Judas’s Money

Judas’s Money

Q: What happened to the money Judas Iscariot received for betraying Jesus?

• a. Judas spent it on fancy clothes and goods.
• b. Judas gave it to the Temple.
• c. The religious leaders used it to buy a field to bury foreigners.

After Jesus was betrayed, he was taken before the chief priests and the elders. The men questioned Jesus and decided he should be put to death, but they didn’t have the power to condemn him. They had to get the Roman government to agree.

The religious leaders had charged Jesus with blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God, but they knew the Romans wouldn’t allow Jesus to be killed for that reason. So they tried to make Jesus sound like a rebel who was claiming to be the king. They decided to take him to Pilate, the Roman governor for Samaria and Judea.

When Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus, saw the religious leaders were taking Jesus to Pilate, he was filled with regret for betraying Jesus. He tried to return the money to the priests and told them, “I have sinned for I have betrayed an innocent man.”

It was the priests’ job to help Judas offer a sacrifice to cover his sin. But rather than help him, they said, “What do we care? That’s your problem.”

Judas threw down the money, went out, and killed himself. The priests couldn’t put the money in the treasury because it was given to betray Jesus. So they used it to buy a field to bury foreigners.

Judas made a very bad decision to let money be his god. He spent time with Jesus, but he never accepted Jesus as the Savior. People today still allow popularity, money, or success to be their gods rather than making Jesus their Lord.

For You

How sad it was for Judas to be part of Jesus’ inner circle but never accepting Jesus as his Savior. Ask God to show you anything in your life that is more important to you than Jesus.

Answer: c

After some discussion [the leading priests] finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.   Matthew 27:7

(The Whole Story: Matthew 26:59-66; 27:3-10)