Judas Iscariot and Potter's Field In Prophecy

Both the Messiah's betrayer and the Potter's Field were prophesied (see Prophets and Prophecy) in the Old Testament:

"Then I said to them, "If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." And they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver. Then The Lord said to me, "Cast it into the treasury" -The Lordly price at which I was paid off by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and cast them into the treasury in the house of The Lord" (Zechariah 11:12-13 RSV)

"Thus said The Lord, "Go, buy a potter's earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests, and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you" (Jeremiah 19:1-2 RSV)

The prophecy fulfilled. Note the glaring admission by the chief priests; they knew that Jesus Christ was completely innocent of the charges that they brought against Him, and had Him executed for - as did Pontius Pilate the governor of Judea (Matthew 27:19, Luke 23:14), and Herod Antipas the tetrarch of Galilee who was in Jerusalem that day and declared Jesus having done nothing to deserve death (Luke 23:15) (see The Herods). The accusers, the betrayer, the governor, the territorial king, they all knew that they were executing an innocent man - it was no "miscarriage of justice," it was a murder:

"When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death; and they bound Him and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor."

"When Judas, His betrayer, saw that He was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself."

"And throwing down the pieces of silver in the Temple [see Temples and "My Father's House"], he departed; and he went and hanged himself."

"But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." So they took counsel, and bought 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 had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as The Lord directed me." (Matthew 27:1-10 RSV)

Fact Finder: Why did Judas Iscariot betray Jesus Christ?
See Why Did He Do It?

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