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"

 

 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.  

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.  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.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who as priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

 

- Matthew 27:1–10 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was on trial inside the home of the high priest, 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 fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And 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 began 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.

 

 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.  My study Bible explains that while the religious Law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), under Roman occupation, the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  Thus, they had to get permission from the governor.  

 

 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.  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.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who as priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."  My study Bible contrasts Judas' state with that of St. Peter.  Peter repented in his sorrow (see yesterday's reading, above, "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").  Judas is remorseful but does not repent.  My study Bible comments that suicide is not a sign of repentance but of being self-absorbed.  There are two accounts of Judas' suicide in the New Testament, here and in Acts 1:16-19. 

 

 My study Bible contrasts the response of Judas with the response of Peter.  Peter is repentant, but Judas is remorseful.  So we have to consider what the difference is.  In one instance, that of Peter, a repentant Peter understands that he has failed not just himself, but he has also failed to heed the word of Christ.  He's repentant in this sense by knowing that his own confidence in himself was misplaced, and comes to recognize himself in the eyes of God.  Indeed, as we remarked in yesterday's commentary upon the reading that included Peter's three-time denial, in Luke's reporting of that story, Peter's repentance and bitter tears come because of a glance from Jesus (Luke 22:61).  But Judas' remorse, in contrast, is one that does not turn back to Christ, but only to himself.  My study Bible comments that suicide portends self-absorption.  What we find is that Judas in some sense punishes himself, and judges himself -- and does not come to Christ for His judgment.  To feel remorse may happen for all kinds of reasons.  We do not necessarily fully know Judas' remorse.  It may be straightforward that he feels a deep guilt, recognizing that he has betrayed innocent blood.  Some speculate that he thought the arrest of Jesus would inspire some sort of rebellion.  But what we do know is that he has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury, and to mete out a kind of punishment, to declare his own life over and end it himself.  But it gives us a great lesson:  that to collapse in our own remorse over a failing, even over an act for which we feel great guilt and regret, is not the same as coming to our Lord in confession and repentance.  For in doing the latter, we seek God, even through the worst of our own times in life, even in the midst of our own failings. There we find real repentance, for we open the capacity for a change of mind and heart, for illumination as to how to go forward, replacing despair, and seeking only the will of God for ourselves instead of our own judgment.  Perhaps it is at the times we are most broken and discouraged that we might find our greatest gift of grace awaits.  For turning to Christ we will find the resurrection He offers to us, and how to bear our own cross.  Judas does not do this, and so his woe is complete, as foretold by Christ. It teaches us that to allow ourselves to feel the despair brought on by self-recrimination isn't good or healthy.  Our lives are not meant to be saturated in punishment we can mete out to ourselves, but for a true change of heart that turns to God even when we're tempted to despair.  Let us consider what Judas' suicide teaches us, and the mindfulness we need amidst our own failures.  Self-flagellation and punishing ourselves isn't fruitful in God's sight; it doesn't correct nor do what we need.  We turn to Christ, and ask for His light, to show us the way and what we need to change, giving us His way instead of our own hopeless despair.  

 

 

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

 

 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. 

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 out and hanged himself.  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.  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 27:1-10 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was being tried in the house of the high priest,  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 fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And 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 began 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.  

 

 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.  While the religious Law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), and the high priest has declared Jesus to be a blasphemer (see Wednesday's reading), under Roman occupation, the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  Therefore, my study Bible explains, they had to get permission from the governor.

 

 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 out and hanged himself.    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.  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."  In contrast to Peter who repented in his sorrow, weeping bitter tears of recognition (Matthew 26:75), Judas is remorseful but does not repent.  My study Bible says that suicide is not a sign of repentance but rather of being self-absorbed.  There are two accounts of Judas' suicide given in the New Testament:  here and in Acts 1:16-19.  Both accounts name the purchased field the Field of Blood.  The prophecy is from Jeremiah 32:6-9; compare to Zechariah 11:12-13 (link).

We might ask, what is the difference between repentance and remorse?  If we look at these words in Greek, repentance is μετάνοια/metanoia.  The word translated here as remorseful is a verb, μεταμέλομαι/metamelomai, meaning that he became remorseful.   We can see one significant difference in these words in the fact that the first, for repentance, ends with -νοια, which comes from the Greek word νοῦς/nous.   Meta- is change, as in an effect of transforming; nous is often translated as mind, the root of words like "noetic."  But it is deeper than simply our understanding of "mind" as the place of daily thoughts that come and go.  The "nous" is also understood as the part of ourselves that can receive illumination and understanding from God, from the divine.  Therefore, the change that is repentance is a kind of total internal conversion, an inner orientation to God that transforms us deeply as persons.  Perhaps we could say it deeply or fundamentally changes our whole way of thinking or perceiving meanings in some sense.  But metamelomai is meta- plus -melo, which means "care" or "concern."  So the implication of remorse is regret for a bad outcome, rather than a deeply-felt change of heart.  It quite implies, to my way of thinking, an objectifying way of looking at Christ, rather than the personal loving relationship Christ offers to all.  Possibly the outcome of Christ's trial was not what Judas expected.  Perhaps this horrible outcome struck Judas with the reality which he had actually brought about through his betrayal.  Delivering Christ to the Romans for Crucifixion and death is a betrayal of the society in some sense, to deliver a fellow Jew for judgment.  At any rate, he has betrayed innocent blood, and now bears this burden of this great sin under the law, which the chief priests and elders do not help him alleviate, saying, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"   And these rulers clearly do not receive him with any kind of positive recognition or inclusion for what he's done in collaborating with them; instead he bears the brunt of this sin.  We don't really know the answers as to Judas' motivations and desires (John tells us that he was a thief), but the Gospels give us these words to think about.  Peter does not with forethought betray Christ; it is a kind of impulsive response to fear that prompted his denials, and a forgetfulness of Christ's warning.  His recognition of his own weakness serves to illuminate Christ's words to Peter that he must "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (see Monday's reading).  Judas' action, however, was more deliberate and considered, and he was given many instances in which Christ still sought to save him, to make him think about what he was doing in betrayal, to let him know the reality of his choice, even offering him friendship until the last moment ("Friend, why have you come?"); see Tuesday's reading.  Judas' remorse somehow comes short of restoring relationship with Christ, and the focus is still on the self, as my study Bible explains.  It is akin to a regret for something because it didn't turn out the way one expected.  With this sort of regret, one can go one way and another -- take it to a deeper place in recognition of the true harm one has caused and therefore to repentance, coming to Christ.  Or, the dwelling remains on the self only.  For the Eastern Orthodox, a morbid or excessive guilt is still a form of self-centeredness.  Repentance is finding salvation, coming to Christ for healing and for true transformation of the inner self, allowing oneself to be changed.  It is Christ who heals and transforms, who gives us the true perspective we need in life, and teaches us true reality -- and in that depth of relationship and communion, we are healed.  This is the foundation of our faith, and this is what Judas fails still to realize.  He does not come to Christ with his repentance, but only to the chief priests and elders with his regret.  Let us consider, then, when we think about this passage, the love of Christ that can remit sin, and in which we can truly find ourselves and what we need to heal -- even from our own self-inflicted damage.

 

 

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

 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. 

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.  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.  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 27:1-10

Yesterday we read that Peter sat outside in the courtyard with the servants while Jesus was on trial inside the house of Caiaphas the high priest.  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 fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And 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 began 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.

  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.   The religious Law dictated that the penalty for blasphemers was death (Leviticus 24:16).  But under Roman occupation, the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  Therefore they had to get permission from the the governor. 

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.  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.  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."  My study bible contrasts Judas to Peter.  Peter repented in his sorrow (see yesterday's reading, above, in which Peter wept bitterly).   It notes that Judas is remorseful but does not repent.  Suicide, it says, is not a sign of repentance but rather of self-absorption.  Two accounts of Judas' suicide are given in the New Testament, here and in Acts 1:16-19.

My study bible contrasts Judas' act of suicide with Peter's repentance.  If we look carefully at the differences we can perhaps find some important distinctions.  In Jewish Law, there was no such thing as allowance for "blood money" penalties.  That is, the only punishment for murder was death; it was not allowed to pay a financial penalty in recompense for murder.  The money from Judas is considered "the price of blood" by the chief priests, and therefore unlawful for the treasury.  Judas carries out his own penalty for murder, and hangs himself.   Judas recognizes, after Jesus' condemnation, that he has "sinned by betraying innocent blood."  But the chief priests and elders can do nothing to help him, he is to "see to it" himself -- and so he does.  We must contrast this with Peter who, although he has not betrayed "innocent blood" in the same sense that Judas has, nevertheless has denied Christ and repented through "bitter tears."  Peter's denial also comes in the face of a refusal to heed Christ's words to him prophesying the denial.  For many, the key difference here is that Peter will return to Christ and to the Church, and Judas does not.  Is there hope for Judas?  We noted in the commentary in Tuesday's reading (in which Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss) that Jesus immediately addressed Judas, saying, "Friend, why have you come?"  Jesus, even after betrayal, is still attempting to save Judas.  It seems clear from Jesus' question that He attempts to engage Judas, not to condemn, but to assure him that there is a possibility of return even then.  But Judas does not return to Christ, nor does he return to the other apostles.  We don't know, of course, what his reception with the other apostles would have been, but it is clear that whatever place in which he experiences his remorse is devoid of mercy or redemption.  He is engaged only with a system in which the penalty for his action is death -- and he does not go to the One who seeks above all else our salvation.  He has given up his life as a follower of Christ.  In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells three parables, each of which affirms God's exemplary joy over even one sinner who repents.  Jesus says in the first parable (of the lost sheep), "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  He repeats after the second parable (of the lost coin), "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  And finally, He tells the parable of the Prodigal Son, with the father declaring, "It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."  This three-fold emphasis on the incredible joy over one who repents, who was lost and is therefore found by returning to his father, must leave us with the assurance that there is none for whom God's love does not desire return.  We can look at the horror of the betrayal of Judas, and its depth of sinfulness, but we are then left with a question.  Do we take Judas' perspective that there is no hope at all, and that he is only deserving of death -- or can we wonder about the possibility of a return to Christ and what Christ's judgment would be?  It's clear that from a worldly perspective, there was only condemnation for Judas, and his own self-imposed exile from Christ limited his option to death by his own hand.  But with Christ, judgment comes only from God, whose love for us is so great that salvation is the key priority to all things, and the joy in heaven that we are assured awaits one who was lost and is found again.  In the story of Judas there is the assurance that although the world would condemn, our hope is with Christ -- even when there is no other hope.  This is the definition of our faith.  St. Paul writes, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  Judas, above all else, lacks this faith, but it is in that very faith that lies our hope when all other possibilities seem to be exhausted.  He lacks the very gift that Christ has brought to us when all else fails.