Tag: Matthew 27:1-5

Monday, September 27, 2021

Thirty Silver Coins

27 1-2 In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.

3-4 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he returned the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”

They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

5 Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.

-Matthew 27:1-5 The Message

There are a total of four versions of Jesus’ crucifixion. We read the first one in John 19. Another version we are about to read and study is in the book of Matthew, chapter 27. I can promise that a lot of this is repetitions for sure. There will be different events as well that are not mentioned in other versions. Let’s study it.

Judas’s Remorse

27 Verse 1: Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;

Verse 2: They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor.

Verses 1-2 studies: The religious leaders persuaded the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death. The government can’t charge Jesus because they don’t have the authority to. The Romans took power away from the religious leaders. From the political side, the killing of Jesus would make the religious leaders look better if someone else is responsible. The leaders wanted it to look like the Romans’ responsibility, so the crowd wouldn’t blame the leaders. They arrested Jesus on blasphemy. That would get thrown out of the court. So the leaders had to find another reason, a political reason for Jesus’ death. Their strategy was to show Jesus as a rebel who claimed to be a king and a threat to Caesar.

Verse 2 study: From A.D. 26-36, Pilate was the Roman governor of Samaria and Judea. Pilate showed his authority over the Jews. For instance, he impounded money from the temple treasures to build an aqueduct. Pilate wasn’t famous, but the leaders had no other way to get rid of Jesus; Pilate was the only choice. Ironically, Pilate found Jesus innocent, a Jew who couldn’t find one fault in him.

Verse 3: 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,

Verse 4: saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!”

Verses 3-4 studies: Jesus’ formal accuser (26:48) wanted to drop charges, but religious leaders said no, we are moving on with the charges and will not halt the proceedings. When he betrayed Jesus, it seem like he was trying to force Jesus’ hand to lead a revolt against Rome. It didn’t work, and Judas tried to change his mind, but it was too late by then. Most of the plans were set, couldn’t be changed when the plan was in motion. The lesson is to think about consequences before making or acting on our actions and later regretting them.

Verse 4 study: There is nothing worse than going to a priest and confessing sins. The priests did this to Judas. Their job is to help point people to Jesus. They didn’t care about anybody. They told Judas, “What is this to us? See that for yourself!” No guidance, nothing. They rejected the Messiah and rejected their roles as priests.

Verse 5: And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left, and he went away and hanged himself.

Verse 5 study: Matthew claims that Judas hung himself. In Acts 1:18, Judas fell and busted open. The best way to explain is that the limb from where he was hanging broke, resulting in him falling and splitting his body open.

Father, thank you for the different versions of Jesus’ death. We are thankful to you for allowing the Gospel to be written about Jesus’ death to share with future followers. I pray we will continue to take this time to remember Jesus’ death and the purpose of it. In Jesus’ name. Amen!