by
Damien F. Mackey
Dr. Ernest
Martin had suggested in Secrets of
Golgotha (1987) that Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, having access to
the priestly part of the Temple, was himself likely, therefore, a priest, and perhaps
of the line of Aaron.
This interesting notion we
find also considered at: http://biblestudying.net/crucifixion4.pdf
In Matthew 27:6 the chief priests
refer to the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas using the same Greek word “time”
(5092) that Leviticus uses when discussing the estimation of the value of the
ram in silver pieces.
Matthew 27:3 Then Judas,
which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,
and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed (3680) the innocent blood. And
they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down (4496)
the pieces of silver in (1722) the temple (3485), and departed, and went
and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests (749) took (2983) the silver
pieces, and said, It is not lawful (1832) for to put (906) them into (1519) the
treasury (2878), because it is the price (5092) of blood. 7 And they took
counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8
Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
Notice
from verse 6 that the chief priests considered this money as ordinarily
designated for the treasury. This is reminiscent of Exodus 30:16 in which the
atonement money of the children of Israel given for each man was also to be put
away for service in the tabernacle.
Moreover, verse 5
states that after Judas realized the full extent of what he had done and that
Jesus was condemned to death, he cast down the pieces of silver into the
temple. There are several aspects of this account that deserve our attention.
First, we must recognize that verse 7 reports that the chief priests reckoned
this money to be the price (“time” 5092) of blood which connects to the close relationship exhibited in the Old Testament
between redemption and atonement by blood or by paying a price (in coins.)
Second, we have to take note of the fact that Matthew
27:5 uses the Greek word “naos” (3485) here to refer to the Temple. This Greek
word is used in the New Testament to refer to the Temple house itself (which
was comprised of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) and not to the courts
or the rest of the Temple complex.
3485 ναος naos
from a primary naio (to dwell);
TDNT-4:880,625; n m
AV-temple 45, a shrine 1; 46
1) used of the temple at
Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of
the Holy place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek it is used of the
sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was placed which is
distinguished from the whole enclosure)
2) any heathen temple or shrine
3) metaph. the spiritual temple
consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in Christ
The Greek word translated as “cast
down” is “rhipto” (4496.) It conveys the idea of throwing down, setting down,
or throwing to the ground. So, according to Matthew, Judas throws the money
(which the chief priests valued for Jesus’ life) into the Temple building
itself, at least as far as the Holy Place.
We must keep in mind that Herod’s
Temple complex was quite large in size and that the Temple building was
surrounded by a large court, the court of the priests. In order for Judas to
actually have thrown down the silver pieces into the Temple building it is very
likely that he would have had to been standing in the Temple itself or perhaps
near the Temple in the court of the priests. Consequently, in order to be in
position to throw the silver coins into the Temple itself Judas would therefore
have to be a priest. Otherwise, he would not have been permitted to be in a
location near enough to place the silver coins in the Temple itself.
Furthermore, if the Temple doors were not normally left open, then the
conclusion that Judas was actually standing in the Temple building itself (and
not just near to it) seems absolutely necessary.
We must also note some connections
between these events and Zechariah who, in addition to being a prophet, was
also a priest.
….
Consider
that Judas has been paid the estimated value for Jesus’ life in pieces of
silver in close parallel to Leviticus 5. But, we have also seen that Exodus and
Numbers indicate that God required atonement to be paid in coins. Likewise, we
know that animals could be purchased at the Temple for sacrificial purposes.
Monetary offerings were to be placed in the Temple treasury. The blood which
was used in atonement was to be sprinkled before the Lord in the Temple by a
priest. And we have seen that the blood of the Passover lambs was sprinkled in
the Temple by the attending priests. It is within this context that Judas (a
priest) stands in the Temple (or the court of the priests) and casts the silver
pieces that are identified by the chief priests themselves as blood money for
Jesus’ death. In this way, Jesus’ blood was figuratively sprinkled into the
Temple by a priest in the form of the silver pieces for which he was valued as
the ram atoning for sin. Christ’s blood paid the ransom for our sins.
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