Judas was one of Jesus' disciples. Questions remain concerning why he betrayed Jesus, but the reality also remains that he did betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (see Matthew 26:47-50). The night was long, and by morning the chief priests and elders had decided Jesus should be put to death. When Judas heard this, he was "seized with remorse." He couldn't undo what had been done; he could only return the silver and confess his wrongdoing. His reception was less than empathetic: "What is that to us? That's your responsibility" (Matthew 27:4).
"So Judas threw the money into the temple and left." Imagine the scene. Think about the religious leaders here, and about Judas. I wonder whether the situation was more awkward or more tense. It got worse when Judas hanged himself and the chief priests were left debating what they were to do with the money. They couldn't put it in the temple treasury because it was blood money. They money they had taken from the treasury was tainted now by the events they had set in motion. Somehow they still managed to ignore the hypocrisy of being careful not to re-deposit the thirty coins while still pursuing crucifixion of an innocent man.
It is amazing how thoroughly we hide from ourselves.
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