The Gospel of Matthew The Remorse & Death of Judas Matthew 27:1-10

Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor. 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, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. Matthew 27:1-10

And 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.” And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason it is called the Field of Blood to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.” (Matthew 27:1-10)

Death of Judas Why does Matthew include this here? 1. It highlights the “fulfillment” theme – even incidental details are a fulfillment of Scripture 2. It sets the treachery of Judas alongside the denial of Peter by way of contrast and comparison

Death of Judas 1. The “fulfillment” of Scripture  motifs from Jeremiah/Zechariah Zechariah – returned his shepherd’s wages of 30 pieces of silver to the potter in the temple Jeremiah – broke a potter’s jar in the valley outside Jerusalem marking a defiled place of burial when God’s judgment would come

Death of Judas 1. The “fulfillment” of Scripture  parallels with Judas/Jesus Yahweh’s Shepherd is rejected by the people of Israel and valued at the price of a slave the rejection of Jesus leads to a polluted field, a symbol of the death and destruction of the nation

Death of Judas 1. The “fulfillment” of Scripture  how was this “fulfilled”? Jeremiah/Zechariah display “a pattern of apostasy and rejection that must find its ultimate fulfillment in the rejection of Jesus, who was cheaply valued, rejected by the Jews, and whose betrayal money was put to a purpose that pointed to the destruction of the nation.” (D.A. Carson)

Death of Judas 2. The hypocrisy of the religious leaders  “it is not lawful…” they were concerned with ceremonial/religious purity in the face of gross injustice and evil they focused on external requirements and ritual and neglected the issues of the heart

Death of Judas 3. The remorse of Judas  comparison to Peter nature of their sin – denial of Jesus out of fear and weakness versus a deliberate, planned betrayal of Jesus for profit

Death of Judas 3. The remorse of Judas  comparison to Peter nature of their remorse – a sorrow leading to repentance and restoration versus a sorrow leading to despair and death

Death of Judas “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10