Innocent Blood, Price of Blood, Field of Blood, His Blood on Us
Matthew 27:1-26 Our Working Theme for Matthew: Zechariah 9:9-11 CHARTING THE COURSE OF THIS STUDY: Ø Review
Ø Judas
takes his life (Matthew 27:1-10) Ø Before
Pilate, the Jews Betray Everything for which they Stood (Matthew 27:11-26) JUDAS
TAKES HIS LIFE (Matthew 27:1-10)
Acts 1:20 (NASB95) Psalm 69:25 (NASB95) Psalm 109:8 (NASB95) B. Is Matthew quoting Jeremiah accurately? (Matthew 27:9 with Zechariah 11:13; cf. Exodus 21:32) “in not one of the four other places where the New Testament quotes from Zechariah does it mention his name (Mt 21:4–5; 26:31; Jn 12:14; 19:37).” (Walter Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Bible). 1. Jeremiah doesn’t say anything about thirty pieces of silver. 2. Zechariah 11:13 says, “Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” 3. As we learned in Matthew 23:35, it wasn’t uncommon in Jewish interpretation to conflate and merge names and biblical texts for application. This method of interpretation was called gezera shewa. It is the linking together or two passages connected by a common word or theme. a. Conflation is common in Matthew (Matthew 1:7 with 2 Chron.16; Matthew 1:10 with 2 Kings 21; Matthew 19:4-5 with Genesis 1:27 & 2:24; Matthew 23:35; Matthew 26:64 with Daniel 7:13 & Psalm 110:1; Matthew 27:9 with Zechariah 11:12-13 and Jeremiah 18:2-12 and/or 19:1-13 and/or 32:6-9). b. Conflation is also found in Mark 1:2-3 with Malachi 3:1 & Isaiah 40:3; Revelation 1:7 with Daniel 7:13 & Zechariah 12:10). c. Conflation indicates that the Jews not only looked at the Bible as separate books written by different authors but also as a unity. d. Matthew 27:9 seems to be a combination of Zechariah 11:12-13 and Jeremiah 18:1-12 and/or 19:1-15 and/or 32:6-9. 1. Throwing blood money into the
Temple is a sign of judgment (Zech.11:13-17). 2. In Jeremiah 18 God fashions
calamity and blessing for nations as a potter fashions clay. God promises calamity for Israel because
she had forgotten her covenant God (Jeremiah 18:11-17). 3. In Jeremiah 19 Jeremiah
purchases a jar at the potter’s store.
He then pronounces calamity upon Israel and breaks the jar. 4. In Jeremiah’s day there was still clay in the field for the
Potter. In Jesus’ day, it was desolate
and purchased with blood money to become a graveyard. 5. Matthew’s reference to
Jeremiah is therefore a sign of judgment against the Temple. The Temple was destroyed in Jeremiah’s day
and it would be destroyed in Matthew’s generation (Matthew 24:1-2). The reason was the rejection of the Word of
God. In what sense was
the purchase of the Potter’s Field a fulfillment
of Jeremiah and Zechariah? How did the religious leaders come to the fixed price of thirty pieces of silver? (Exodus 21:32) What is the irony of verse 6? BEFORE PILATE, THE JEWS BETRAY
EVERYTHING FOR WHICH THEY STOOD (Matthew 27:11-26)
Information about Pilate: Governed Jerusalem from 26-36AD. Held full power of life and death over the Jews Appointed the high priests Controlled the temple and its funds Kept in custody the garments of the high priest and released them only for festivals The Jewish philosopher Philo (20 BC – 40 AD) described Pilate as ‘by nature rigid and stubbornly harsh’ and ‘of spiteful disposition and an exceeding wrathful man’, and speaks of ‘the bribes, the acts of pride, the acts of violence, the outrages, the cases of spiteful treatment, the constant murders without trial, the ceaseless and most grievous brutality’ of which the Jews might accuse him (quoted in the New Bible Dictionary).
TRADITION
SURROUNDING PILATE’S WIFE ü Her name was Claudia Procla (or Procula) ü She converted to Christianity ü
She was canonized as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church
(Commemorated-October 27th)? ü
Both
Claudia and Pilate were canonized as saints in the Ethiopian (Abyssinian)
Church (Commemorated-June 25th)? ü
Pilate
has two mountains named after him: Ø
Mt.
Pilat – 4704’ located in France Ø Mt. Pilatus – 6995’ located in Switzerland The Ethiopian Church canonized Pilate as a saint in the sixth century
because he absolved himself from guilt in the crucifixion. The Coptic
Orthodox Church has the holy day for Pilate and Procula on 25 June, however
the Greek Orthodox Church, celebrates only Procula on 27 October. She is
known in the Greek Orthodox Church as Saint Procula or Procla. (Wikipedia)
Why was the mob adamant in shouting “Crucify Him!” (vv.23-24)? The blood curse: “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (v.25; cf. Acts 2:39). In calling for Jesus to be crucified, they were demanding that He become accursed under the law, “for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). Are the Gospels anti-Semitic? Historically, many Christians have been anti-Semitic. But this does not mean that Christianity is
anti-Semitic. Do the Gospels place any responsibility upon the Jews for Jesus’
crucifixion? When Mt. 27:25 was read (“All the people said, ‘His blood on us and on our children’”), that other people was taking on the responsibility for the death of Jesus. Indeed, the reference to “children” here and in Lk. 23:28 (“Daughters of Jerusalem…for yourselves weep and for your children”) suggests that the Roman defeat of the Jews and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70 were perceived as God’s punishment for having put Jesus to death. It is not surprising that Christians would make such a judgment, given that Josephus (Antiquities 20.8.5) gave an analogous theological explanation: God turned away from Jerusalem and allowed the Romans to burn the city because of hate for the impiety, murders and profanation among Jews there in the 50’s and 60’s (Raymond Brown; http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/brown-passion.cfm)
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