HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1261
M ATTHEW 27
page 891
71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl
noticed him and said to those standing around,
“This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.*”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an
oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other bystanders
came over to Peter and said, “You must be one
of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—
I don’t know the man!” And immediately the
rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will
deny three times that you even know me.” And
he went away, weeping bitterly.
Judas Hangs Himself
Very early in the morning the leading
priests and the elders of the people met
again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death.
2 Then they bound him, led him away, and took
him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he
was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty
pieces of silver back to the leading priests and
the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I
have betrayed an innocent man.”
“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s
your problem.”
5 Then Judas threw the silver coins down in
the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests picked up the coins.
“It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the
Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”* 7 After some discussion they
finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and
they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.
8 That is why the field is still called the Field of
Blood. 9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah
that says,
27
10
“They took* the thirty pieces of silver—
the price at which he was valued by the
people of Israel,
and purchased the potter’s field,
as the Lord directed.*”
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?”
the governor asked him.
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
12 But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus
remained silent. 13 “Don’t you hear all these
charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. 14 But Jesus made no response
26:71 Or Jesus the Nazarene. 27:6 Greek since it is the
price for blood. 27:9 Or I took. 27:9-10 Greek as the
Lord directed me. Zech 11:12-13; Jer 32:6-9. 27:16 Some
manuscripts read Jesus Barabbas; also in 27:17.
to any of the charges, much to the governor’s
surprise.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom each
year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they
wanted. 16 This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.* 17 As the crowds
gathered before Pilate’s house that morning,
he asked them, “Which one do you want me
to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is
called the Messiah?” 18 (He knew very well that
the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out
of envy.)
19 Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message:
“Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered
through a terrible nightmare about him last
night.”
20 Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to
be released and for Jesus to be put to death. 21 So
the governor asked again, “Which of these two
do you want me to release to you?”
The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”
22 Pilate responded, “Then what should I do
with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
• Regrets
M ATTHE W 27:3-10
In one of the most tragic stories of the
Bible, Judas discovered that the consequences of his sin could not be
changed, that his decision to betray
Jesus could not be taken back. Judas
made three terrible mistakes that are
instructive to us as we seek to understand sin, guilt, and regret. First, he
failed to trust and follow Jesus wholeheartedly and, for reasons we cannot
fully understand, decided to turn Jesus
over to the authorities for thirty pieces
of silver. Judas’s second mistake was
failing to foresee the consequences of
his decision: the arrest, scourging, and
eventual execution of his spiritual teacher
and friend. We would avoid much needless heartache by carefully questioning
whether our actions will please God.
Finally, having recognized his sin, Judas
went to the wrong place with his guilt.
Instead of confessing to God, who can
forgive, he went to men, who could not,
and his regret overwhelmed him. As
believers, we must remember that in
Christ Jesus there is always forgiveness
and a second chance.