Matthew 27:3-10

Matthew 27:3-10

3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” 7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel; 10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.”

Sin always promises more than it can deliver.  It promises to bring pleasure fame or any number of other benefits but it always delivers pain and heartache.  Judas and the religious leaders put a plan together that they think will bring satisfaction, wealth and power.  The are left with a bad taste in their mouths.  It is always that way with sin, and the sooner we can learn the reality the better off we will be.  Sin will always lead to pain and eventually death. 

SIN CAUSES GRIEF: Judas was convinced that an extra 30 pieces of silver would solve his financial problems and allow him to move forward in life.  When he saw the results of his betrayal, he was overcome by remorse and wanted to do all he could to take back what he had done.  He returned the money, but the pain was still too much for him to bare so he went and took his own life.  Make no mistake about this truth.  Satan wants to kill you.  He will tempt, accuse, discourage, lie and condemn you all the way to the grave if he can.  When he tempts with sin, he always minimizes it and lies that it will not matter, and the God will not care.  After we sin, he always maximizes sin and tries to convince us that nobody else has ever been so terrible and that God cannot forgive.  If Judas had repented and come to Jesus with his sin, he could have been forgiven and restored instead of being destroyed.  When we are overcome with grief over our sin we must go humbly to Jesus and find grace and forgiveness as we are united with Him and reconciled to God through the cross and resurrection.

SIN CAUSES GUILT: It is interesting that the religious leaders do not feel at liberty to take the 30 pieces of silver that had been returned to them and use it for the general expenses they had.  The reason they give is that it would be unlawful because it was the price of blood.  I find this interesting because they have not shown any regard for the law up until this point in the process.  They hold a trial under the cover of night, they pay false witnesses, bring no official charge, allow no defense and have a predetermined verdict.  Now, they are concerned about law!  This is so typical of sin.  Guilt builds up in our hearts and we try to appease it by showing some sort of altruistic thought.  They are simply trying to convince themselves of their own righteousness in the face of their corruption.  We can only deal with our guilt through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  No amount of works or good intentions will ever bring about the forgiveness of our sin.  We must trust Jesus.

SIN CAUSES GUILE: Since the leaders didn’t feel right about putting the silver in the treasury, they decided to take the money and use it to purchase the field where Judas had hung himself as a place to burry the dead that had not money for burial.  It is ironic that the betrayal money is so tied to death.  The death of Jesus, the death of Judas and now the death of others who would be buried in this place.  Judas took the money in hopes of a better life but it only shortened his life.  Sin is always like that; it promises one thing but delivers another.  We must be careful not to allow the blight of sin to attract us away from the light and life of Jesus.

APPLICATION: No matter how much is looks like sin will be a benefit to us, know that it is a lie and deception.  Sin will always lead to loss in light of eternity.  Beware of your hearts ability to rationalize sin in one area of your life and then try to “make up for it” in another area.