as Galileans! (Judas had already committed suicide, so was no longer a member of the group. So apparently all the remaining disciples were – Galileans!)

“Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were perplexed because every man heard them speak in his own language.

And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not ALL these which speak Galileans?

And how hear we every man in our own dialect, wherein we were born?

Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our languages, the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:6-11

This passage proves two very important points:

1)    The remaining disciples (now that Judas – the Judean – was dead) were ALL Galileans, and

2)    The visitors to the feast of the Passover, from many different countries, “heard in their OWN languages into which they were born.”

The disciples were speaking KNOWN languages of the times. They were NOT speaking gibberish – what is now referred to, in the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches (and, unfortunately, some mainline churches as well) as the (false) doctrine of “speaking in tongues.”

How were the Galileans different from the Judeans?

Galilee, in the northern part of Israel, previously had been conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Most of the original population had been taken captive and the area had been repopulated by Assyrians, and later the Babylonians. Many of the Galileans were pagans who worshiped many gods, including the God of Israel, just to make sure all their bases were covered.

The Galileans, many of whom were pagans – and NOT members of the “chosen” Organized Church of the day, were far more open to the message of Christ than were the Judeans, those who considered themselves most knowledgeable about the coming Messiah. That’s why Jesus spent almost all of His time teaching in the area of Galilee.

However, Judea was the land “owned” and controlled by the Pharisees, where the religion was Phariseeism, the SAME religion of the Jews today. Judaism is indistinguishable from Phariseeism. They are one and the same.

The Judeans looked down on the Galileans with great disdain. The Judeans considered the Galileans uncultured, uneducated, vermin. Remember what was said about Christ:

“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (Nazareth was in Galilee.) John 1:46

It was the Pharisees and the Chief Priests (of Phariseeism/Judaism) and their followers who, two thousand years ago, who wanted to kill Christ. The Jews deny this and try very hard to place the blame on the Romans. But the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, tried his best to release Jesus. He said, “I find NO FAULT in this Man.”

But the Jews cried out against Jesus all the louder, saying, “Crucify Him. Crucify Him!”

It is the same group, the Jews of Phariseeism/Judaism – through the ADL and the ACLU and other Jewish organizations, who want to remove Christ and Christianity from every aspect of society today. And eventually they will, with the help of the apostate Christians, call for the death of all TRUE Christians (See Revelation 13).

While the Jews try to deny their guilt for the death of Jesus two thousand years ago, they prove they are the guilty ones, because:

They are, in essence, “killing” Christ all over again!

The Jews of today have infiltrated all the “Christian” churches, and have placed spies in their midst, just as Judas had infiltrated the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus Christ.

Nothing has changed!

Who was Judas Iscariot’s Father?

And Why is That Important in Light of Present-day End Times?

And Why is That Important in Light of
Present-day End Times?