I invite you to turn with me this morning to Matthew 27, as we consider in a particular way verses 3-10 of Matthew 27. I had indicated in the bulletin we'd read verses 1-10, but I want to back up to chapter 26 and begin reading at verse 57 of chapter 26. Matthew 26, beginning at verse 57. Hear now the Word of God. any. Many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two came forward and declared, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you? But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied. But I say to all of you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, He has spoken blasphemy. Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? He is worthy of death, they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, prophesy to us, Christ, who hit you. Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard and a servant girl came to him. You also were with Jesus of Galilee, she said. But he denied it before them all. I don't know what you're talking about, he said. Then he went out to the gateway where another girl saw him and said to the people there, this fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth. He denied it again with an oath. I don't know the man. After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away. Then he began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, I don't know the man. Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken before the rooster crows, You will disown me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly. Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. I have sinned, he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood. What is that to us? They reply. That's your responsibility. So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priest picked up the coins and said, it is against the law to put this into the treasury since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the field of blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. They took the 30 silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field as the Lord commanded me. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that name, Judas Iscariot? You see, the very mention of that name strikes a chord with so many people, believers and unbelievers alike, as they think of the betrayer, the traitor, or even as John tells us, the thief. And Scripture itself never lets the infamy or the reputation of Judas be forgotten. There is absolutely no doubt about what it is for which he is responsible. Even with regard to the calling of the disciples already, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, along with the name Judas Iscariot in that calling process, we find the words, something to the effect, would betray or become a traitor. In our text, verse 3, Matthew begins, When Judas, who had betrayed Him, there's no doubt about who it is we're talking about here. He is the betrayer. He is the traitor against the Lord of glory. And because mankind has always been so preoccupied with what makes people tick. For example, what makes serial killers or serial rapists do what they do? Why do they think what they think? What motivates them to do such unconscionable things? Because mankind has always been motivated to try to figure this stuff out. Therefore, the same has been true with Judas throughout the centuries. Especially after being chosen by Christ. After spending three years in His company, witnessing His power, listening to His teaching. How could He? So much ink has been spilled trying to psychologize Judas. I have a book on my shelf, an older book that was handed down to me, that is entitled, A Psychological Study of Judas Iscariot. It's pretty good reading, really. But so many have tried to psychologize Judas to try to figure out his true motives. How could he betray the Lord of glory? Was it something Jesus said? Some say. And of course, there are many theories that have been handed down. For example, why did Jesus even choose Judas? Well, obviously, Jesus was unaware of what Judas would do, some say. Or as far as Judas goes, he had the makings of a great religious leader, but he made some bad choices. Another theory is that he did it out of disappointment. and he began to realize that Jesus was not going to be the great earthly revolutionary that he and many others thought he was going to be, so Judas was going to cut his losses and get what he could. Or on the other hand, some say no. You see, his purpose was to help Jesus to bring in his earthly kingdom. He put Jesus in a situation, if you will, where Jesus had to come out and prove and finally gather his people around himself and become that great earthly revolutionary. One first century theory says that it was because of Judas' greedy wife. That his greedy wife pressured him because of a gambling debt. But it didn't say whether it was her gambling debt or his gambling debt. And if we had to try, I suppose, to pick a reason. From Scripture, the most plausible might be greed. After all, again, John said he held the money bag and he also stole from the money bag. And one of the Gospel writers, I think it was John, also said that it was Judas who complained when Mary broke the perfume jar and this costly perfume and wasted it on Jesus. Yet that theory also really doesn't make sense because 30 pieces of silver really was not very much money at all. And one would not even sell one who was just an acquaintance, let alone one they claimed to love for 30 pieces of silver. But you see, beloved, because of man's fascination with the dark side of mankind, this kind of speculation is what mystery murders are made of. But I don't believe we need to speculate. I don't believe we need to psychologize Judas. It seems very clear. In Psalm 41, verse 9, David says, Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. And John, in John 13, verse 18, quotes Jesus as quoting Psalm 41, verse 9, and applying it to his own situation. Judas's betrayal of Jesus was no surprise. The fact that someone would betray him. It was the fulfillment of Scripture. Peter in Acts 1 refers to what the Holy Spirit quote, spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, end of quote. Again, taking that same Psalm 41, verse 9. The reason, Luke tells us, in Luke 22, verse 3, is then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, and we're told that he went to the chief priests, he went to the officials, he consented with them, and from that point on, he watched for an opportunity to betray Jesus. And the point that I want us to understand, here in this introduction with regard to all of this possible psychologizing of Judas is that everything Jesus suffered, every detail leading to and carrying out His suffering, it all had to happen in the divine plan of God. But also the divine record, the very Word of God, always brings out that those who carried out God's plan, those whose sin He used, We're completely responsible for their sinful actions. And what we have here, you see, is a vivid reminder of the reason and the need for his death. And a vivid reminder that the very sin that led and put him to death is the sin for which he came to die. And now aside from all of that psychologizing of Judas, now here we find Judas in the context, this episode, in the context of Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin, and then after it, his trial before Pilate and Rome. And between these trials, we have a contrast between the temporary fall of Peter and the permanent fall of Judas. And here with these verses on Judas, we want to consider Judas not in the terms of being the betrayer or the traitor or even the thief, because truth be told, we all fit that description, don't we? we have all betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ in thought, word, and action. We have all betrayed Him by not defending His name when we have had opportunity. We have all betrayed Him when we have not lived up to the name Christian, that name that we so boldly claim for ourselves. We have betrayed Him in so many ways. So we don't consider Judas as the betrayer or the traitor this morning, but we want to consider Judas from this passage in his hopelessness. Something I don't think we often, at least I, hadn't often thought about. As we notice here that Judas faces captivity to hopelessness. First of all, as he recognized his sin. In Romans 8, verse 1, Paul says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Yet Judas found himself condemned as he recognized his sin in the light of Christ's condemnation. Notice, beginning in Matthew 27, early in the morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor. Judas came to recognize Christ's condemnation by the Sanhedrin, by the Jewish Supreme Court of that day. Now, if we were to take the time to consider all that had happened throughout the evening hours and His trial before the Sanhedrin, there is much that can be said about the illegality of Christ's trial before the Jewish religious leaders. We know that they cut and pasted their own laws in order to fit their own agenda. We just read they were looking for somebody to bring false testimony. That's all they could get them on. They cut and pasted to fit their own agenda and to hopefully expedite their evil desires to kill Jesus. And in doing so, they condemned Him and He was sentenced to death. You see, in their minds, their minds were made up. But of course, we know that they needed Rome's approval to carry out the death penalty. And therefore, with arrogant confidence, as if they were doing Rome a favor, they bound Jesus up. They led Him, handed Him over to Pilate, making Him look as much like a criminal as they could. With arrogant confidence, as if to say to Pilate, you know, we've done the hard work. Don't worry about that. Just rubber stamp it. And that will be enough. But Christ's condemnation was becoming clear to Judas in verse 3, When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. Now we might ask, what did Judas think would happen? Didn't he know that Jesus had said he would be handed over and put to death? Of course he did. Didn't he realize the desire of the leaders to kill Jesus? Absolutely. but whatever Judas may or may not have thought would happen at this point God opened his eyes to see the result for Jesus that he was going to die that he was sentenced to death and only then does Judas recognize his sin leading to a testimony of Christ's innocence notice verse 4 I have sinned he said for I have betrayed innocent blood a testimony to Christ's innocence from the conscience of an unbeliever For even unbelievers know deep down what is right and wrong, and once in a while, their conscience even bothers them. I read that many years ago, I don't know if it still happens, but at the time of the World Wars, for example, that those who were inmates in prison, for whatever reason, they had a bit of a conscience, and they would offer themselves for medical research studies in order to come up with vaccines and cures for diseases that our soldiers might contract on foreign lands. They had a bit of a conscience. They wanted to do something good. But here, no doubt, Judas is remembering the truth of Jesus. Indeed, he had seen Christ's glory. He witnessed the miracles of healing the sick and raising the dead and even casting out demons. He saw His power. He saw the wind and the waves obey Him. He Himself experienced Christ's love. Christ's love that was poured out upon Judas too in all of Christ's teaching. He experienced the love of Christ even the night before as he had his own feet washed by Jesus. And for three years, he witnessed Christ's perfect righteousness and sinlessness. And now he knew that Jesus was going to get what he did not deserve all because of what Judas had done. And while giving testimony to Christ's innocence, he's also giving an incomplete confession. We'll talk about this more in a bit, but he was seized with remorse, it says. Another version says he changed his mind. But we need to understand that his remorse was not for the sin itself of betraying. but that he did it to innocent blood. Indeed, Judas was filled with remorse. He hated himself for being instrumental in leading to death one who in no way deserved it yet. Even his change of mind was met with apathy by Christ's enemies. And that apathy is expressed in their response. Notice the second half of verse 4. What is that to us? They reply. That's your responsibility. You see, they were Judas' friends only until they could get what they wanted. And beloved, that is the way of evil. That is the way of Satan. Boys and girls, young people, Satan will only take from you and me. He will only use us. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't love you. He hates you. He wants your destruction. He wants your utter hopelessness. These religious leaders were watchmen over the house of God, over Israel, but they were worthless watchmen. They should have been concerned for the soul of Judas. They should have counseled him to repentance and faith, but they basically say, it's your problem. We have nothing to do with your part of it. It's all on you. And they drive Judas further into despondency and hopelessness, laying all the responsibility on Him as their apathy is seen in their failing to see their own guilt. They failed to see their own participation in the plan of the death of an innocent man. And Judas' warning by saying, I have sinned and I have betrayed innocent blood, it was a warning, it was a kind of a sermon, really, his warning of what he had done should have caused them to consider their own motives, their own actions. Are we in sin too? But it didn't. They were so hard-hearted. Their attitude simply was, so what? And that's how so many still today treat Christ crucified. So what? What does that have to do with me? And that's why you and I as believers are called to cry it out from the housetops. It has everything to do with you and me. Because either you are for Him or you are against Him. And your eternal destiny is determined by that, so what? And their apathy, notice, is also demonstrated in their hypocrisy. Beginning at verse 6, the chief priest picked up the coins and said, it is against the law to put this money into the treasury since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the field of blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet, was fulfilled. they took the 30 silver coins the price set on him by the people of Israel and they used him to buy the potter's field as the Lord commanded me. Now Judas, of course, tosses the silver possibly into the sanctuary where offering gifts were brought for dedication, to be dedicated to the service of the temple and to sacred things. But these guys all of a sudden have scruples. Wait a minute. That money has been used for shady purposes toward the death of someone. We can't use it for holy things. Notice, with light matters. With matters of their own interest. Earmarks, we might say. With less weighty matters of the law. They were very conscientious. Oh, we've got to follow the letter of the law. But with weighty matters, for example, a fair trial for justice and mercy or faithfulness as Jesus speaks about in Matthew 23, 23. They were not as concerned. Oh, there we can cut and paste to fit what we need. John Calvin makes a very, very powerful point with this question. If it was unlawful to put into the sacred treasury the price of blood, why was it lawful for them to take the money out of it? To use it for that purpose in the first place. they were completely blinded to the fact of their own participation in causing this money to become blood money. And they use it instead quickly, picking it up. They use it in such a way to give an appearance of using it for a noble purpose, to buy a field to bury strangers, those who most likely came to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage for the Passover feast or any other number of religious feasts, and they happened to die while they were there, and their families had no way of getting their bodies back. You see, now they were using it for the sake of the community. It was for the good of the community. We have a place to bury these strangers. Yet in God's providence, it was not their noble act that was remembered, but as prophecy is fulfilled, this field of blood, as it would be known, would serve as a continuous testimony against Judas and against the high priest and against all who agreed to these things. Matthew speaks of the fulfillment of prophecy and he mentions Jeremiah, but these words really are more a direct quotation from Zechariah 12, verse 13, where Israel is rejecting their shepherd and placing a value on their shepherd at that time of 30 pieces of silver. And that money is thrown into the temple. But no doubt Matthew is combining the prophecies of Jeremiah 19 and Jeremiah 32 where there is also the episode of a piece of pottery and a field and innocent blood being buried in that field. And then in chapter 32 where Jeremiah is told to purchase property while in captivity as a sign that God would restore His people. And no doubt Matthew is clearly combining the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zechariah together pointing to the rejection of Israel true shepherd and the low value placed on his life by his own people. The low value only enough to purchase a cemetery. Beloved Judas recognized his sin in the light of Christ's condemnation leading to a testimony of Christ's innocence yet meeting with apathy by Christ's enemies. As we consider this, And I say, well, so what then? What does this all mean? Yet, you see, this recognition did not lead to sweet release for Judas. But instead it drove him further and further into captivity to hopelessness as in the second place, he failed to recognize his Savior. He failed to recognize the only One who could save him. In whom he could find hope. And he failed to recognize his Savior by returning the reward. Now on the surface, that seems virtuous, doesn't it? As a kid growing up, I always kind of thought, well, maybe he was trying to buy Jesus back. But there's absolutely no evidence of that. What Judas was trying to do was by giving that silver back, even by throwing it as a gift into the temple, he was trying to absolve himself of his guilt. He was trying to rid himself of his guilt. by giving back the silver. It wasn't accepted by them, so he throws it into the temple. And if we were to psychologize Judas, dangerous as it might be, we might think, well, maybe he was thinking, if I just get rid of the money, then I'll feel better because at least he had changed his mind, you see, about doing this to Jesus. But it's as if the imprint was always there. Boys and girls, if you take a toy, think of a Lego block and you hold it real tight in your hand and then open your hand, you see the imprint for a time of that Lego block. For Judas, maybe that was the case, that that money left an imprint like ink, permanent ink, left an imprint in his hands. A reminder of our unconfessed sin, beloved, that sticks with us to haunt us. There's only one way to be rid of it. Judas had not given his life. He gave back the silver, but he did not turn to the Lord. Indeed, the Bible says he was remorseful. Again, he changed his mind, but his was not a true conversion. A true conversion involving repentance and faith. True conversion is not only turning from sin, but it's turning to Jesus Christ. It includes a radical change of heart and mind that leads to a complete turnabout of life from following one set of standards, turning completely the other way that you turn and going completely opposite the one way and heading toward a completely other set of standards. Judas' remorse was just that. He felt bad. He felt terrible. In fact, the word that is used here for his change is not the normal word that we find in Scripture. for repentance. It's not the word for a change of heart, for a full turnaround. It is not the word that includes in it to hate sin, to desire righteousness, and to seek to do righteousness. Judas never got to that. He just wallowed in his self-pity. He never sought righteousness. He never went to testify, for example, on Jesus' behalf before Pilate. He simply wanted no part of the blood guilt as if to say, don't include my name. Which is, of course, etched throughout history. He confessed his sin, didn't he? But he confessed to the wrong people. He had sinned against the Lord of glory. He should have confessed his sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. But he saw Jesus as only an innocent man, as only a teacher, but not as the Messiah, not as the Son of God, not as the only Savior. He failed to recognize Him as the only one who could save Him at the cost of His life through suicide. In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10, Paul says, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaving no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. Worldly sorrow sees no hope. It sees no light at the end of the tunnel. It sees no way out. of that solitary confinement of sin. Peter also betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice as we read that, that in many ways, Peter's episode of denying Christ three times almost sounds worse because he said, I don't know Him. Judas knew Him. Judas went to these leaders and said, I know Him. I'll give Him to you. Peter treated Christ as if he didn't even know Him. He also betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. He was cut to the heart, but by the grace of God, he turned to him in repentance and faith, and he was fully restored. His was a godly sorrow that brings repentance, that leads to salvation, leaving no regrets. Judas had only regrets. Godly sorrow leads people to run to God, but Judas' worldly sorrow, his despair, made him run into the arms of death. He is a picture of those who are in bondage to sin and Satan. Satan, whose goal it is to blind us with no prospect of hope. That's the last thing he wants us to see. That's the first thing he would strip away from us. Judas was in captivity to hopelessness. He never got to the point, as we sang, where he could say, I joy to call thee mine. The burden of sin was so heavy, he couldn't bear it. He saw death as the only way out. The only words that were ringing in his ears were it would be better for that man if he had never been born. He had no apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, but you and I, beloved, we do. We do. The mercy of God in Jesus Christ. He thought his sin was too great to be forgiven, but the only sin that is too great to be forgiven is the sin of utterly rejecting Jesus Christ. And it costs Judas his life unto eternal death. Of course, there are those who say, well, we can't say that. I suppose we can't. We can only go by what we have in the Word of God and Judas is known everywhere by his sin and there is no evidence anywhere of his repentance and faith. Well, beloved, this is a difficult story. It's not very edifying at all. Yet it is part of the Savior's path to the cross. It is the truth of the Savior's path to the cross. And Judas is placed here too as an example of the hopelessness and the end of one who refuses to cast their burden of sin upon Jesus Christ. But that's why He came. That's why He came, to save from hopelessness and despair and eternal death because of sin. He came that we might cast our sin upon Him. Judas is an example indeed, in contrast to Peter, of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. And this episode, too, is a reminder of the very reason that Christ was crucified, not for himself. He was innocent. Judas preached that. Pilate preached it three times. The reason he was crucified was for the guilty. Oh, we must despair in ourselves. We are to find no hope and no comfort in our own attempts to save ourselves, to get right with God, to try to absolve ourselves of our own guilt. It's impossible. Because we have betrayed Him. And we continue to betray Him. Even as we continue to struggle with sin. But we have hope. In that innocent blood that Judas betrayed, God sent His one and only Son whose life was valued so little in the eyes of man. Yet, beloved, whose blood is more valuable than silver or gold. Whose blood is the only acceptable price for our salvation. And the Bible says, if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Free from the curse of sin. Free from captivity to sin and the hopelessness of sin. Like David and Peter, other examples that we are also given for our edification. Examples who knew the forgiving grace of God, whose lives were unburdened from their sin and from the curse of sin, whose lives were filled with hope in the Lord, whose lives were transformed for faithful and grateful service to Him who found joy in life and comfort in death. Judas never knew this freedom. Indeed, beloved, Judas is a name that rings with hopelessness of one clinging to sin with no place to dispose of it. He never found hope in the innocent blood that he betrayed. But you and I can. We have in Christ Jesus. Jesus' name alone brings hope eternally. As God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that for all those by the grace of God who confess their sin, who repent and turn to Christ in faith, that sin that would despair us and drive us to utter hopelessness is removed as far as the east is from the west. It is remembered by our God no more. And therefore, beloved, no matter how hopeless this world may seem or the things of this world may seem, no matter how difficult the situation you or I might find ourselves in, yet believers, by God's grace, have a living hope, as Peter says, that will never be taken away. It's kept safe in heaven. We have an inexpressible joy all because the innocent blood that Judas betrayed is alone the blood that washes away all of our sins. And dear people of God, for those whose faith has found a resting place in Jesus Christ alone, you can sing, Enough for me that Jesus saves. This ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul I come to Him. He'll never cast me out. How can we be so sure? Because the Word of God says Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no hopelessness for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Let's pray together. Our great God and Heavenly Father, In so many ways, we consider this depressing story of Judas. And it is difficult. But you mean to lift our eyes to that innocent blood that he betrayed. That just because Judas did not find hope, it appears that we may find hope today. You have placed it before our eyes. We see it in your word. We praise your name for the gift of faith by which we might receive Jesus Christ and all of his benefits accomplished for us. Father, we thank you for the hope that we have. A hope that gives us joy in the midst of sorrow. A hope that gives us contentment in the midst of strife. A hope that lifts us up when we fall down. a hope that never ends. And Father, we pray too that You would never allow us to leave that hope, not even for a season, but when we do, Father, draw us back quickly that we might rejoice in the blood of Jesus Christ that washes away all of our sins. In His name alone we pray. Amen.