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Matthew 27:1-10 (Judas)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Lead Me to the Cross, and together we are looking at Jesus’ final steps leading to the cross of Calvary. So far, we have looked at Jesus’ anointing at Bethany, his Last Supper with the disciples, his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, his trial before Caiaphas the high priest and Peter’s three denials of Christ in the courtyard. Today we come to his sentencing and Judas’ actions after betraying him. (Read Matthew 27:1-4 and pray.)

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Although all twelve disciples abandoned Jesus the night he was arrested, the Bible highlights two disciples in particular – Peter and Judas. And there’s a reason their two stories are told one right after the other in Matthew’s gospel. We are meant to see their stories together and learn from their different outcomes.

Last week with Peter we saw that denial of Jesus leads to bitter regret. This week with Judas we learn that sorrow for sin without repentance and faith leads to unbearable remorse and eventual death.

We will come back to Peter’s story at the end of the message today, but first we need to look more closely at Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish leaders by leading them to Jesus’ location and identifying him with a kiss. And he did it all for thirty pieces of silver, which was just the cost of an injured slave. So, what did Judas’ betrayal of Jesus gain for him in the end? Let’s find out.

I. Jesus is condemned (1-2)

First, we return to Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin where he is condemned to death. Look at verses 1-2 with me now:

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2 They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. (Matthew 27:1-2)

   A. The Jewish leaders officially decide to put Jesus to death (1)

And so, after a full night of deliberations marked by illegal proceedings, false witnesses and distorted testimony, the Jewish leaders officially decide to put Jesus to death. They had already decided this the night before – remember, this trial had a predetermined outcome – but now they gather the full Sanhedrin together and make their decision official.

   B. They hand him over to Pilate for final sentencing (2)

Of course, they do not have the authority under Roman law to put Jesus to death, so now they hand him over to Pilate for final sentencing. This is yet another event that Jesus prophesied earlier when he told the disciples that the chief priests and teachers of the law would condemn him to death ( check) and turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified ( check) (Matthew 20:18-19).

Matthew tells us they bound him and led him away. Picture a prisoner exchange in the movies where the prisoner is wearing leg chains, handcuffs and a straitjacket, and they lead him down a long hallway where the vehicle waits outside to bring him to another facility. Now picture that person being Jesus, and you get an idea of the injustice of the situation.

II. Judas is filled with remorse (3-5)

Even Judas can see how wrong this all is. When Judas sees that Jesus is condemned, he is filled with remorse. Look at verses 3-5:

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

You may wonder why Judas was suddenly filled with remorse. Perhaps Jesus calling him “friend” in the garden (Matthew 26:50) or Jesus asking him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48) was weighing on his conscience. But either way, Judas is filled with remorse, and in the space of a few verses Matthew traces his downfall for us.

   A. Judas returns the money – but you can’t undo your own sin (3)

First, Judas returns the money, but you can’t undo your own sin. Behold the sad, sad story of Judas. He never even got to enjoy the money he received for betraying Jesus. Isn’t that the way sin always is? It promises you so much but never delivers.

August Van Ryn comments: “In reality he did not sell the Lord for those 30 pieces of silver; he sold Him for nothing, for he returned the money; yea, he really sold himself – for nothing – into eternal perdition. That is all any soul will ever get for the rejection of the Lord Jesus – nothing here and eternal doom hereafter.” (August Van Ryn, Meditations in Matthew)

Judas who had been greedy for money now throws the money away. All the things that you valued more than God in this life will someday be shown to be worthless when compared with God who alone is worthy of your worship.

   B. Judas confesses his sin to the priests, but they can’t help him – only Jesus can forgive your sins (4)
      – Psalm 49:7-8; 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Next, Judas confesses his sin to the priests: “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” (Matthew 27:4) Notice Judas’ words: “I have sinned.” At least that part is good. He doesn’t say, “I made a mistake” or “I messed up,” but “I have sinned.” He doesn’t make any excuses. He doesn’t blame anyone else. He makes a full confession of his sin.

Notice also how Judas testifies that Jesus was innocent of wrongdoing. Usually when new evidence comes up it is entered into the record, but the priests want nothing to do with Judas or his testimony. They simply dismiss it. Why? Because it would have destroyed their case!

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” Well, it was certainly their responsibility too seeing as they were the ones who gave him the money! They are just as guilty as Judas here, but their hearts are hardened while Judas’ heart is bleeding with remorse.

And notice they have no concern for Judas here at all. This is doubly wrong because they are priests, and priests are supposed to help the people with their sins. They’ve got one job! But they show no concern for Judas or his sin. They used him to get to Jesus, and now that they have no further use for him, they simply discard him.

Judas comes to them confessing his sin, and they tell him, “That’s your responsibility,” or literally, “You take care of it.” No, a thousand times, no! That is horrible counsel! You cannot take care of your own sin. Psalm 49 says: “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough.” (Psalm 49:7-8) We can’t pay for someone else’s sin because we can’t even pay for our own sin.

Judas confesses his sin to the priests, but they can’t help him, because only Jesus can forgive your sins. 1 Timothy 2 says: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6) You can’t take care of your own sin. You can only bring it to Jesus. Trying to take care of it yourself like Judas only leads to despair.

   C. Consumed by his guilt, Judas hangs himself in despair – the wages of sin is death, and without Jesus, you will die in your sins (5)
      – Romans 6:23; John 8:24

And so, Judas, consumed by his guilt, hangs himself in despair. The Bible tells us: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Jesus told the people earlier: “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” (John 8:24). Judas did the right thing in returning the money. You should always return anything you have obtained through sinful means. So, Judas did the right thing in returning the money. He did the right thing in confessing his sin. But he didn’t take that final step of believing in Jesus.

The irony here is that Judas’ betrayal sent Jesus to his death which alone could pay for Judas’ sin. But Judas refused to repent and believe, so instead of Jesus dying for his sin, Judas dies in his own sins. He began the process of repenting, but he never completed the process by believing in Jesus.

I like the way Douglas Sean O’Donnell explains this. He writes:

Perhaps the famous repentance train analogy will help. By acknowledging his sin and seeking to make amends, Judas got off the train going the wrong way. But that was all he did. He next needed to get on another train going the right way. That right way was back to Jesus for forgiveness. He went to the chief priests in the temple but not to the true High Priest who is the temple. Judas should have gone to Jesus who is sympathetic to our weaknesses and ready to forgive all our transgressions. He should have run to the tree of Calvary for life. Instead he ran to another tree for death. (D. S. O’Donnell; Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth, p. 833)

It is instructive to look at Peter in contrast to Judas here. Peter also sinned greatly against Jesus, but Peter found forgiveness and restoration because he repented and believed. Peter went outside and wept bitterly, but Judas went away and hanged himself. The wages of sin is death, and without Jesus you will indeed die in your sins.

III. The chief priests are blind to their sin (6-10)

It is also instructive to look at the chief priests in contrast to Judas. Unlike Judas who was filled with remorse for his sin, the chief priests are blind to their own sin.

   A. The chief priests are more concerned about the lawful use of the money than they are about their unlawful trial of Jesus (6-8)

Back to Matthew 27, look at verses 6-8:

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.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. (Matthew 27:6-8)

The chief priests pick up the money Judas threw into the temple and discuss what to do with it. It is against their law to put it into the treasury, so they decide to buy a field with it instead. Notice they know it is blood money. They know it is money that was used to betray an innocent man to death. They know that they have sent Jesus away to Pilate under false pretences. But all they can think about is what they should do with the money! They didn’t mind taking it out of the treasury to pay for Jesus’ betrayal, but they are worried about putting it back into the treasury now that Jesus has been condemned to death. They are more concerned about the lawful use of the money than they are about their unlawful trial of Jesus. They are blind to their own sin.

And so, the priests use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. The money was unclean because it was blood money. Graveyards were considered unclean and so were foreigners. And so, the priests use unclean money to buy an unclean place for unclean people to be buried.

This field became known as the Field of Blood. From this time on it was associated with violent death, whether Jesus’ death or Judas’ death or perhaps both. G. Campbell Morgan comments: “How often men attempt to cleanse money by putting it to charitable uses. Mark the irony of the whole situation, how the people named the thing correctly, even when the priests tried to hide it. The priests said, A field to bury strangers in. The people said, The field of blood! Thus, all unintentionally, they sent down through all the years the right naming of the thing they had done, ‘The field of blood.’” (G. Campbell Morgan; Matthew; https://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9T9ASw1y0fI%3D&tabid=322&mid=1057)

   B. The chief priests unwittingly fulfill Old Testament prophecy (9-10)
      – Zechariah 11:12-13, Jeremiah 19:1-13, 32:6-9

By their actions the chief priests also unwittingly fulfill Old Testament prophecy. Look at verses 9-10 with me now:

Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” (Matthew 27:9-10)

Matthew quotes from a combination of passages found in the Old Testament books of Zechariah and Jeremiah that together specify: 1) the thirty coins of silver, 2) that this money was the price set for God’s servant, 3) that the money would be thrown into the temple, 4) that the money would be associated with a potter, and 5) that the money would be used to buy a field (Zechariah 11:12-13, Jeremiah 19:1-13, 32:6-9).

Matthew recognizes that all these things committed by Judas and the chief priests were previously written down in Scripture. And so, the chief priests in their actions unwittingly fulfill Old Testament prophecy.

THREE APPLICATIONS: As we close out the message, I would like to take a closer look at how the chief priests, Judas and Peter each responded after they sinned. All three sinned; all three stood in need of forgiveness; but all three responded in different ways.

There are basically three ways people deal with their sin.

   1) Like the chief priests – we ignore it and face God’s judgment

The first way people deal with their sin is illustrated for us by the chief priests: we ignore it and face God’s judgment. So many people deal with their sin by not dealing with it at all. They spend their lives minimizing their sin, justifying their actions, shifting the blame to others and generally avoiding responsibility. But just because you ignore your sin doesn’t mean that God does. Ignoring your sin is only postponing the inevitable. When you ignore your sin, you don’t deal with it at all, and you will eventually face God’s judgment.

   2) Like Judas – we are troubled by it and consumed by guilt

The second way people deal with their sin is illustrated for us by Judas: we are troubled by it and consumed by guilt. We know we have sinned, and so we try to make things right ourselves. Like Judas, we do our best to make amends, but you can’t undo your own sin. Like Judas, we admit that we are wrong, but we don’t fully repent of our sin and put our faith in Jesus. We only go halfway. We get off the train going the wrong way, but we never get on the right train that will bring us to salvation. We are not blind to our sin like the chief priests. But we are not forgiven either. We are troubled by our sin and consumed by guilt.

   3) Like Peter – we repent of it and receive forgiveness and life

And then, the third way people deal with their sin is illustrated for us by Peter: we repent of it and receive forgiveness and life. I doubt you have ever failed Jesus as badly as Peter did. And I doubt you ever will fail Jesus as badly as Peter did. So, take heart! Jesus restored Peter to fellowship and service, and he will do the same for you.

The difference between Peter and Judas is laid out for us in 2 Corinthians 7:10: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) What is the difference between Peter and Judas? It is the difference between life-giving repentance and death-producing remorse. Worldly sorrow brings death. That is exactly what happened to Judas, and that is exactly what will happen to anyone who does not come to Jesus. Only Jesus can forgive your sins. Unless you bring your sin to Jesus, you too will be consumed by guilt. And you too will eventually die in your sins, for the wages of sin is death.

CONCLUSION: And so that’s the lesson of Judas for us today. Sorrow for sin without repentance and faith in Jesus leads to unbearable remorse and eventual death. Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he took it to God in prayer. Peter was overwhelmed with sorrow after denying Jesus, and he took it to Jesus in repentance and faith. Judas was overwhelmed with sorrow after betraying Jesus, and he took it with him to the grave and eternity.

Jesus died to take the penalty of your sins for you. So, don’t be like the chief priests and ignore your sin. Don’t be like Judas and die in your sin. Instead, like Peter, give your sin to Jesus so that you may find forgiveness and life in Christ. Come to Jesus who shed innocent blood for you. Turn from your sin, put your faith in Christ and live.

© Ray Fowler

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