Judas' Death and Its Aftermath

When Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned, he felt remorse. He took back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders and said that he had sinned by betraying innocent blood. They answered that it was not their concern and told him to deal with it himself.

Judas threw the silver down in the sanctuary and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Matthew tells this as a tragic event, not as something to copy or approve.

The chief priests took the silver pieces and said it was not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they were the price of blood. So they discussed together what should be done with the money.

They used the silver to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Because of this, the field came to be called the Field of Blood, and Matthew says it still had that name when he wrote.

Matthew then says these events fulfilled words spoken through Jeremiah the prophet about the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him, and the money given for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded. What does this sad passage show about guilt and the worth of Jesus?