#1323 Matthew 27 Part 1 Hung Himself

 

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6 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.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” Matthew 27: 1-10 NKJV

Matthew 27: 1-10 Suicide

When morning came - The trial by night was informal and illegal, and we saw that they were still searching for a charge during it. Now, as hypocrites do, they will pay homage to the law by conducting a session during the day to legitimize their pursuit. 

 “But as it was contrary to all forms of law to proceed against a person’s life by night, they seem to have separated for a few hours, and then, at the break of day, came together again, pretending to conduct the business according to the forms of law.” (Clarke)

Delivered Him to Pontius Pilate - They are seeking the death penalty and Rome holds that power, so they must present their case before the governor. 

“Pilate was in fact appointed prefect or procurator by Tiberius Caesar in A.D. 26. Prefects governed small, troubled areas; and in judicial matters they possessed powers like those of the far more powerful proconsuls and imperial legates; in short, they held the power of life and death.” (Carson)

ii. “The ordinary residence of procurators was Caesarea, on the sea coast, but it was their custom to be in Jerusalem at Passover time, with a detachment of soldiers, to watch over the public peace.” (Bruce)

iii. Philo, the ancient Jewish scholar from Alexandria, described Pilate: “His corruption, his acts of insolence, his rapine, his habit of insulting people, his cruelty, his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending gratuitous and most grievous inhumanity.” (Barclay)

Was remorseful - Judas is regretting his decision to betray Jesus, he feels guilty perhaps, slighted maybe, the money did not offset the reality of the anguish. The strength of his mission was enhanced by being possessed of the devil himself, and now the poor man is feeling used and alone. He was used by both Satan and the religious rulers, but the entry way for both was his greed and unbelief. 

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood - Here the betrayer confesses Jesus' innocence. Now this is interesting, for whatever means he had used before to justify his betrayal, to turn upon the Son of God, his teacher, he can no longer reconcile these things. He wants to be free of guilt, this is painful, agonizing, and so he confesses it to those who paid him, the chief priests and elders, those that should know what to do, and, according to the law, be ready to hear evidence to the contrary lest they take an innocent life. Judas has first knocked upon the door of religion. It is not the right door. Again, I ponder the three years that Judas was with Christ, yet all he can say of Him in the end is, He is innocent. 

1“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.… John 10: 1-3

…8All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.… John 10: 8-10

What is that to us - They were useless, and as always they were not willing to lift a finger to help this man with his burden. The truth was not what they sought, and they were pushing hard against it. They refuse to take the money back.

Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple - He is not going to keep it, and so he tries yet another door, which is the same as the first door. Judas puts the money where the priest will have no choice but to deal with it. 

By throwing the money into the temple (the “naos, properly the inner sanctuary, where only the priests were allowed to go” according to France), Judas wanted to implicate the priests in his crime. It was his way of saying, “You also are guilty of this.”

ii. “The act of a desperate man, determined that they should get the money, and perhaps hoping it might be a kind of atonement for his sin.” (Bruce)

Went and hanged himself - Yet another door, another wrong door. God has expressly stated, "thou shalt not kill", and herein is the manifestation of man's sin, his pride that says, "my body, my choice, it's my life to do with as I please". Judas knows that cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, and he is seeking a way out, a way to express his guilt and pay for his sin. Now there are people who kill themselves for various reasons, some even to hurt someone else, some because of the hurt they have received of others, and here it is the burden of guilt, but this door is deceiving, it promises relief but it is the beginning of eternal sorrows. 

…11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one. 12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.… John 17: 11-13

…23From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD. 24“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.” Isaiah 66: 23-24

Because they are the price of blood - Even the priests know that it is blood money, this was about protecting their interests as the religious elite, their desire to have the people look to them alone. It was to protect their racketeering, the money they made by disgracing the temple. How disgusting though that they will again nod to a part of the law as if it legitimizes the breaking of the law, lying, murder. I have seen men like this, men who will use the law to protect their sin, men who will gladly condemn someone more righteous than themselves.

Called the "field of blood" to this day - Even the people living there knew this was no kindness to the strangers in the land, that this was a means for the superstitious leaders to rid themselves of the blood money. They thought this some legal loophole or means to wash their hands of innocent blood. Like mob bosses their is no repentance here, no regret, it is all necessary to protect their dark market empire.

What was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet - The passage is actually recorded in Zechariah, but the Jews divide the books into the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms or sayings. The prophets is collectively referred to by the first book or header book, Jeremiah. Zechariah is part of the Jeremiah Scroll.

Some think that Matthew refers to scroll of Jeremiah, which included the book of Zechariah. - E Word

…12Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. 13And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”— this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.  Zechariah 11: 12-13