"The Scripture Fulfilled in Regard to the Potter's Field"

Matthew 27:9-10: Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.

Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, is careful to establish the fact that all that occurred in the Life of Christ can be footnoted in Old Testament Prophecy. There are no surprizes with God. Each of the twists and turns in Christ's ministry and now His passion is completely under the sovereignty of God.

While liberals might say that we have a mistake in verse nine, there is a simple explanation. The quote in verses nine and ten is actually a paraphrase of Zecharaiah 11:12-13. Yet, Matthew credits this to Jeremiah. If you know the Hebrew Bible, there were three sections: the Law, Writings (poetry books), and the Prophets. Jeremiah was the first of the prophetic books, and on occasion the entire section was identified by the name Jeremiah. the great commentator J. N. Darby suggested that Zechariah formed part of a scroll that began with the prophecy of Jeremiah, and therefore would bear his name. Also, it is to be noted that one of the major themes of the book of Jeremiah is the story of the potter, and thus there could even be somewhat of an illusion to that emphasis found in Jeremiah. [Our English Bibles follow the Latin order of books for the Old Testament, which bears only general similarities to that of the Hebrew canon]

The import of the passage is that Jesus was sold for the exact amount that was predicted more than four hundred years earlier. The chief priests had no intention of fulfilling Scripture, and neither did Judas. All was done to fulfill every jot and tittle of the Old Testament. For us, this is a tremendous validation of the grand plan of redemption, a plan that was set before the foundation of the world.