Matthew 27:6-10
Mat 27:6 (KJB)
And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to
put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
The chief priests had deemed the thirty pieces of silver to be blood money, that
is, money which was made in the commission of a crime. They then determined that
they could not place it back into the treasury for that reason. Here is a good
example of the chief priests who were so preoccupied with the sanctity of the
temple, that they were blinded to the fact that they were complicit in this
crime, especially for the fact that they were the ones who paid out the blood
money in the first place. (Deu 23:18 KJV) Thou shalt not bring the hire of a
whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow:
for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God. The principle of
not accepting the money of sin is found in Deuteronomy 23:18. It could apply to
a myriad of sins. No wonder God took vengeance on Jerusalem in 70 A.D., their
crimes against Him were huge.
Mat 27:7 (KJB)
And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury
strangers in.
Then they had a meeting and decided that the money should be used as community
money so they purchased a field called the potter’s field. It may have been used
to dig up clay to make clay jars but now it would be a place to bury strangers.
The word “strangers” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “foreigners or
aliens.” (Acts 1:18 KJV) Now this man purchased a field with the reward of
iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out. There is a very ominous phrase in this verse, “reward of
iniquity.” In the Hymn, “My Faith Looks Up To Thee” in the fourth stanza, it
states “When ends life's transient dream, when death's cold, sullen stream shall
o'er me roll;” Judas had a dream but as all dreams in this world they are just
transient, that is, brief. Judas had desires to be ruler in the Kingdom the Lord
was supposed to have set up but the reality Jesus came to establish the Kingdom
of God on earth and to transfer those Elect from the kingdom of Satan to the
Kingdom of God by His sacrifice. This was not in the plans of Judas so he
betrayed the Lord but afterward, he was so filled with guilt that he took his
life by hanging. (Mat 27:5 KJV) And he cast down the pieces of silver in the
temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Mat 27:10 KJV) And gave them
for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. Here was the “reward of
iniquity” for Judas. Instead of being a ruler with wealth and position, he hung
himself in ignominious defeat and his body was mutilated in the hanging. There
lies the difference between a dream and reality. It is better to walk in reality
than to be defeated by a dream.
Mat 27:8 (KJB)
Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
(Acts 1:19 KJV) And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem;
insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to
say, The field of blood. The money that Judas received for betraying the
Lord Jesus Christ was tainted and when it was used for the purchase of potter’s
field, it was renamed “Hakeldama” from the Aramaic. This parcel of land had
retained the name “field of blood” even until the time which Matthew penned the
Gospel carrying His name which was penned about 50 A.D. It maintained its name
for at least two decades and probably until the time of Titus in 70 A.D. when
everything was razed and the location of the field of blood was probably lost
owing to the mass destruction by the Romans.
Mat 27:9 (KJB)
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they
took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of
the children of Israel did value;
(Zec 11:12-13 KJV) And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price;
and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. {13}
And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was
prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the
potter in the house of the LORD. As we see that the quote from Jeremiah in
Matthew is written down in Zechariah. Jeremiah did not write the quote above in
his book, instead, you will note that the Scripture states that it was “spoken”
by Jeremy the prophet. It was spoken by Jeremy the prophet and written down by
Zechariah the prophet. This is not the only place where this happens in
Scripture. Another place is Acts 20:35. (Acts 20:35 KJV) I have showed you
all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember
the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to
receive. Notice the Apostle Paul states “remember the words of the Lord
Jesus.” Jesus had said this at some time in His earthly ministry and now it is
being written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is the same
situation with Zechariah recording in his book something which was spoken by
Jeremiah. The meaning of the passage shows that they place a very small value
upon the Lord Jesus Christ as they valued Him at thirty pieces of silver which
was the price of a slave. The sorry thing was that they could actually place a
value on Jesus in money showed their spiritual deadness in the first place.
Mat 27:10 (KJB)
And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.
(Zec 11:13 KJV) And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly
price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and
cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Judas then fulfills this
part of Zechariah which probably pertains to the portion in Jeremiah 19 where
Judah is being chided by God for burning incense to other gods. This was akin to
what the Jews did to Jesus. They crucified the true God and served the gods
which they created such as their commentaries and their legalism. They turned
away from the true God and served themselves. Israel had long since turned away
from the Scriptures and turned to their own worldly wisdom which caused them to
be spiritually blind.