Judas Hangs Himself (Matthew 27:1-8) - Steve Gregg

https://thenarrowpath.com | In his lecture on Matthew 27:1-8, Steve Gregg explores the events following Jesus' arrest and trial, focusing on the Sanhedrin’s need for Roman approval to execute Jesus, leading to their consultation with Pontius Pilate. Gregg discusses the necessity of fabricating charges against Jesus, as the blasphemy accusation would not sway the Roman governor. He also examines the account of Judas Iscariot’s remorse and death, addressing apparent discrepancies between Matthew’s account—where Judas hangs himself and the priests buy a field with his returned silver—and Acts 1:18-19, where Judas is said to have purchased a field and died by falling. Gregg argues these accounts are complementary, not contradictory, suggesting both could be true through reasonable scenarios, such as Judas’ body falling after hanging. Additionally, he touches on the issue of a quotation attributed to Jeremiah in Matthew 27:9, which appears to come from Zechariah, promising further discussion on this potential error. | https://opentheo.org/i/765611936653040108/matthew-271-278

Matthew 27:1-8 (NKJV)
1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.

2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3 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,

4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

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.

Outline
Introduction to Matthew 27:1-8
Context: Jesus’ arrest and trial by the Sanhedrin.
Sanhedrin’s inability to execute without Roman approval due to their status as a puppet government under Roman rule.
Jesus Taken to Pontius Pilate
Sanhedrin condemned Jesus for blasphemy, but this charge was irrelevant to Romans.
Morning meeting to devise new charges to convince Pilate to execute Jesus.
Judas Iscariot’s Remorse and Death
Judas, remorseful, returns the thirty pieces of silver to the priests and hangs himself (Matthew 27:3-5).
Priests use the money to buy a potter’s field, called the Field of Blood (Matthew 27:6-8).
Comparison with Acts 1:18-19
Acts describes Judas purchasing a field, falling headlong, and his entrails gushing out, with the field called the Field of Blood.
Differences:
Matthew: Judas hangs himself; priests buy the field with his money; Field of Blood due to blood money.
Acts: Judas buys the field; dies by falling; Field of Blood due to his gruesome death.
Reconciling Apparent Contradictions
No contradiction if both accounts can be true:
Judas could have hanged himself, and his body later fell and burst open (e.g., rope/branch broke or body was cut down).
Field purchase attributed to Judas as it used his money, a common way of speaking (e.g., posthumous actions via agents).
Field of Blood name could have multiple reasons (blood money and Judas’ death).
Unlikelihood of error:
Disciples, including Matthew and Peter, were close to Judas, making ignorance of his death improbable.
Event was publicly known in Jerusalem, reducing chances of conflicting accounts.
Quotation Issue in Matthew 27:9
Matthew attributes a prophecy about the thirty pieces of silver to Jeremiah, but it resembles Zechariah.
This raises questions about potential error in Matthew’s attribution.
Gregg promises to address this issue in the next session, noting it challenges views on biblical inspiration but is resolvable.

#BibleStudy #Matthew27 #GospelOfMatthew #SteveGregg #JudasIscariot #FieldOfBlood #BiblicalContradictions #JesusTrial #PontiusPilate #ChristianTeaching #ScriptureAnalysis #NewTestament #BiblicalProphecy #ZechariahVsJeremiah #ChristianApologetics #jesus #jesuschrist #sin #failure #bibleteaching #biblestudy #sacrifice #thenarrowpath #stevegregg