What Did Judas Do With The 30 Pieces Of Silver?

What did Judas do with the thirty pieces of silver he was given to betray Jesus?

The Prophecy of Jesus’ Betrayal

The 30 pieces of silver is the price that Zechariah received for a field (Zech 11:12-13) for he was commanded to become the shepherd of Israel, called a “doomed flock” (Zech 11:7) because of their betrayal of God so Zechariah writes, “Then I said to them, ‘If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel” (Zech 11:12-14). Thirty pieces of silver is the price of a slave in his day (Ex 21:32) but also about the same price as a slave during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the same amount that He would be betrayed for.

Judas the Betrayer

Just days before Jesus would be betrayed, in fact just six days before the Passover, Martha and Mary “gave a dinner for [Jesus] there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor” (John 12:2-5) but Judas “said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas wasn’t concerned with wasting money; he was only concerned that there would be less today. Just as in Jesus’ days there are false converts in the church who would quickly betray Jesus for almost any amount of money. Remember that Judas was like the church’s treasurer so just because someone holds an office in the church doesn’t assure that they are saved.

The Betrayer

Prior to Jesus going to the cross, there was a plan by Judas to betray Jesus as it says when “one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him” (Matt 26:14-16) but Jesus was not caught by surprise as he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord” (Matt 26:21-22)? This indicates that the disciples had no clue that Judas was the one who would betray Christ. They even thought among themselves, “Is it I, Lord?” Perhaps they were concerned that one of them would betray Christ but Jesus knew it was said of the “man of perdition” that this was prophesied to be so. Jesus prayed for His disciples that they wouldn’t fail, praying to the Father, “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Jesus reminded them that He chose them knowing “Yet one of you is a devil” (John 6:70)! The Apostle Peter wrote that “the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus” (Acts 1:16).

The Betrayal and Remorse

Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him and said that it was “He who shared my bread has turned against me” (John 13:18) and “When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor” (Matt 27:1-2) and “when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself” (Matt 27:3-4) but it was too late. Jesus had been basically condemned to die and Judas regretted his betrayal “And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day” (Matt 27:5-8) and that “fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me” (Matt 27:9-10).

Conclusion

Everyone one has betrayed God to begin with since we’ve been separated from Him by our sins (Isaiah 59:2) and we all fall far short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) since none of us are good and none seeks after God (Rom 3:10-12) but God has told us through His Word that the wages of our sins has brought us an eternal death sentence but “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6;23b). Knowing most will reject this gospel and thinking they’ve done enough good to go to heaven will hear the most tragic news they could ever possibly hear and that’s Jesus telling them “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7:22-23). Repent today while there is still time (2nd Cor 6:2) or face the eternal separation that your pride and loving you sin has caused you to reject (Rev 21:8).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.