Matthew 27:3-10
Death of
Judas
Matthew
27:3 Then when Judas,
who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been
condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 saying, "I have sinned by
betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is
that to us? See to that yourself!"
5 And he threw the pieces of
silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and
he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests took the
pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put
them into the temple treasury, since it is the
price of blood."
7 And they conferred together
and with the money bought the Potter's Field as a
burial place for strangers.
8 For this reason that field
has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
9 Then that which was spoken
through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "AND
THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF
THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of
Israel;
10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE
POTTER'S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Judas Commits
Suicide
The End
Result
There are many lessons we can
take from these few verses so let's concentrate
today on consequences from the actions of Judas and
the religious leaders.
Consequence of Judas'
Actions
Feelings of guilt and remorse
began to fester inside of Judas as he began to
realize what he had done, accusing an innocent man,
Jesus.
To correct his mistake, he
went to the temple to give back the thirty pieces
of silver and get the charges against Jesus
dropped. It was too late. The process had started
and the religious leaders were not about to stop
now.
For every action there is
reward or consequences. Many times we make
decisions while, seeming harmless at the time will
affect us and other people long into the future. We
need to think through, and ask God for guidance,
especially in important decisions. We may still
make mistakes but at least we didn't make them
hastily.
Our decisions might not
condemn a person to death as was the case with
Jesus but they could destroy a relationship or
another persons trust in us. Be careful.
Consequence from the Actions
of the Priests
Here was Judas, coming before
the religious leaders, admitting that he was a
sinner. Remember, the priests were charged with
directing the people in the way of God.
What did they do? The answer
to Judas was that it was of no concern to them. His
repentance meant nothing.
They had already rejected the
Christ and now they turned their back on Judas,
totally neglecting their duties as
priests.
These leaders were so far
blinded by their actions that justice was
completely thrown out. No mercy and no
shame.
Field of Blood
Strange that the priests
could not use the money because it was considered
blood money, given in exchange for murder. So, like
many modern churches sometimes do, the silver was
used for another project outside the temple making
it okay. Again, no guilt in doing this.
As Christians, let's try not
to let personal gain interfere with doing the right
things for God. It's sometimes easy to justify
perpetrating something bad as long as it produces
what we believe is good in another area.
Final Thought
Always talk with God, listen
for His answer first. Ask the old slogan "What
would Jesus do?". Then, talk with other Christians
to see if you are on the right track. You won't be
perfect (neither am I) but at least you'll make
better decisions based on the best
input.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses about the suicide of Judas in Matthew
are from New American Standard Bible
Another Lesson for Baptist
Study
Matthew
27:1-2 - Who Killed Jesus - The Romans or the
Jews? -
The question of who killed Jesus is covered in this
lesson from the Easter story where the religious
leaders of the council handed Christ over to Pilate
for judgment.
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