NOTES for Mat 27:3-10

Concerning Judas’s suicide, one might say that since he was capable of remorse, he was not a complete scoundrel. By returning the money, Judas not only confessed his sin publicly but also bore witness to the Teacher’s innocence. Yes, Judas was ready to atone for his guilt, and it seems that suicide appeared to him as such an atonement. And yet...

And yet it is striking how completely Judas, while remaining beside Christ, was inwardly cut off from Him. Even while suffering the torments of conscience, Judas did not try to come in repentance before the One who can blot out every sin. And so Judas turned away from Him a second time.

There is an old tradition that after his death Judas appeared to someone and admitted that his suicide was a more grievous sin than his betrayal. There is no point in trying to establish whether this event was authentic; nevertheless, as the saying goes, a tale may be false, yet contain a hint...

Meanwhile, the chief priests are not concerned with the torments of conscience. Following the letter of the law, they do not want to accept the returned money into the temple treasury. They are more concerned that the donated money should not be stained with blood than that they themselves are ready to stand before the Lord with bloodstained hands.