"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.

"The Field of Blood Purchased"

Matthew 27:6-8: But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood. And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

As we said yesterday, the priests were unconcerned as to the truth or untruth of the charges brought against Christ. They were determined to condemn Jesus, and that caused Judas in horror and espair to throw down the money in the temple before committing suicide.

In Acts 1:8 there is more information given: "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." From the Matthew account and the Acts account, we might assume that the limb where Judas hung himself broke under his weight, so that his body was so ruptured in falling to the earth that the condition depicted by Peter resulted. It was a sad and terrible end inddeed to a life that once promised so much.

The priests were suddenly careful about putting the blood-money back into the temple treasury. What hypocrites. They had no problem with paying Judas to betray the Lord of Glory, but they have a problem returning the money to the temple treasury. The point is that no one is exempt from the guilt.

After some consultation, they decide to buy with the money a potter's field. For us in the west, a potter's field is a piece of ground from which clay has been extracted for the making of pottery. Thus, Judas purchased the field with the reward of iniquity, even though he himself was already dead. The field gained the name "The Field of Blood" as a reminder of the transaction in which the priests and Judas had participated. Strangers and those who did not have money for a burial spot would be placed in that field.

"Judas Sorry that He is Condemned"

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Matthew 27:3-5: then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? You see to it! Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

While certainly celebrating the demise of Jesus, Judas the traitor appeared before the chief priests and elders and attempts to "rain on their parade." He was filled with remorse as the full import of the deed he had done began to dawn upon him. Many have tried to excuse Judas on the ground that he may have been over-anxious to see the kingdom of Messiah established, and that he thought possibly by betraying his Master to those that sought to kill Him, that Christ would be forced to show that He was the King of the Jews.

There is no hint of this in Scripture, and the picture of Judas is that he was covetous, taking from the treasury to benefit himself, and finally selling the Lord for the price of a slave. Now with the trials taking place and realizing that Jesus would soon die, Judas was seized with fear, and in his crushing anxiety he tried to undo the wrong of which he had been guilty.

The repentance of Judas was not true self-judgment because of the sin he had committed. The word used here is not the ordinary one for "repented," which implies a complete change of mind or attitude. Rather, it was remorse for what had happened due to the sin. If he had truly repneted, his reaction would have been to claim God's forgiveness, not go out and hang himself.

Bringing the thirty pieces of silver back to those from whom he had received them, Judas exclaimed that he had sinned. Judas knew that there was no flaw in Christ's character, or evil in His behavior.

Coldly the priests replied, "What is that to us? They were determined upon Christ's condemnation. In horror and despair Judas threw down the money, and in a secluded spot hung himself. These events predicted in the Old Testament all fit together in the plan of redemption. Certainly the parallel must be made with Joseph in the Old Testament who was purchased for 20 pieces of silver, the price of a slave in that day. The brothers of Joseph, like Judas, could not get over the guilt that they felt for what they had done.

"The Sandhedrin Delivers Jesus to Pilate"

Matthew 27:1-2: When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

As the Jews had no authority, under the Roman regime, to visit the death penalty upon anyone, they were unable to carry out the Levitical law which condemned a blasphemer to death (Leviticus 24:15-16), unless they took things into their own hands and acted contrary to the code imposed upon them by Caesar's government. They later did thin in the case of Stephen who, like his Lord, was charged with blasphemy

In the case of Jesus the chief priests and other leaders were anxious to shift the responsibility for His death to the Romans, in order that the people who had heard Jesus gladly might not turn indignation upon them. Therefore, having declared Him worthy of death their next move was to bring Him before Pilate, the procurator of Judea at that time.

They waited until daybreak before taking Jesus to Pilate. Someone probably remembered in their excitement to complete the trial that it was illegal to have a trial in the night. Thus, it was significant that they waited until daybreak before taking their case to the Governor.

It is likely that Pilate had alreay heard of Jesus as some harmless zealot of a Jewish sect. Now Pilate is called upon to pass judgment upon Christ as a seditionist, who was endeavoring to arouse the populace for rebellion against Rome and to accept Him as their King instead of Caesar. Of course, none of this had been discussed when Jesus was under examination by the Jewish Sanhedrin. They were wise enough to know that Pilate could care less about Jewish law.

To Pilate, this was a forsaken outpost of the Roman Empire. Rome never had a favorable attitude toward the Jews, and had only contempt toward their laws. Thus, an argument that would bring Cesar into the mix was necessary to win Pilate's approval.

It is interesting, as a sidelight, to know that liberal critics of the Bible enjoyed making fun of the name "Pilate" as there was no outside proof that there was a Procurator by that name in Judea. in 1931 in Ceaserea, the place on the coast of the Mediterranean where Paul would later be bound, they found an inscription with the name of Pilate and the name of the emperor. Liberals then had to retreat to some other criticism. How thankful we can be for archaeology, which only proves the Bible true!

"Peter Wept Bitterly"

Matthew 26:73-75: A little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you. Then he bagan to curse and swear, saying, I do not know the Man! Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. So he went out and wept bitterly.

Each of the gospels adds something to this picture of the denial by Peter. Mark adds that this was the second time that the rooster crowed. Luke adds the look that the Savior gave to Peter after he cursed in front of the crowd. John adds that one who was in the group of the servant of the high priest (whose ear Peter cut off) placed Peter in the garden with Christ. Matthew emphasizes the pathos of the moment in Peter's life--he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter knew what he was doing as he denied Christ with curses against His Savior. How that must have hurt Christ far more than those who struck Him in the face.

But think what it meant to Peter as well. When country music legend Tammy Wynette died, the real story was that former husband George Jones stood outside the church and wept bitterly. Was he responsible for her early demise? I am sure that those who knew all that he had done to her in their marriage would respond in the affirmative. He was most likely drunk, but he remembered what he had done. The key word in this passage is "remembered." That is a frightening concept--it wakes you in the night and you can't get back to sleep. The regrets of that brief episode would have placed Peter on the shelf for the rest of his life, and there would have been no relief. He could have done something, but he lied instead.

Perhaps uppermost in Jesus' mind was the restoration of His broken disciple, which is detailed in John 21.. Jesus looked beyond Peter's fault and saw his need. Thankfully that is what Jesus has done for us when He went to the Cross. Truly, amazing grace.

"Predictions of Peter's Denial Come True"

Matthew 26:69-72: Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you are saying. And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, This fellows also was with Jesus of nazareth. But again he denied with an oath, I do not know the Man!

A maid servant, who had been eyeing him, came boldly up to Peter and charged him with having been in the company of Jesus of Galilee. Taken unawares, he did not have the courage to confess that it was indeed true. On the contrary, he denied before them all, insiting that he knew nothing of what was being said.

Peter moves out onto the porch where he is challenged by another maid who exclaimed: This fellows was also with Jesus of Nazareth." With an oath Peter again denied all knowledge of theMan who was enduring such suffering inside the high priest's palace. In an oath, one calls on God as his witness. Think about that. God was inside being mistreated by man, and God's best friend is outside invoking the Name of God to witness to the fact that Peter did not know the Lord.

Reading this, I would have only the darkest thoughts regarding the future of Peter. Today, a young couple married four years ago called me and in the screams given, I picked up that a divorce was imminent. The reasons from one side were nothing different than what is to be expected in the early years of any marriage. Yet, the other side stated that they had been totally betrayed as the spouse had been unfaithful.

Peter had in a real sense called for a divorce from the service of the Lord. He saw that continuing a relationship with Christ was too dangerous. This theme will continue tomorrow.

Have you ever denied the Lord. God never desires divorce, only reconciliation. If you feel alienated from God right now, come to Him in contrition and ask that He would begin a work of restoration in you. God is able to do more than we ask or think!

"The Devil Permitted to Do All that was Possible to Christ"

Matthew 26:66-67: What do you think? They answered and said, He is deserving of death. Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hand, saying, Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?

Perhaps you have drempt of revenge against that one you have feared--teacher, employer, relative, neighbor. Your pent-up anger has boiled, and you wait for the day when you can explode. Satan has attempted to destroy the testimony of Jesus and failed. Now, Jesus is a prisoner in the house of the High Priest, and all the hatred placed in the hearts of those in the Sanhedrin by the Prince of Darkness is permitted in these verses to be revealed. When Caiaphas asks: What do you think? The Sanhedrin gives the well rehearsed cry for the death penalty.

The Sun of Righteousness, the Son of God, the King of the Universe--looks in these verses only like the man of sorrows. They spat in His face and beat Him. Others struck Him with the palms of their hands. It was judgment day, but the ones doing the judging would find that they had condemned the Lord of Glory. Imagine how composed the Lord had to be when they would strike Him and then ask that He would prophesy who had stricken Him.