What Old Testament laws relate to the Pharisees' actions in Matthew 27:6? Setting the Scene Matthew 27:6: “The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.’” The Immediate Issue: Blood Money and the Temple Treasury • The coins had paid for Jesus’ betrayal, linking them with innocent blood. • The religious leaders sensed the money was ceremonially tainted and therefore unfit for sacred use. Key Old Testament Laws Intersecting This Moment • Deuteronomy 23:18 – unclean earnings rejected • Deuteronomy 27:25 – curse on bribe-money for bloodshed • Exodus 23:7-8 – prohibition of killing the innocent and accepting bribes • Numbers 35:31-34 – blood defiles the land; no ransom for a murderer • Zechariah 11:12-13 – prophetic backdrop for the thirty silver coins A Closer Look at Each Law “You must not bring the earnings of a prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both.” – Principle: money gained through sinful means may not be offered to God. – Application to Matthew 27:6: the priests see the betrayal price as similarly defiled. “Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.” – Judas accepted the bribe; the priests provided it. – Their refusal to place the money in the treasury acknowledges its cursed nature. “Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.” – The leaders violate the spirit of the law by orchestrating Jesus’ death, even while attempting to keep ceremonial regulations. “You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death… Blood defiles the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” – Blood guilt demands justice, not a payoff; the thirty coins cannot atone for Jesus’ innocent blood. “So they weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver… ‘Throw it to the potter,’ the LORD said to me—this magnificent price at which they valued Me!” – Prophecy foreshadows both the price and its final destination (the potter’s field, vv. 7-8). Ironies in Their Response • They scrupulously avoid defiling the treasury yet feel no remorse for condemning the innocent. • By purchasing the potter’s field (v. 7), they inadvertently fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy, confirming Scripture’s precision. • Their partial obedience to ceremonial law highlights their deeper disobedience to moral law. Take-Aways for Believers Today • God’s Word remains internally consistent; ceremonial and moral commands intertwine. • External religiosity cannot mask inward sin; only genuine repentance and the shed blood of Christ cleanse defilement (Hebrews 9:13-14). • Scripture’s prophecies stand fulfilled in detail, underscoring confidence in every jot and tittle (Matthew 5:18). |
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