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Day 318

Matthew 27:3-9 "WHAT HAPPENED TO JUDAS ISCARIOT?"

Day 318 – Luke 23

Text: Matthew 27:3-9

WHAT HAPPENED TO JUDAS ISCARIOT?

Judas had shown himself unworthy of the friendship that Jesus had extended to him. There were many who would have liked to be chosen as one of the Twelve Disciples, but that honour was given to him.

He repaid Jesus’ hand of friendship by betrayal. He sold him for a paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave! Satan was involved in his betrayal of Jesus, but only because Judas had allowed himself to be possessed by the Devil!

Matthew was the only Gospel writer who followed up on Judas, after he was identified as the one who betrayed Jesus. He wrote,

“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, saying,
‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.'”
Mathew 27:3-4

At one time, the act of betraying did not bother the conscience of Judas. But as the full significance of what he did hit home, that his erstwhile Friend and Teacher had been condemned, he became remorseful. He was troubled by what he had done. He knew that he could not undo the wrong that he had done. He certainly did not want the money that he was paid for betraying Jesus.

The thought that he had betrayed “innocent blood” was eating away at his heart. The weight of sin grew heavier and heavier on his very soul. The more he dwelt on the subject, the more remorseful he felt! He wanted to return the money back to the ones who gave it to him, the chief priests and elders.

Judas must have been quite unprepared for the response of the chief priests and elders. They replied,

“What is that to us? You see to it!”
Matthew 27:4

IN UTTER DESPAIR

Judas could not find a word of consolation from the religious leaders. They were cold and unfriendly. They were stiff and discouraging in their regard of Judas. They did not want to have anything much to do with Judas now. They had Jesus where they wanted Him, and that was all that was important to them. Judas was unimportant and insignificant now.

Matthew recorded how this brief encounter drove Judas to utter despair. We read about what Judas did next.

“Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the Temple
and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
Matthew 27:5

Judas couldn’t wait to throw the pieces of silver back at the feet of the chief priests and elders. They meant less than nothing to him now!

He had no friends anywhere anymore. Not even the chief priests and elders offered friendship! He could not face his fellow-disciples! How could he? He couldn’t face the crowds too! Nobody likes a traitor!

To Judas’ tormented mind, there was only one thing left to do. He went out and hanged himself! Could he have turned to God for forgiveness? God was never in his heart and mind in the first place! How could he turn to Him now?

There was nothing left for him to consider. There was no future. His past was so badly tainted. He did what many have done before. He committed suicide. That was a sin that was almost unthinkable for a Jew!

“THE PRICE OF BLOOD”

The pieces of silver were strewn on the Temple floor! Of course, common sense demanded that the money be picked up. The question now was what to do with the money. Perhaps the distress that was written on the face of Judas must have affected them somewhat. They huddled together to consult with each other, and came to a conclusion.

“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.
Therefore that field has been called
The Field of Blood to this day.”
Matthew 27:6-8

It is strange how hypocrisy works! The chief priests and elders could plot and plan the death of Jesus, using temple funds, and feel no remorse about it. However, when the same money was returned to them, they could say that the money was tainted, and was “the price of blood”!

The pragmatic chief priests and elders decided that they should take the money and purchase a small field where strangers could be buried there. This deed became known in time, and thus the parcel of land obtained and ignominious name – “Akel Dama”- the Field of Blood (Acts 1:18-19).

THE FULFILMENT OF ANOTHER PROPHETIC WORD

Matthew noted that the Scriptures were not silent on the demise of Judas. Zecharias had written prophetically about how Jesus was to be sold for thirty pieces of silver. It was also prophesied that the money was used to buy a potter’s field.

In the prophetic books of the Hebrew Old Testament (arranged differently from the English Old Testament), Jeremiah’s book headed the list of prophetic works. Sometimes, the whole collection of prophetic works is referred to by the name of the prophet Jeremiah (Matthew 27:9-10). What a sad and tragic end of a disciple of Jesus! What lessons can we learn from looking at the life of Judas Iscariot?