Why did Judas betray Jesus? We might think it was just for the money he received, but then why would he give it back? Or perhaps he had wanted to provoke Jesus into a confrontation with the Pharisees, confident that Jesus would in fact lead a rebellion against the Jewish leaders as well as the Romans. But when Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested and condemned, it was obvious that wouldn’t happen. All we can be sure of is what Judas said in verse 4: he knew Jesus was innocent, and he knew he had betrayed Him. Regardless of his own motivations, he knew he had committed a terrible sin.

But Judas wasn’t the only one wrestling with guilt in this passage. For what did the chief priests do with the money he returned to them? If they had believed Judas had earned it as a legitimate bounty on a criminal, why were they so hesitant to take it back as an offering? No, even though they believed Jesus was a blasphemer, they were uneasy with the way they had paid Judas to betray Him. So, they didn’t want the money, either.

So, the question is, how did these people deal with their guilt? The priests tried to distance themselves from their conspiratorial plotting. They used the money to buy a field so that strangers could be buried there: perhaps they thought such generosity would somehow cover up their shady dealings. But however popular this sort of tactic may still be, doing a good thing can’t possibly cancel out the guilt of a bad thing.

And so Judas was really being more honest than the chief priests were. He knew that there was no way to put right what he had done wrong. But in his despair, instead of seeking God’s forgiveness, he took what was for him the only logical step: he took his own life.

But the good news is that God has a better solution for guilt than meaningless gestures or suicide. God has a plan to save even the worst of sinners. And as verses 9 and 10 make clear, even though Judas betrayed Jesus, and even though the chief priests condemned Jesus, all they were really doing was participating in this plan, a plan explained by prophets like Jeremiah and Zechariah, who lived hundreds of years earlier.

Yes, the irony is that it was only through the actions of such wicked sinners, it was only as Jesus was betrayed and condemned, it was only as He went to the cross that He could provide the forgiveness that they and that we all so desperately need. It was only Jesus’ death that could pay the death penalty that we all deserve.

So, instead of trying to patch up our own mistakes, doesn’t it make more sense to hope in God’s merciful plans? And instead of giving up in hopelessness and despair, shouldn’t we trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for sinners like us?

Matthew 27:3-10 (NASB)

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 sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
6 And 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 counseled 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, saying, “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.”