Blood Money
Blood Money
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6 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.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s
field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
Matthew 27:5-8
Judas is one of those people in the Bible that always brings a lot of emotion. He was a
disciple and then apostle of Jesus. He was one of the chosen few to be as close to the messiah as any
other human on earth. He saw all the miracles and heard all the sermons but something wasn’t right
in his heart. He was the one that brought the guards to arrest Jesus. He was the one that betrayed his
master with a kiss. He was the one that felt the silver in his hands; blood money that struck his soul.
In the end, he was the one that hung himself. He was so close to the savior and salvation but missed
out from one terrible mistake. Who knows what would have happened if he had stayed alive and seen
Jesus resurrected? Who knows if he would also have a talk with Jesus as Peter did? Who knows if he
could still be saved had he only held on a little longer?
In our lives, we will probably all end up with our own blood money someday. These are those
selfish decisions and choices we make that benefits us while condemning another. It can be an easy
thing to do but the consequences can be horrible. The guilt can be blinding and crushing.
Have you ever hurt someone to benefit yourself? Have you stepped on another to get up in
life? How many politicians end up slinging mud and tearing people down so that they can win? This
act is not only done in our world but actually encouraged in many cases and praised by many.
But blood money will always come back to haunt you.
9 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, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the L ORD directed me.”
Matthew 27:9-10
Judas’ actions were foretold and seen by God before being done. The same can be said for all
of our sins and mistakes. What happens next is not really up to God but to us. God is always ready to
forgive and save but it’s our decisions that really determine our fate. Judas couldn’t live with the guilt
and hanged himself. He made the wrong choice. He never really new Jesus. Had he, he would have
known that Jesus could forgive him even of that betrayal. The real question is- do you know Jesus
well enough to have another outcome?
God bless,
Pr. Steven Couto