“the price of blood”
Matthew 27:6
The sound of silver coins rolls across
the temple floors and down through the pages of history and can still be heard
in the ears of faithful men centuries later. The sound they make is one of
hypocrisy. Judas throws the money out of his hand, but he cannot get the guilt
out of his heart. Those who are carving a cross with their evil plans send the
betrayer to buy a rope. The religious leaders who snubbed Judas without
compassion and left him dangling in the shadows of history past are caught here
in their sin.
The crucifixion of an innocent man and
their indifference to the suicide of the betrayer are of little concern to
these masters of phony religion. The “price of blood” is by definition money received
to falsely convict an innocent man. Human life is at stake here, but they must
first deal with a more important issue. They must decide how to properly divest
themselves of the silver that has boomeranged back to them from the betrayer’s
hand.
Their
logic gets locked in the house of God on religious procedure when it is
desperately needed outside of their religious practice and traditions. While
sifting the gnat of proper disposition of the silver, they swallow the camel of
missing mercy. Two men die this weekend, and robed and religiously proper men
standing in the corner of history’s shadows counting their silver coins send
both of them to their death.
This form of hypocrisy has learned
sophistication down throughout the centuries, but it still lives on today.
Religious organizations by the hundreds preach a message of faith, and then
demonstrate very little of it as they beg and plead for money. Wearing the
sheep’s clothing of generosity, they plead and beg for their constituency to give
sacrificially. Claiming to trust God, they demonstrate little evidence.
If the Scriptures are true that where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also, we ought to be more concerned
about the hearts of men and leave their treasure to God’s responsibility. If a
church cannot demonstrate faith in God when it comes to economic need, what
right does it possess in preaching trust and faith in the area of spiritual
matters.
The hypocrites in the Bible are little
different from the ones we meet in the church today. They are men concerned
with the external issues of life and neglect the more meaningful concerns that
ride invisibly attached to every human heart. The men in our text are concerned
about doing things properly and in agreement with the law, but they know
nothing about how to please the Law Giver. They love their rules, but they do
not know the Ruler of the universe.
“the price of blood”
Matthew 27:6
INSTRUCTION
1.
Did Judas betray Jesus for the money?
a.
Yes
b.
No
c.
Maybe
i.
ii.
iii.
2.
What was the chief priest's highest concern?
a.
b.
c.
3.
What are the lessons for life?
a.
Watch
b.
Watch
c.
Watch