Deuteronomy 27:25

Hebrew Bible

23 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 25Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Matthew 27:4

New Testament

2 They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. 3 Now when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” 5 So Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.”

 Notes and References

"... For some commentators, Judas’s attempt to return the money is less about Judas and more about others. For Carter, the “callous indifference” of the chief priests and elders “bears witness to their corruption…” Davies and Allison claim that in this section (27:3-10) the focus is more on the money than it is on “the fate of Judas.” The idea here that Judas “left to himself” by both the chief priests and elders, as well as by the narrative, emphasizes Judas’s relative unimportance. While the money originally symbolized Judas’s power, now it signals his lack of power. Where before he was able to get the money he wanted, now he cannot return the money he does not want. Where before he was creating options for himself by gaining wealth, how he is facing limited ones. He cannot return the money, and cannot change Jesus’s fate, so he simply throws it away. Here the overall attitude of the Gospel toward wealth is again in view, namely an understanding of wealth as an obstacle to God’s purposes. Like the rich young ruler in chapter 19, this scene involving Judas demonstrates how money can thwart discipleship, and how it can easily become associated with enemies of God. Judas’s confession of sin by betraying “innocent blood” (αἷμα ἀθῷον) recalls Deuteronomy 27:25, which curses those who take bribes that cause the death of the innocent. Judas has taken payment for handing over God’s agent, Jesus, who now faces death with Pilate ..."

Mohn, Kendra Allison Real Men: Masculinities in the Gospel of Matthew (pp. 255-256) Brite Divinity School, 2018

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