A Tale of Two Men - Matthew 27:1-14

Good morning. As always, it's good to see everyone here under the same roof as one church family. As many of you know, we've been in the Gospel of Matthew for quite some time. We will be returning to the Gospel of Matthew this morning.

Christ’s Arrest and the Road to Matthew 27

We're going to start a new chapter this morning. We're going to be in Matthew chapter 27, verses 1 through 14. And the title of this message is, A Tale of Two Men. Now, if you recall in our previous study at the end of Matthew chapter 26, we see Christ's path towards crucifixion accelerating rapidly.

And in these closing verses, we find that the conspiracy would finally come to fruition, how a betrayal would lead to an arrest, and how a trial would be conducted before Caiaphas in the Sanhedrin, which really violated all the religious conventions of the day.

And of course, let us not forget the bitter denial on the part of Peter that Christ had already foretold up to that point in time. So much is going on here as the Matthew chapter 26 comes to a close. And within this closing passage, we see Matthew describing the events following Christ's arrest.

We see a focus on his trial before the Jewish leaders and the pain that would come to Peter's bitter denial. Thomas Watson, he was a Puritan preacher and author. He lived from 1620 to 1686. He was known for his role as a nonconformist during the English Civil War.

His stance on doctrinal purity ultimately got him rejected from ministry. And of course, one of his most noteworthy works was entitled, A Body of Divinity. It was a collection of 176 sermons that he wrote and preached on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

And as it related to Christ's submission, especially His submission leading to the cross, we find that he'd make this profound statement. He said, Christ's submission to His Father's will was so entire that He was content to be made a curse for us and to drink the bitter cup of God's wrath.

So our previous passage here would not only highlight Christ's resolve in facing an unjust condemnation, but it also would be contrasted with Peter's failure, human failure, when it came to his denial of Christ.

So many ways we find ourselves now in this passage, kind of at the beginning of the end of Christ's earthly ministry. And now as we begin to examine the opening verses here in Matthew chapter 27, we find a tale of two men, one political and one being a disciple of Christ Himself.

So let us take a look at the passage now that is before us this morning. Matthew records this for us in Matthew chapter 27 verses 1 through 14. When the morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.

And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that he had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

And they said, what is this to us? You see to it. Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and he departed and he went and he hanged himself. But the chief priest took the silver and said, it is not lawful to put them into the treasury because they are the price of blood.

And they consulted together and they brought with them the potter's field to bury strangers.

In.

Therefore, that field has been called the field of blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, and they took the 30 pieces of silver, the value of him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.

Now, Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, saying, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said to him, it is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

Then Pilate said to him, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he answered not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. You know, as we consider this tale of two men here, we will address our passage of scripture in the following two points in this lesson this morning.

The first point that I would like to visit with you on is the tale of the Roman governor. This will be addressed in Matthew chapter 27, verse one, and then we'll jump down to verses 11 through 14 to kind of finish out and round out this point.

This will bring us to the second and the final point of our message this morning, which is the tale of a betraying disciple. We will see this in Matthew chapter 27, verses 3 through 10. So now with that said, let us go ahead and take a closer look here at the tale of a Roman governor.

Pontius Pilate and the Politics of Christ’s Trial

Now, as we approach the very first verse here in our scripture, we see the narrative flowing from our opening verse here in Matthew chapter 27, really to be a simple one, actually. In short, we have the Jewish leaders that are plotting to kill Jesus.

They're ultimately turning Him over to Pontius Pilate for execution. It's pretty straightforward. Now, it's important to recognize here that Caiaphas interrogated Jesus the night before His crucifixion.

This hearing was apparently quite informal. It was preliminary. It certainly was not a proper trial. In the morning, the chief priest and the elders formally take counsel, and they resolve entirely to put Jesus to His death.

In his expository commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Daniel, Doriani, he provides us with further details of this time leading up to Pontius Pilate being introduced into our story here, where he said this.

He said, Matthew does not give a legal report of proceedings. He states the thrust of events in ways that disclose the character of each actor in the drama. The stress on innocent blood and blood money points to the core issue here, that the authorities knew Jesus Christ, yet they determined, they knew He was innocent, yet they determined.

To kill Him.

So now we find here the first of the two men that we're going to look at this morning. This really would become central to Christ's crucifixion story. And in order to more fully understand the history here surrounding this story, we really need to ask ourselves this question of, who is Pontius Pilate?

In Matthew chapter 27, verse 1, we are introduced to another character in Christ's crucifixion story. And as such, it is important that we examine who this person was, what his political calculations were when it came to Christ, and how God would providentially use this man to accomplish His divine plan for salvation for mankind.

So who was Pontius Pilate? In short, Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from approximately 26 to 36 AD. He served under the Roman emperor Tiberius. He's best known, of course, for his presiding over the trial of Christ's crucifixion.

We find that all four Gospels talk about Pontius Pilate's role in this quite extensively. Of course, he would ultimately wind up sentencing Christ to crucifixion despite the reservations that he had. Now make no mistake, any reservations that Pontius Pilate had about Christ's guilt was really superficial at best.

And in the end, a man's, of course, innocence, if it got in the way of political necessity as it related to Pilate, of course, he would never be concerned with that. Because in the end, it was Pilate's responsibility to maintain Roman authority and order in this volatile region of Judea, and of course, if executing a falsely accused Christ really by crucifixion would keep the peace, then political necessity would, of course, be the guiding principle rather than justice.

Interestingly enough, we find historical sources outside of the Gospel accounts that would also confirm Pontius Pilate's existence and governance over Judah during this time, which includes the Roman historian, Tacitus, and the Jewish historian, Josephus.

Specifically, Josephus would describe him as a harsh ruler, oftentimes clashing with the Jewish customs of the day. One such clash was when he introduced Roman standards bearing imperial images within the city of Jerusalem, which sparked a lot of protests citywide during that time.

He even used temple funds to build an aqueduct in the city of Jerusalem, which really led to a violent suppression of dissent over that. One thing that we find, though, is he was pragmatic, but nonetheless quite ruthless in maintaining control.

So in the end, we find here Pontius Pilate to be really a mid-level Roman administrator, and of course, guys within that level of the Roman hierarchy were always looking for ways to move up in the empire of Rome.

So now that we understand the heart of this man now that is being introduced into this crucifixion story, we really need to take a look at the necessity of Pilate's deliberations here. In Matthew chapter 27, verses 11 through 13, we find the outcome of Christ's betrayal as they bring him before Pontius Pilate.

However, there's still a lingering problem with the chief priest's diabolical plan here. It's very clear that they seek to have Jesus executed, but they lack the authority to dish out the sentence and to have him killed.

We're told in John 18, verse 31, the following. The apostle John said, then Pilate said to them, you take him and judge him according to your law. Therefore, though, the Jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.

So this was the conundrum that the chief priests were involved in when they were bringing Christ before Pilate. Another complication that we find here is that the Jewish authorities would have to declare Christ guilty for a crime, a capital crime, mind you, that would be in accordance to both Jewish and Roman legal standards.

And this, of course, would be quite challenging because Christ had done nothing wrong. The Jewish authorities based their case on Christ's confession that he is the Christ and they declared him guilty of blasphemy.

But from a Roman Empire standpoint, blasphemy would hardly rise to the level of a capital crime. So what are the Jewish authorities to do here in order to rid themselves of this problem known as Jesus Christ?

Well, they would basically politicize the capital crime. They would make it up. They would fabricate it. And essentially, that is what they do. By falsely accusing Christ of sedition, they would then make the case that this was in fact a Roman legal matter, thereby allowing the high priest to kind of essentially recast their grievances in political terms.

Luke's gospel provides us with some further insight as it relates to this aspect of the story. We find this in Luke 23, verse 2, where Luke says, and they began to accuse him, saying, we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that he himself is the Christ, a king.

And thus we see the necessity of Pilate's deliberations on this matter. Now make no mistake, this was an outright legal fabrication and it was a charge that was overtly political as well. And we find the summary of these particular accusations in all four gospels.

When Pilate asks Christ if he's claiming to be the king of the Jews, Christ, of course, cannot deny that fact. But yet he's not the king as Pilate would envision it because his kingdom is not of this world.

However, in the end, we find three main deficiencies here in Pilate's deliberations as it related to this trial over Christ here. The first deficiency that we see is that these deliberations were politically driven.

These were not deliberations that were driven by any good objective standard of justice. As Roman governor, the cases would come before him and he would supposed to be deliberating these cases solely on Roman legal standards.

Unfortunately, we find that he would use a political calculation instead as he deliberated Christ's fate. But in the end, we find Pilate's deliberations would be politically driven. Justice would become the casualty in this whole event.

And of course, we know what the ensuing event would be after that. Another deficiency that we find here in Pilate's deliberations is he really, it really reflected a value system that he had and also his means of worship.

Simply put, Pilate here would view the world through a political set of values which really fit in nicely with this accepted belief that the Roman emperor was a god alongside a pantheon of other gods.

This of course heavily influenced how Pilate would govern. It influenced the nature of his legal rulings. It would also of course direct how he and who he would worship. The last deficiency that we also need to consider as it relates to Pilate's deliberations here and that is that really Pilate would ultimately and he would irrevocably seal his place in the history of Christ's crucifixion.

History would ultimately show that this is a man that had no principles. He was a man that had no sense of justice. He was without a moral compass and in the end he was a spiritually bankrupt man. So now that we've really considered the necessity of Pilate's deliberations here, I think it would also be beneficial for us to really take a look at another part of this story which is the response of Christ's silence.

You know in Matthew chapter 27 verse 14 here, we find when the chief priests and the elders would accuse Christ, we find that he falls silent once again. Now there's some important things that we need to consider here as this was really not just a non-response per se at a show trial but rather his silence spoke volumes of God's providential plan for mankind.

Now follow me here. There's several things that we need to consider in this silent non-response. You know one such consideration that we really need to look at as it related to Christ and his silence here is that it had prophetic implications.

We see where the prophet Isaiah literally predicted this outcome in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7. The prophet told us this, he foretold, he says, he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth.

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent so he opened not his mouth. Christ's silent response, it not only fulfilled prophecy here but it literally authenticated the ministry of the prophet Isaiah from the Old Testament.

And as the accusations would continue, Pilate marvels here at Christ's silent response.

Why?

Because Roman law pretty much assumed that if a person would not speak up in their own behalf and try to defend themselves that they were automatically assuming their own guilt. And still yet, Pilate would have serious doubts of Christ's guilt much less the danger that he would actually pose to the Roman Empire.

You know Christ's silence, another consideration that I think we should also consider is that Christ's silence here was a statement of his submission to the Father. Now this is an important consideration because it really does underscore the intent that Christ had in resolving the sin condition of mankind.

Christ knew that he had to sacrificially submit himself to the Father's will and his crucifixion on the cross, of course, would be the only means by which the penalty of sin could be.

Paid.

In his work entitled The Fountain of Life, John Flavel concluded that no doctrine is more excellent or necessary to be preached and studied than Jesus Christ and him crucified. And it was this submissive silence here before his accusers, which would not just become a central part here of his crucifixion, but it would also become a central part of his redemptive work.

John Flavel would also continue and conclude in another sermon, which was entitled The Ascension of Christ, Illustrated and Applied, that Christ's silent resolve towards crucifixion would ultimately become the solution to human miseries as well, where he said this.

He said, let us look upon a crucified Christ, the remedy of all of our miseries. His cross hath procured a crown. His passion hath expatiated our transgression. His death hath disarmed the law. His blood hath washed the believer's soul.

This death is the destruction of our enemies, the spring of our happiness and the eternal testimony of divine love. So in the end, when we consider Christ's silent response more intently here, we find that it really speaks volumes here in terms of our eternal destiny.

This wasn't a silence due to a lack of thought. This wasn't a silence because Christ was somehow at a loss for words here, but rather it represented a silent resolve in Christ's journey to the cross. Now, how do these things apply to us?

You know, as Christians, we really need to be mindful that our salvation was never meant to be brought about by a political solution here. These are the political emanciations that we see with Pilate's deliberations, and likewise, we also need to remember that God's redemptive work is not the result of a political settlement either.

As such, we really need to be careful that we not fall into the trap of having a Savior complex when it comes to our modern-day political leaders. But make no mistake, I'm not saying that such individuals bear no relevance in God's plan, actually quite to the contrary, for throughout God's Word, we see how leaders and kings and governors and politicians were but mere instruments in the hands of a righteous God.

You know, one notable example we see is the prophet Daniel who would reclaim in Daniel chapter 2, verses 20 and 21, Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever for wisdom and might are his, now listen here, and he changes the times and the season, he removes kings and he raises up kings, he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

This sovereign assumption, it also carries forward into the New Testament as well. We see this specifically in the book of Acts where Ananias was called on to restore the side of a fellow by the name of Saul of Tarshish who would ultimately become Paul.

In Acts chapter 9, verses 11 through 15, we find an interesting part to this story here as well. Luke records this for us, he says, so the Lord said to him, he's talking about Ananias here, arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas, not Judas Iscariot, another Judas here, and look for one called Saul of Tarshish, for behold, he is praying, and in a vision, he's seen a man named Ananias come in and put his hand on him so that he might receive his sight.

Then Ananias, he answered, he said, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and he has the authority from the chief priests to really bind all who call on your name.

Now listen to this, but the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear the name, my name, before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Let's make sure that we lead our lives and we live our lives with this eternal truth always in the forefront of our thinking here.

We always need to be understanding that there will be no man, no king, no ruler, or even a Roman governor, for that matter, that will ever be able to subvert God's plans or purposes. And let us be thankful for Christ's faithful and silent resolve here that we see in this story as he had an eye towards the cross, as he understood that providing us with the salvation was an eternal necessity here, and of course he understood that he would be the only one that would be able to provide such for us.

Judas Iscariot, Remorse, and the Cost of Betrayal

So now that we've really addressed the tale here of the Roman governor, we now come to the second point in our message this morning where we're going to deal with the tale of the betraying disciple here.

Now as we move into Matthew chapter 27, verses 3 through 10, we find the tale of another man who assumes his place as well in Christ's crucifixion story. This is a man whose actions, of course, would also seal his fate in salvation history.

However, we must examine this individual through a much different lens because this was one of Christ's own disciples here. He was a man of betrayal, not of political calculation. He was a man who really would be self-serving in his interests, and once again we find ourselves with yet another question that we need to ask ourselves as a congregation, which is who was Judas Iscariot?

In Matthew chapter 27, verse 3, we are introduced to a more familiar character in Christ's crucifixion story as Judas Iscariot starts to take kind of center stage in this passage of Scripture. He's best known for his betrayal of Jesus Christ, but he was also responsible for managing the funds that were coming in to support the disciples in Christ's earthly ministry as well.

Well, Judas would ultimately betray Christ before the Sanhedrin for a mere 30 pieces of silver. Of course, he would identify him with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, and it was his actions really which began this cascading series of events that would lead Christ to the cross.

The gospel provides us with a rather complicated portrait of Judas Iscariot where Matthew describes him as remorseful, attempting to return the money, but later hanging himself, which is seen in Matthew chapter 27, verses 3 through 10.

However, another interesting parallel passage to this is what Luke records in Acts chapter 1, verses 18 through 19, and it provides some different details, and some have seen the possible conflict between these two passages, which I believe there's not such a conflict.

But Luke basically required, really outlined some different details suggesting that Judas had fallen in a field and that his body had ruptured open, a rather gruesome account I might add. And of course, when everyone in Jerusalem had heard about this happening, they called the field which was Akkodama, which essentially means field of blood.

So Luke is bringing in some different details here into this story. Now given these two different accounts, the one that we see in Matthew and the one that we see Luke talking about in the book of Acts, I guess we have a couple of questions to ask as it relates to these two accounts.

I mean, the obvious questions would be, did Judas die by hanging or did he die by falling.

Down?

Or we have a third option, are both of these accounts really providing different details of the same event? And while there's a variety of perspectives that are offered by different theologians here related to this matter, the most probable explanation of this account would be to consider the facts within the following timeline here.

The first thing that we should look at is that Judas did in fact hang himself in the potter's field, which we see in Matthew chapter 27 verse 5. And this is how he would ultimately die. Secondly, see for whatever reason, maybe his body remained hanging from that tree, suspended from the tree branch for an extended period of time.

Perhaps we see some decomposition, maybe some decay in the body. Ultimately maybe the rope or the branch that was holding him up broke and when the body fell to the ground, it broke open. This is not a pretty sight, but this is the story of Judas Iscariot, the betraying disciple.

Now, it's also important to really point out here that Luke, he never said that Judas died from the fall, okay? So we're not seeing a direct contradiction here as some would assume. We just see that his body fell to the ground and it broke open.

So really in the end, what we find is that what's most likely here is that Luke's account in the book of Acts presumes that Judas had hung himself, that ultimately the decomposition and subsequent decay of the body and the weight and the height that he was at, he broke a branch, the body fell and he broke open on the ground.

So in the end, really we find that Matthew actually is recording the actual cause of death, but Luke's account conveys some of the more gruesome details that surrounded this same event. Now another question too that we need to resolve as we look at these two passages is did Judas buy the field or did the priests actually buy the field?

And again, I think we have to take a look at what the timeline looks like here. This may have been a case where Judas was promised the 30 pieces of silver. He probably went to the elders, the chief elders and the chief priest in advance and plotted to turn over Jesus to betray him.

They probably cut a deal. The chief priest probably said, hey, we'll pay you upon betrayal the 30 pieces of silver. We see something alluded to this fact in Mark chapter 14 verse 11 and at some point leading up to the betrayal, you know, Judas went out and saw a field that he wanted to buy.

And so he said, hey, look, I'm going to buy this field. I've got some money coming forth, coming in. And when I get that money, I will buy the field from you. But after the deed was done, of course, we find that Judas was paid, but he became remorseful.

He tries to return the money. Of course, the chief priest won't have anything to do with it. And then instead of completing the transaction that he previously made to purchase the field, he chose to hang himself instead.

Now, this put the chief priest in a really bad spot because they considered the silver coins that they had given him blood money. So what they decided to do was basically complete the transaction that Judas had started.

They did this under the guise of probably settling his estate. And of course, they recorded the transaction in Judas's name, not their own, because they did not want their involvement being attached to blood money.

Now, this is a very dark part of the story. I would say. And now that we've considered maybe the darker aspects of who Judas was, I think it would also be expedient for us to consider his response as well to this situation.

And in this response, we find that there was a remorse that was too little, too late. Now, just as Matthew here records the response of Pontius Pilate in his deliberations with Jesus, in Matthew chapter 27, verses 3 and 4 now, we find Matthew now recording Judas's response to this story as well here.

For in the end, this part of the story, it really represents a remorse where there was no repentance. It was an ending that was marked by suicide rather than confession. Forgiveness was never on the horizon, unfortunately.

And sadly enough, we see a story with a very sad ending that was irrevocable in its consequences. And of course, it would seal this individual's fate. And yet we find here that there's much that we can learn from this part of the story as well.

You know, we live in a culture here that promotes this concept that an individual is automatically entitled to an infinite number of chances to correct their behavior, and that the consequences never really do take place because God is a God of grace, love, and mercy.

However, this mentality does misrepresent what God's grace and mercy truly is, and it runs contrary to what we see in Scripture where there's a strong case to be made for God's judgment as well. We see this in the case of Judas, where we found a remorse without repentance, and how that fell woefully short in this story.

In short, spiritual accountability is a necessity. It's very real, and there are some things that do bring forth consequences that are irreversible, that are long-lasting, that really become a part of settled history.

And we see this with David and his sin with Bathsheba. Another example is the sin of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts, where they lied about their charity. And we find this with Judas Iscariot as well.

This was the case in Matthew chapter 27, verse 4, where Judas proclaimed, I sinned when expressing remorse for his betrayal. Now, really, we don't get a full understanding of Judas' acknowledgment here until we really take a look at the predicament of Judas through the Greek language here.

When we examine the Greek language, the Greek word that's used for his acknowledgment, that I sinned, we find that really Judas readily recognized that his consequences bore much deeper implications here.

The meaning of the root word to Judas' reference, I sinned, it comes from this, it's translated literally from this Greek verb, which is harmitano, which by word definition, it kind of conveys this sense of a properly not having a share in, or perhaps a sin which always brings forfeiture, or perhaps an eternal loss due to missing God's mark.

So this is a word that really describes a set of conditions or predicament that's really kind of beyond that red line, so to speak. So, there's an irreversible consequence here, and it indicates that he really understood the nature of these consequences and that he had in fact sealed his fate.

This pushed him further into despair, and of course, it resulted in him ultimately hanging himself. Simply put, my brothers and sisters, remorse may be a good first step, but what follows remorse is critically important in the Christian life.

For those of us who believe that a simple I'm sorry without repentance is all that is needed to make the consequences go away, I'm here to tell you that you're deluding yourselves if you think that. For those individuals who express a remorse so they can more quickly absolve themselves from a feeling of guilt, allowing them to more quickly return to their bad behavior, I'm here to tell you that such remorse is meaningless in terms of judgment.

Think about this for a moment. In the Gospel of Matthew here, we find that the sins of Judas and the sin of Peter's denial of Christ were both very grave sins indeed, and yet, as Reed touched on last week, the outcomes were completely different, and why is that?

For his part, Judas acts deliberately, while Peter falls into sin due to hubris and arrogance and pride, but there is an important distinction here, my brothers and sisters, and it is that what follows remorse.

For Judas' part, he expressed remorse and then went out and committed suicide. Repentance never crossed his path, and when Peter committed his grave sin, he experienced deep sorrow, repentance, and confession of his sin.

So, let us never forget that remorse for oneself, when we commit sin and we start to experience remorse, what does that do? That focuses us, it focuses each one of us inward, and we see condemnation, but I'm here to tell you that repentance will always turn our focus upward towards Christ and God's grace, and it is there that we find that God's grace and God's mercy and Christ's sacrifice will handle the sin that so easily besets us.

Now, just as we saw in our previous point as well, we find in Judas' story that there was also a fulfilled prophecy here. You know, just as we find with the prophecy of Christ's silent response and Pilate's deliberation, so too we find a really interesting prophetical parallel here in the life and times of Judas.

It should come as no surprise that in Matthew chapter 27, verses 3 through 10, we find God would use Judas Iscariot's betrayal to fulfill prophecies that were spoken by the minor prophet Zechariah and Jeremiah as well.

Specifically here, in Zechariah's reference, we find that he made a reference specifically to the 30 pieces of silver being thrown on the floor of the temple. We see this in Zechariah chapter 11, verses 12 and 13.

Likewise, we see in Jeremiah the reference to him denouncing the people of Jerusalem for shedding innocent blood. This is seen in Jeremiah chapter 19, verse 4, and it's this reference made by Jeremiah that we see Matthew alluding to in Matthew chapter 27, verse 4 as well.

And just as Christ's silent response before Pilate would fulfill a prophecy spoken so long ago by the prophet Isaiah, so too we find Judas' betrayal was not just an event in recorded history, but it was a prophetical one that God would use to validate the ministries of Zechariah and Jeremiah as well.

It's interesting how these things work. So with the final word comes one final application, if I may, and that is this. You know, as Christians, each one of us needs to walk circumspectly. In fact, the apostle Paul kind of reiterated the necessity of this in his letter to the Ephesian church.

We find this in Ephesians chapter 5, verses 15 through 17. The apostle Paul, see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

We also need to be aware of the fact that while remorse is always a good first step, it must always be accompanied by the virtues of repentance and confession. We need to rely on Christ's sacrifice to remediate our sin in God's grace in order to be spiritually effective in our lives as believers.

Judas' tragic efforts to undo his betrayal of Christ really demonstrates the futility that also comes with the belief that we ourselves can remediate our own sin. I'm here to tell you that it's a fool's errand.

To the contrary, what does Matthew encourage us to do? He encourages us to believe in Jesus who gave his life for the ransom of many. Our brothers and sisters, this is the only way. In his work entitled, The Redemption Accomplished and Applied, John Murray, he explains the importance of looking to God for love and atonement where he says this to us.

He says, the love of God from which the atonement springs is not a distinctionless love. It is a love that elects and predestinates. God was pleased to set his invincible and everlasting love upon a countless multitude and it is the determinate purpose of this love that the atonement secures.

Our brothers and sisters, let us always be wholly dependent on God in our pursuit of holiness. Let our remorse for sin always give way to repentance, reconciliation, and restoration. Let us always remember that it is Christ's sacrifice and God's grace that makes all this.

Possible.

Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we come together now as a Christian family, a church family. We're fully cognizant of the story, this recorded history, the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion and what it means for us.