Jesus and His Betrayer

In this passage (Matthew 27:1-10), we read that when morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the Jewish people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. Since they did have the authority as a council to put anyone to death, they bound Jesus and delivered Him to Pilate who was the Roman prefect or governor of Judea (27:1-2). The account of Jesus before Pilate is resumed in verse 11. In verses 3-10, Matthew wrote about Judas Iscariot.
In verse 3, Matthew referred to him as “Judas, His betrayer.” He had betrayed Jesus into the hands of the Jewish authorities for thirty pieces of silver, but when he saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was remorseful and brought back the money to the chief priests and elders. Because it was the price of blood, they could not put the money into the temple treasury, so they bought the potter’s field to bury strangers in. That field had been called the Field of Blood up to the time Matthew wrote his Gospel. Matthew finished this section, “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me’” (Matthew 27:9-10)