RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-04-09	How Did Judas Die? and Who Bought The Field? (Mt.27:5-8; Ac.1:18-19)
		Mat 27:5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. Mat 27:6 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." Mat 27:7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Mat 27:8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Act 1:18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. Act 1:19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) The death of Judas Iscariot was a suicide committed after he was filled with remorse, but not repentance, for his betrayal of Jesus. Matthew and Luke (book of Acts) both mention some details of Judas’s death, and reconciling the details between the two accounts has presented some difficulties. Matthew says that Judas died because he “hanged himself” (Mt.28:5-8). Luke says that Judas fell into a field and that his body “burst open” (Ac.1:18-19). Matthew says the chief priests “bought” the potter's field (Mt.27:7). Luke says Judas “purchased a field” (Ac.1:18). DEATH OF JUDAS Judas hanged himself in the potter's field (Mt.27:5). That is how he died. Afterward, something he used to support himself in the hanging broke (rope or the tree branch, etc.). His body fell bursting open on the land of the Potter's field (Ac.1:18-19). Luke does not say that Judas from the fall. He only mentions that his body fell. Luke presumes Judas' hanging already occurred. Normally when a man falls down his body does not burst open, so many perceive his body had begun to decompose. So, Matthew mentions the actual cause of death. Luke mentions subsequent details surrounding his death. WHO PURCHASED THE FIELD? Judas was promised the thirty pieces of silver several days before Jesus' arrest (Mk.14:11). Sometime during the days leading up to his betrayal of Jesus, Judas made arrangements to purchase a field. But the money had not yet been transferred. After the betrayal Judas was paid, but he returned the money to the chief priests (Mt.27:5). The priests considered the silver to be blood money (Mt.27:6). So, they completed the transaction by purchasing the field Judas intended to purchase (Mt.27:7). Judas may not have purchased the field personally, but he provided the money for the transaction, and so could be called the purchases (Ac.1:18). Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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