Culver Community Church

Pastor Chris Sweeney

Sermon Notes

May 12, 2019

Matthew 27:1-10 The Fate of the Betrayer!

{vs 1-2} Picking and choosing which laws to obey, which to either ignore or fudge – the leaders reconvene for the third trial.  This was to be the real trial, a legitimate gathering of the Sanhedrin (also described in Luke 22:66-71) following the informal (and illegal) night session.  Ironically, this was not much better because many legal requirements were broken as we noted – i.e. no trials were to be held during the Passover.  Apparently, early in the morning before sunrise, the group broke up and then regathered after the break of day, at the official judgement hall (Luke tells us they led Him into their council) – perhaps some were worried about the appearance of a rushed nighttime trial, held at a private residence.  We are told all the chief priests and elders met. Luke’s account shows us that this morning trial was essentially the same as the previous, informal examination. 

Following the formalities, the group switches gears and begins to work out the details of how to put Jesus to death because Rome had taken the power of corporal punishment from them (John 18:31 attests to this).  They did at times ignore this and stone someone here or there (as with Stephen the first Martyr) but that was usually in the heat of passion (near riot) and this was cold and calculated - - - there could be repercussions!  What would Pilate think?  What would the people think?  What to do, what to do!  Remember the people thought Jesus was a prophet and perhaps, maybe the Messiah – these leaders did not want to be the ones receiving the blame for His death.  They had wanted to - - - they tried to - postpone this action until after the holidays – but God (Jesus) forced their hands.  They also needed to come up with a better charge against Him – they may have felt Blasphemy was unforgivable and worthy of a painful death - - - but Pilate and Rome would not care in the slightest about their God and questions of identity or theology!  They firmed up their scheme and their story and made ready to present Jesus to Pilate - bound, beaten and bloodied, so that he would do their dirty work for them.  Normally Pilate would be down by the coast where he had a palace at Caesarea (we have found the archeological remains) – as far from Jerusalem and their problems and complaints as a governor could get, just enjoying the ocean breeze.  However, during the Passover both he and a larger contingent of soldiers would be on hand to handle any trouble, rebellions or uprisings (little could he imagine what was coming his way so early today!)

{vs 3-4} We don’t know whether Judas remained to watch the proceedings, either up close and personal or from a distance like Peter but we do know that it is at this point that the weight of what he has done becomes too much for him.  Perhaps he has just come back to see the official morning session.  Perhaps, just maybe he has an ‘eyes meet across the room’ moment as Peter did after the third denial and cock crow.  Literally the Greek says that he saw personally, as with his own eyes that Jesus was condemned and the result was that he felt remorse.  Some translations say he repented, but this is important - - - this is not the New Testament word used for true repentance that leads to God’s forgiveness.  This word translated ‘remorse’ by the NIV expresses the idea of second thoughts or feeling bad.  This is the kind of regret that comes from being caught or a remorse that leads to sorrow and depression – not true repentance!  Godly repentance is very different – the end results are the proof!  You can always tell the source of the message (Heaven or Hell) based on where it wants to take you!  God’s Word may cut (like a two edged sword) but only to promote healing.  Satan slashes indiscriminately to further his agenda – to steal, kill and destroy!  Paul writes in second Corinthians – “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Worldly sorrow or that inflicted by the Devil and his forces drags a person down; down into depression and if unchecked, like in Judas, into suicidal thoughts!  There is no worldly way out, no freedom from the guilt and no way to undo what has been done!  Did you see that Judas wanted to undo his betrayal – simply return the silver and ‘take it all back’?  Have you ever tried to un-commit adultery, to take back harsh words, to undo whatever sin you’ve committed? - - - It just doesn’t work that way!  However, Godly sorrow leads to true repentance – a change of heart, mind and actions.  This repentance admits the shame and guilt of sin and allows God to forgive and take it away!  It is the one hundred and eighty degree turn around or change - the same revulsion that God feels over sin, which makes repeating our sins repugnant to us!  So many of us know, by experience, that when the enemy is tempting us to sin his forces do everything that they can to push us over the line.  They try to convince us that it would not really be a sin, that no one would get hurt, no one would know, everyone does it, you deserve this or some such lie from the pit of Hell.  However, once the line is crossed and you’ve taken the bait and you’re on the hook, ready to be reeled in – that is when their tactics change!  They do everything to tempt you to take the bait but when you are on the line, that’s when the club comes out and they beat you for all you’re worth!  Satan himself possessed Judas, and when he got what he wanted the soft persuasion disappeared and Judas felt a greater guilt than anyone else because he sinned the greatest sin in human history!  To be in the presence of God, to know Him, to walk and talk with Him, to hear Him speak, to feel His love and to see the miraculous evidences - - - yes, even to participate in it all - - - to be on the receiving end of all this and then to betray Him (unthinkable)!  While Judas may not have recognized that he betrayed God, he did see that Jesus was innocent!  This should have clued him in, for he heard Jesus say “. . . No one is good--except God alone.” (Mark 10:18b).  It would be bad enough to betray a friend, but this is a completely innocent friend – who never gave offence or reason for betrayal.  Unlike the rest of us, who are at least partially deserving of many of the consequences and betrayals that come our way – Jesus was not!

Judas’ statement “I have betrayed innocent blood” was much more than a declaration of guilt or regret.  This one statement should have stopped everything.  We talked about the many illegalities, but there is yet another that I have not mentioned yet.  When a person was condemned, we know that the Sanhedrin was to fast for a day before pronouncing the sentence - - - but they were also to stay in session (remain in the courtroom) until it was carried out, just in case any new evidence came to light.  If any new evidence came up or one of the witnesses was shown to be false - - - they had to declare a mistrial!  Judas (although his testimony was solicited by bribery) was the initial witness – his declaration of Jesus’ innocence should have undone the verdict!  However they did not care!  They were the poor shepherds that the prophet Jeremiah wrote about – ““Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:1).  These leaders put heavy burdens on the people and would not help them.  Instead of Shepherds, they were wolves devouring the sheep!  They did not care for Judas’ spiritual wellbeing – only what they could use him for!  I can’t imagine any pastor (which means shepherd) telling me "What is that to me? , That's your responsibility."  Moreover they were shirking their responsibilities as judges, picking and choosing when to obey the law, when to ignore the law and worst of all when to bash someone else over the proverbial head with it!

{vs 5-8} Unable to undo his dirty deed and finding no help in the priests – Judas throws the money they would not take from him into the temple courts and exits.  Interestingly, the word used here for temple is one that when used of the Jerusalem temple (God’s house) refers to only the Holy place and the Holy of Holies.  Judas did not drop the coins or bag at the steps or where they were standing - - - he went into the temple proper and threw them to where only the priests could go so that they had to deal with it!  To me this seems to be one last act of desperation, vengeance and anger before Judas hanged himself.  Judas could have been saved, forgiven and set free but tragically in his desperation, he would not (could not) wait for the Sonrise.  If instead of going to the phony priests to return the money, he would have fallen to the ground and sought forgiveness from God’s true High Priest - - - he would have found it!  There is no sin, no shame and no betrayal too far for God’s grace to reach! (Judas was so close, Jesus was feet away!)  Some have questioned Judas’ method of death, looking for inconsistencies.  Acts chapter 1 says he fell headlong on some rocks and his bowels burst open, but both can be true.  This discription is perfectly consistent with someone who has been hung, when they bloat and the rope, branch or maybe even his neck brakes and so he hung himself and he fell headlong to the ground.

However, God brings truth and beauty out of everything – this ‘blood money’ testifies to Jesus’ innocence!  Blood money is defined as income received at the price of someone’s life or paid to someone to kill a person.  Implied is the fact that the death is unjust – the leaders themselves so worried about this one bit of minutia in the Law are declaring that they took the money from the treasury and paid for Jesus’ death!  Somehow it is okay to make the payment, run a kangaroo court and convict God – but they can’t take the money back!  Our hypocritical priests rightly say that it is unlawful to put it into the treasury because it is “the price of blood” – but they devised a way to get rid of it.  They spent it – not as if it came from the temple funds but in Judas’ name – to do a charitable deed.  They buy a potter’s field to burying foreigners – a cemetery for undesirable Gentiles - - - how charitable!  The people knew the truth too – they called the place (until the day Matthew wrote this account) the “Field of Blood”.  Think about that – the people knew who solicited the trial and execution of Jesus - - - they knew how unjust it was and the roles that Judas and the religious leaders played in it!

{vs 9-10} Matthew uses a prediction from Zechariah to show once again that this was all part of God’s plan, not the works of men.  Matthew attributes the quote to Jeremiah, which has tripped up some, but this is not wrong or uncommon.  To the Jews there were three sections of the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets and the Wisdom literature.  Each section was called by its begging work – the Law, called Moses (the first five books of Moses or Pentateuch begin this section); the Prophets called Jeremiah because in rabbinic manuscripts this scroll is headed by Jeremiah; and the Wisdom section called the Psalms because it leads the scroll.  (Jesus did the same thing when He referred to a whole category of wisdom literature as the Psalms.)  There is no mistake here, and prophecy was fulfilled – as it always is!

Today we see the fate of Judas, the Betrayer – don’t look at your life, your mistakes (let’s just call it what it is - - - SIN) and be dragged down to Hell by Hell’s false repentance (remorse)!  We must find true repentance and forgiveness in what Christ did for us, and be set free!