Judas and the Blood Money
Matthew 27:1-10, NIV - Early in the morning, all
the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have
Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate
the governor.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was
condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have
betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your
responsibility.”
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then
he went away and hanged himself.
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is
against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the
potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of
Blood to this day. Then what was spoken
by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field,
as the Lord commanded me.”
It is striking the way Matthew draws
comparisons and contrasts between the chief priests and Judas in their reaction
to Jesus’s innocence. Both Judas and the
Priests are complicit in Jesus’s fate. Both
at least admit Jesus’s innocence. And
they both pronounce sentences. The priests,
of course, doubled-down on their complicity to kill Jesus and turn Him over to
Pilate who is the only one with power to execute. And Judas, overwhelmed with
guilt for his role in this tragic plot, pronounces conviction and death
sentence on himself for betraying an innocent man. These are the similarities.
Within those similarities, Matthew
has highlighted some stark contrasts.
The judgement of the chief priests have nothing to do with justice; they
are simply trying to eliminate what they believe to a threat to their power and
position. Judas suicide is an effort to
mete out justice upon himself for his crimes.
Judas gives up the money he was paid for his betrayal because he wants
no benefit for his duplicity. The
priests, even though they know it is blood money, use it for their own
interests while skirting the regulations that govern the use of such
currency.
Both the priests and Judas were
wrong in their actions. The evil of the
priests is more apparent for their self-interest and their blatant disregard
for justice is obvious. They absolve
themselves of all responsibility for their treachery and they make schemes to
get around the regulations governing them to accomplish their dark goals. Judas takes the matters of judgement into his
own hands, a power he has not been given by the law or by God. Confessing his sin and trying to make amends
(return the money) were the right things to do, but killing himself was
not. Both the priests and Judas left God
out of the equation. The priests made a
mockery of God’s justice and Judas denies God’s mercy, forgiveness, redemption
and love.
But here is the most amazing thing
about all of this; God’s providence is seen even in all the betrayals of God’s
justice and redemption. The priests
unknowingly participate in the plan of God by their turning over of Jesus to
Pilate. Their use of the blood money unknowingly
fulfills prophecy made hundreds of years before by God’s messenger
Jeremiah. The treachery of the priests
is a tool in the hand of God for the redemption of all people. And though Judas carries out capital
punishment upon himself, there is even still, the possibility of his redemption
in eternity by a God whose “yes” is stronger than any “no.” Though God would never condone suicide, God’s
love is capable of superceding it. The
priests and Judas cannot thwart the providence of the Almighty.
Let us resolve to avoid the
mistakes of the priests and of Judas.
Let us not take the justice of God into our own hands. Let us not presume to know the limits of God’s
love, mercy and forgiveness. Let us
accept that God’s plan will prevail whether we cooperate with it or not. Let us let God, and God alone, be God.
Questions: Have you
ever acted as if you knew better than God what was necessary in a given
situation? Have you ever pronounced a sentence upon yourself
with no thought God that somehow, God could bring redemption from even the
worst of your mistakes?
Prayer: Sovereign
God, forgive us when we leave you out of the circumstances of our lives and
relationships. Help us to more fully
trust your providence, justice, and love.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for
the souls and families of those who have taken their own lives.
Song: Hand of Providence
– Michael W. Smith
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