Matthew 27 - Do You Ever Feel Sorry for Judas?

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver 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.

6 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. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, 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.”

Click Here to Read All of Matthew 27

Here we have the story of Judah, as he finally realizes what he has done in betraying Jesus to the Jewish leaders.  One thing that is not talked about is that Judas was remorseful for his mistake, and admitted that he had sinned in this passage. In his sorrow, he went and hanged himself.  Obviously it was a deep sense of sorrow and regret that created such a hopelessness that he took his own life.  I pray Judas is in heaven. Though ending his life was not God's will and therefore a sin, his remorse for his betrayal shows his honesty and taking responsibility for his actions.  

What interests me is the incredible and continued hypocrisy of the chief priests.  Though they were happy to pay Judas thirty pieces of silver to have him betray Jesus, they weren't willing to take it back.  Why?  Because they claimed it was blood money and the law told them that was wrong.  Can you believe it?  Here they are going to kill the innocent Son of God, and they are worried about taking back money that they had already shelled out of the treasury to get his follower to betray him.  Was the money not already used for an incredibly "unholy" use.  

Further note they used the money to buy a potter's field, which was a field that Jews buried foreigners and criminals.  Note only orthodox Jews could be buried in Jewish cemetaries.  This is why it was called a "field of blood".  This ground was clay like and mined for pottery.  Since the land had no real use for agricultural farming it was used as cemetary for foreigners.  Hence the "Potter's field".  So, the blood money used to betray Jesus (a small amount by the way) is used to buy a field where unholy people were buried.  Do you see the irony?  

Though a mere 30 pieces of silver was all the blood money it took for Judas to betray his friend, Jesus offered innocent blood of inestimable value on the cross for free.  But although it was free it was not cheap. It cost Jesus everything.  Like Judas, we can be tempted to sell out Jesus.  What price would it take?  Before we judge Judas we should think about that question. I think we are tempted to do that more than we think.