The appearance of the 30 pieces of silver is truly miraculous: it not only sheds light on the Bible and the eternal Life of Christbut it also gives information about how the Jews really saw Jesus and how it was only one or two of their leaders who rabble-roused a crowd to cause Jesus’s temporary death.
Let us look at the Scripture:
M't: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,
M't:27:4: Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
M't:27:5: And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
M't:27:6: And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
M't:27:7: And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
M't:27:8: Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
Which is almost the same as:
Ac:1:16: Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
Ac:1:17: For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
Ac:1:18: Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Ac:1:19: And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
If you are Christian, you will understand that there is no contradiction as to who purchased the field and in both cases, the 30 pieces went to the original owner of the field as the price and so, on first sight, the appearance of these damned coins would seem to be conclusive proof that the tomb was
not that of Judas Iscariot.
However, if we look, and apply our Biblical Thinking Skills, we see that all is not what it appears and another story is shown:
Quote:
The simplistic structure which has been nicknamed by its discoverers, “Judas’s Tomb”, contained the bodies of two adult and one teenage males, certainly from the same family. The inscriptions on the rough stone coffins seem to link the tombs to the Iscariot family, the corpses being identified as those of Judas, his father Simon, and his brother Joshua.
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We see that, as Judas’s death was unexpected by all, there must have been a time between his death and burial when the tomb was being built and Judas’s body would have been the first in it followed by his father and his brother. His mother must have been buried somewhere else. I suspect that this would have been normal, as the blame for Judas’s betrayal lay upon his father and his brother for not having brought him up properly, so they were buried with him to mark their shame. Whereas, his mother, who was just a woman, could not be blamed and would have been buried in a normal hole in the ground.
So, the tomb is being built for Judas. All Judea is in shock. None of the Jews can believe that they had been so stupid as to kill Jesus and thus invent Christianity and they are in spiritual turmoil. The ex-owner of Potter’s Field (probably Mr Potter) then is tainted with the same shame and takes to drugs. One evening, after the tomb has been finished and Judas placed inside, and whilst stoned out of his skull, he gathers the 30 Pieces of Silver and his spirit, fortified by the drug and his mind thus addled, he makes his way in the darkness to what he must see as the most evil and desolate spot in Jerusalem.
He realises he must return the blood money
He breaks into the tomb.
He leaves a hastily scribbled note behind seeking forgiveness from Jesus and explaining why the 30 pieces of Silver are there (this is the damaged scroll.)
He staggers out of the tomb.
He reseals the tomb and then…
He realises he has left behind his dope-pipe!!!
But it is too late, dawn is coming: he must not be discovered and so he runs off.
We now have a wonderful insight into the life and times of Judea and how the Jews really did not want to kill Jesus but how they, like us weak and mortal men are all too often easily convinced by false prophets, liars and those of Satan that what they speak is the truth, when we should look at the evidence and come to the correct conclusion as advised by Jesus.