What is the meaning of Matthew 27:5? So Judas threw the silver into the temple • Matthew 27:5 records: “So Judas threw the silver into the temple…” • The thirty pieces had been the agreed price for betraying Jesus (Matthew 26:14-15). • Casting the coins back fulfills Zechariah 11:12-13, where the prophet sarcastically calls thirty pieces “a handsome price” and the money is thrown “to the potter in the house of the LORD.” • By flinging the silver into the sacred precinct, Judas publicly renounces both the money and the deal—yet he does so without genuine repentance. His act is impulsive, self-condemning, and underscores that no amount of restitution can undo sin’s damage (Psalm 51:16-17; Hebrews 9:22). and left • After discarding the silver, Judas departs from the very place designed for confession and forgiveness (Leviticus 5:5-6). • Like Cain who “went out from the presence of the LORD” (Genesis 4:16), Judas chooses distance rather than drawing near for mercy. • His exit contrasts sharply with Peter, who also failed but stayed within reach of restoration (Luke 22:61-62; John 21:15-17). • Leaving the temple pictures the spiritual reality of walking away from God’s provision (Isaiah 55:6-7). Then he went away • The wording stresses deliberate separation. John 13:30 notes that after receiving the morsel, “Judas went out. And it was night,” signaling deepening darkness. • Worldly sorrow isolates; godly sorrow seeks God (2 Corinthians 7:10). Judas retreats into solitude, amplifying despair rather than seeking community or counsel (Proverbs 18:1). • Sin promises autonomy but ends in loneliness (Psalm 38:11; Ephesians 2:12). and hanged himself • Acts 1:18 gives a complementary detail: Judas’s body fell and burst open—showing both the means (hanging) and the gruesome end. • Suicide here springs from overwhelming guilt without faith in Christ’s forgiveness. Contrast David, who after grave sin threw himself on God’s mercy (Psalm 32:3-5) and found restoration. • Satan, “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), moves from tempting to destroying; Judas’s death mirrors the thief who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). • Scripture never excuses suicide, presenting it as tragic self-murder (Exodus 20:13) born of hopelessness apart from God (Proverbs 14:12). summary Matthew 27:5 lays out a tragic sequence: Judas rejects ill-gotten gain, abandons the place of grace, isolates himself, and ends his life. The verse warns that remorse without repentance leads to hopelessness, while genuine turning to Christ—even after grave sin—opens the door to forgiveness and life (1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1). |
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