Mat 27:5-10 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 5. And he cast down , etc, This was an evidence of his remorse of conscience for his crime. His ill-gotten gain now did him no good. It would not produce relief to his agonized mind. He attempted , therefore, to obtain relief by throwing back the price of treason. But he attempted it in vain. The consciousness of guilt was fastened to his soul; and Judas found, as all win find, that to cast away or abandon ill-gotten wealth will not alleviate the guilty conscience. In the temple , It is not quite certain what part of the temple is here meant. Some have thought it was the place where the sanhedrim was accustomed to sit; others, the treasury; others, the part where the priests offered sacrifice. It is probable that Judas cared little, or thought little, to what particular part of the temple he went. In his deep remorse he hurried to the temple, and probably cast the money down in the most convenient place, and fled to some situation where he might take his life. And went and hanged himself . The word used in the original, here, has given rise to much discussion, whether it means that he was suffocated or strangled by his great grief, or whether he took his life by suspending himself. It is acknowledged on all hands, however, that the latter is its most usual meaning, and it is certainly the most obvious meaning. Peter says, in giving an account of the death of Jesus, that Judas, "falling headlong, burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." There has been supposed to be some difficulty in reconciling these two accounts, but there is really no necessary difference. Both accounts are true. Matthew records the mode in which Judas attempted his death by hanging. Peter speaks of the result. Judas probably passed out of the temple in great haste and perturbation of mind. He sought a place where he might perpetrate this crime. He would not, probably, be very careful about the fitness of the means he used. In his anguish, his haste, his desire to die, he seized upon a rope and suspended himself; and it is not at all remarkable, or indeed unusual, that the rope might prove too weak, and break. Falling headlong--that is, on his, face--he burst asunder, and in awful horrors died--a double death, with double pains and double horrors--the reward of his aggravated guilt.

Matthew 27:5-10

Verse 5. And he cast down, etc, This was an evidence of his remorse of conscience for his crime. His ill-gotten gain now did him no good. It would not produce relief to his agonized mind. He attempted, therefore, to obtain relief by throwing back the price of treason. But he attempted it in vain. The consciousness of guilt was fastened to his soul; and Judas found, as all win find, that to cast away or abandon ill-gotten wealth will not alleviate the guilty conscience.

In the temple, It is not quite certain what part of the temple is here meant. Some have thought it was the place where the sanhedrim was accustomed to sit; others, the treasury; others, the part where the priests offered sacrifice. It is probable that Judas cared little, or thought little, to what particular part of the temple he went. In his deep remorse he hurried to the temple, and probably cast the money down in the most convenient place, and fled to some situation where he might take his life.

And went and hanged himself. The word used in the original, here, has given rise to much discussion, whether it means that he was suffocated or strangled by his great grief, or whether he took his life by suspending himself. It is acknowledged on all hands, however, that the latter is its most usual meaning, and it is certainly the most obvious meaning. Peter says, in giving an account of the death of Jesus, Acts 1:18 that Judas, "falling headlong, burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." There has been supposed to be some difficulty in reconciling these two accounts, but there is really no necessary difference. Both accounts are true. Matthew records the mode in which Judas attempted his death by hanging. Peter speaks of the result. Judas probably passed out of the temple in great haste and perturbation of mind. He sought a place where he might perpetrate this crime. He would not, probably, be very careful about the fitness of the means he used. In his anguish, his haste, his desire to die, he seized upon a rope and suspended himself; and it is not at all remarkable, or indeed unusual, that the rope might prove too weak, and break. Falling headlong--that is, on his, face--he burst asunder, and in awful horrors died--a double death, with double pains and double horrors--the reward of his aggravated guilt. Verse 6. It is not lawful, etc. It was forbidden De 18:18 to take what was esteemed as an abomination, and to offer it to God. The price of blood--that is, of the life of a man--they justly considered as an improper and unlawful offering.

The treasury. The treasury was kept in the court of the women. See plan of the temple, Mt 21:12. It was composed of a number of small chests placed in different parts of the courts to receive the voluntary offerings of the people, as well as the half-shekel required of every Jew. The original word, here rendered treasury, contains the notion of an offering to God. What was given there was considered as an offering made to Him.

The price of blood. The life is in the blood. The word blood, here, means the same as life. The price of blood, means the price by which the life of a man has been purchased. This was an acknowledgment that in their view Jesus was innocent. They had bought him, not condemned him justly. It is remarkable that they were so scrupulous now about so small a matter comparatively as putting this money in the treasury, when they had no remorse about murdering an innocent being, and crucifying him who had given full evidence that he was the Messiah. Men are often very scrupulous in small matters, who stick not at great crimes. Verse 7. And they took counsel, etc. They consulted among themselves about the proper way to dispose of this money.

And bought with them. In Acts 1:18, it is said of Judas that he "purchased a field with the reward of iniquity." By the passage in the Acts is meant no more than that he furnished the means, or was the occasion of purchasing the field. It is not of necessity implied that Judas actually made the contract, and paid down the money to buy a field to bury strangers in--a thing which would be in itself very improbable; but that it was by his means that the field was purchased. It is very frequent in the Scriptures, as well as in other writings, to represent a man as doing that which he is only the cause or occasion of another's doing. See Acts 2:23, Jn 19:1, Mt 27:59,60.

The potter's field. Probably this was some, field well known by that name, which was used for the purpose of making earthen vessels. The price paid for a field so near Jerusalem may appear to be very small; but it is not improbable that it had been worked till the clay was exhausted, and was neither fit for that business nor for tillage, and was therefore considered as of little value.

To bury strangers in. Jews, who came up from other parts of the world to attend the great feasts at Jerusalem. The high priests, who regarded the Gentiles as abominable, would not be inclined to provide a burial-place for them. Verse 8. The field of blood. The field purchased by the price of blood. The name by which this field was called was Aceldama, Acts 1:19. It was just without the walls of Jerusalem, on the south of Mount Zion. It is now used as a burying-place by the Armenian Christians in Jerusalem, who have a magnificent convent on Mount Zion. Miss. Herald, 1824, p. 66. See the map of Jerusalem, and ch. ii. 1.

Unto this day. That is, to the day when Matthew wrote this gospel, about thirty years after the field was purchased. Verse 9. Spoken by Jeremy the prophet. The words quoted here are not to be found in the prophecy of Jeremiah. Words similar to these are recorded in Zech 11:12,13, and from that place this quotation has been doubtless made. Much difficulty has been experienced in explaining this quotation. Anciently, according to the Jewish writers, Jeremiah was reckoned the first of the prophets, and was placed first in the Book of the Prophets: thus Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve minor prophets. Some have thought that Matthew, quoting this place, quoted the Book of the Prophets under the name of that which had the first place in the book--i, e., Jeremiah; and though the words are those of Zechariah, yet they are quoted correctly as the words of the Book of the Prophets, the first of which was Jeremiah. Others have thought that there was a mistake made by ancient transcribers, writing the name Jeremiah instead of Zechariah; and it is observed that this might be done by the change of only a single letter. It was often the custom to abridge words in writing them, Thus, instead of writing the name of Jeremiah in full, it would be written in Greek Iriou. So Zechariah would be written Zriou. By the mere change of Z into I, therefore, the mistake might easily be made. Probably this is the correct explanation. Others have supposed that the words were spoken by Jeremiah, and that Zechariah recorded them; and that Matthew quoted them as they were, the words of Jeremiah. The passage is not quoted literally; and by its being fulfilled is meant, probably, that the language used by Zechariah on a similar occasion would express also this event. It was language appropriate to this occasion.

The price of him that was valued. That is, the price of him on whom a value was set. The word rendered "valued," here, does not, as often in our language, mean to esteem, but to estimate; not to love, approve, or regard, but to fix a price on, to estimate the value of. This they considered to be thirty pieces of silver, the common price of a slave.

They of the children of Israel did value. Some of the Jews, the leaders or priests, acting in the name of the nation.

Did value. Did estimate, or fix a price on.

(q) "spoken" Zech 11:12,13 (1) "valued" or, "whom they bought of the children of Israel." Verse 10. And gave them. In Zechariah it is I gave them. Here it is represented as being given by the priests. The meaning is not, however, different. It is, that this price was given for the potter's field.

As the Lord appointed me. That is, commanded me. The meaning of the place in Zechariah is this: He was directed to go to the Jews as a prophet--a pastor of the people. They treated him, as they had done others, with great contempt. He asks them to give him his price-- i.e., the price which they thought he and his pastoral labours were worth, or to show their estimate of his office. If they thought it of value, they were to pay him accordingly; if not, they were to "forbear"-- that is, to give nothing. To show their great contempt of him and his office, and of God who had sent him, they gave him thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. This God commanded, or appointed him to give to the potter, or to throw into the pottery--to throw away. So in the time of Jesus the same thing was substantially repeated. Jesus came as the Messiah. They hated and rejected him. To show their contempt of him and his cause, they valued him at the price of a slave. This was thrown down in the temple, taken by the priests, and appropriated to the purchase of a field owned by a potter, worn out, and of little or no value; all showing at how low a price, through the whole transaction, the Son of God was estimated. Though the words quoted here are not precisely like those in Zechariah, yet the sense and general structure are the same.