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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 26:14 - 26:16
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_26:14-16
14Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.
Mat_26:14 "Iscariot" There are several theories concerning this word (the word is spelled differently in various Greek manuscripts). It could refer to
1. a man of Kerioth, a city of Judah
2. man of Kartan, a city of Galilee
3. the leather bag used to carry money
4. the Hebrew word for "strangling"
5. the Greek word for assassin's knife
If #1 is true he was the only Judean in the Twelve. If #5 is true he was a zealot like Simon.
There has recently been written a book that interprets Judas in a positive light. The book is entitled Judas, Betrayer or Friend of Jesus? by William Klassen, Fortress Press, 1996. My problem with it is that id does not take the comments in John's Gospel seriously.
Mat_26:15 "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you" The motive seems obvious (cf. Joh_12:6). The tragedy of Judas is unexplainable. Many modern theories suppose him to be trying to force Jesus to be the expected militant Jewish messiah. The Gospel of John asserts he was a thief.
▣ "thirty pieces of silver" This fulfilled the prophecy of Zec_11:12-13 (cf. Mat_27:9-10). Jesus was the rejected Shepherd. It was the price paid in the OT for a gored slave (cf. Exo_21:32). Chapters 9-14 of Zechariah are quoted several times as a prophetic source in relation to Jesus' ministry.
1. Mat_21:4-5 quote Zec_9:9
2. Mat_24:3 quotes Zec_12:10
3. Mat_26:15 quotes Zec_11:12-13
4. Mat_26:31 quotes Zec_13:7
5. Mat_27:9-10 quotes Zec_11:12-13