In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the danger of focusing on money and the love of money as the root of all evil. He mentions the story of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The preacher refers to Jeremiah's prophecy about the thirty pieces of silver being used to buy the potter's field. He also mentions the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion, including the Last Supper and Judas' betrayal. The sermon encourages listeners to learn from these biblical stories and avoid the temptation of money.

We've been going through what I've called the Pilgrim's Problems, and there are many, many problems that we meet on the way to heaven. Now this is perhaps one of the most, if not the most difficult one, of all the sorts of problems that you get. As I travel the world, people will come up and ask me questions, old-fashioned questions that have been asked a thousand times down through the years, and they're always thought are ready for you. Now I'm trying to educate the class, young and old, how to answer these questions. Now the question tonight is about the suicide of Judas Iscariot. He was called Judas Iscariot because he came from a little village called Kereoth, way down in the portion of the land of Israel that was given to Judah. Went down there to see it one day. He's Judah from Kereoth, and he became known as Judas Iscariot. It's the same thing. Now there are mighty problems concerning his death. Let's have a look at Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27, please. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27. And if we were to go right through chapter 26, we would find our Lord Jesus Christ arrested in Gethsemane, and that was Thursday night in the dark. You'll find that they came with torches and lanterns to arrest him. It was the Thursday night and the moon was at the full. It was the Easter moon. Now they arrested him and they brought him to the house of Caiaphas, and Caiaphas questioned him right through the night, and he had no right to try the Lord Jesus in the middle of the night. But they did try him against the law even. Now we're at chapter 27, when the morning was come, and that was the Friday morning. And if you like me to tease it out for you, that would be quite simple. When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And when they had bound him, and that simply means when they had bound him with chains, because that's made plain in another gospel, put his hands behind his back and tied them with chains, and then chained him to others that walked beside. And when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. They're taking him from the house of Caiaphas. It's early in the morning, it is Friday morning, and they've taken him to Pontius Pilate because they want him to be crucified. And only the Roman governor could commit him to that kind of death. Then Judas, I want you to get that, want you to be very sure of the time, it is the morning, it is Friday morning. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, when he saw these chains upon him and him being led away to Pontius Pilate, repented himself. Now don't let's be taken in by this word repented. You can take a Greek lexicon when you go home, and you will find that almost every time in this book that we have the word repent and repentance, it's another word that's used altogether than the word that's used here. This is not repentance that we talk about. This word is usually translated remorse. Of course he had feelings about what he had done, but that is not godly repentance you know. There are boys who use knives these nights and slip somebody's thoughts, and when they're caught and get 20 years they're a bit sorry about it. That's not getting right with god you know. Now, so don't let's be taken in by this. Yes, he repented himself and brought again 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. He had sold the Lord Jesus just a little while before this for 30 pieces of silver, saying I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple. Can you hear the rattle of these pieces of silver on the marble tires? He just threw them down and deported, and went and hanged himself is that Friday morning. Because you have to follow this very carefully. That's Friday morning. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, it is not lawful for us to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. The price of whose blood? The price of Christ's blood. Now, I don't want to go into this at any length at all, because I'd lose the time. The blood of Christ is talked about in this book, that we know that we are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. I'm positively sure just now that the most precious thing that ever touched this planet of ours was the sinless, precious blood of Christ. Let me say right here that without the shedding of Christ's blood in sacrifice, there is no remission for any one of us. I'm sure the hymn writer was right when he said, nothing can for sin at all, nothing but the blood of Jesus. And yet this precious blood was sold for thirty pieces of silver, just begin to think it out now. Yes, this was the price of blood. And these priests in the temple, verse 7 says, they took counsel and bought with them, that is with the thirty pieces of silver, the potter's field to bury strangers in. They were going to make a graveyard there. When we talk about the potter's field, we're talking about a field where the potter had taken all the clay out of it, and it sought to no use for very much after that. They're going to use it to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day. Then, just at that psychological moment when that was done, was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy, and that's the Greek way of saying Jeremiah, the prophet saying, and they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them for the potter's field as the Lord appointed me. Now, just turn over to the Acts of the Apostles, and keep your finger in the place of Matthew 27, sort of mark it some way, and then turn over to the Acts of the Apostles chapter 1. And if you know the Acts of the Apostles chapter 1, this is where our Lord Jesus Christ went up to the Mount of Olives, and ascended to heaven. This was the day of Ascension, or Ascension day. And after they had watched him go up, they all came back to Jerusalem to the upper room, and had a great prayer meeting. Verse 14 says these all continued with one accord in prayer. Now, verse 15 says, And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty, men and brethren he's preaching to. This scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now, this man purchased a field with the reward of an equity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed up. Now, here is a problem, or maybe one or two or three problems all together. You see, Peter is saying, now this man, that is Judas Iscariot, purchased a field with the reward of an equity. But Matthew's gospel says, that the priests in the temple bought the field. That's what we read in verse 7, And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. And, of course, all the critics of the Bible say, here is a contradiction. Matthew's gospel says, that the priests bought the field, and Peter preaching in the Acts of the Apostles says, Judas bought the field. I want you to get the hold of that. Then Matthew's gospel brings another problem. Matthew's gospel said this, that he, Judas, cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. Threw these pieces of silver down, and then went and hanged himself. There's one thing sure, isn't it, to you? That if he threw the pieces of silver down, and went and hanged himself, he didn't buy the groan with the money. Is that right now? I would think you could sort of solve that on your own. If he threw the pieces of silver down on the floor, and went and hanged himself, then he didn't buy the groan with that money, did he? And the Acts of the Apostles says, verse 18, now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And Matthew said that he hanged himself, and Peter said he fell headlong. So there are two problems. The first one is, who bought the field? Judas or the priests? And the second problem is, how did Judas die? By hanging, or by falling. And I shall introduce another problem for you, if you go back to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27. Because when the priests bought the field, and it was called the field of blood in verse 9, it says, then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, and so on. And I assure you very carefully this evening, that nowhere in the prophecy of Jeremiah is there such a statement. Nowhere. It is not there. And I'll tell you that maybe on your margin before you, they are directing you to Jeremiah chapter 18, and if you go there, there's no such thing as the thirty pieces of silver. But we'll come to it all. We have three problems now. Who bought the field? Judas or the priests? How did Judas die? By hanging, or by falling. And where does Jeremiah say, they took thirty pieces of silver? Now, this is something that can be solved very easily. I know that some people say this is impossible. Let me point out to you right away, and then I shall prove this very carefully, that there are two different fields here. And one was bought by the priests, and the other one was bought by Judas. Now, how do I know that? That's the bit. Yes, these fields are entirely, completely different, and the two transactions of buying them were done at different occasions. Now, if we were to take the Greek word, that's in Matthew's gospel. Let's go back to Matthew's gospel. And it says in verse seven, and it's talking about the priests, and they took counsel and bought. I want you to get that word bought. Now, it's the word Argos. So it is. And it's always connected with the buying of a field, because Argos is the old Greek word for our ordinary field. Now, when you come to the Acts of the Apostles, it is not the word bought at all. You see verse 18. Now, this man purchased a field. It's a little phrase. It's cordian. And cordian is a word that's always used for the buying of a farm, not a field. There are two different words. This word, Argos, is the word that's used all for buying just an ordinary field in the open market. But the word cordian is somebody purchasing a smallholding. That's the word they use in Scotland for a small farm. Now, they're two different nouns altogether. Now, let me go further than that, because there are not only two different nouns here, there are two different verbs. Arrogate is the word that's brought out when we use bought a field. It's just buying in the open market. And catema is the word that's used for possessing a small possession of your own. Now, I don't want to argue about the Greek, because I don't think this is the way to settle anything. I'm just showing you that the two nouns are different, and the two verbs are different. I want you to get that. But I want to tell you this, that the two occasions of buying are completely different, and that we can follow. You don't need to be a Greek scholar to do that. Now, let's try to do this very carefully. You see, I can prove to you that Judas purchased this small farm, and I'm using the word purchased very carefully, purchased this small farm long before he ever received the 30 pieces of silver. Now, I can tell you that. Let's go to John's Gospel, chapter 13, I think we'll start with. John's Gospel, chapter 13. I think almost everybody in the class knows that when we're in John 13, we're in the upper room, and it's the Passover supper. Now, again, I want to get you to mark the time here, because that was Thursday. Thursday night somewhere, they met in the upper room, and they did keep the Passover supper. And when they were eating the Passover supper, do you remember this, and you can find it here in John 13, that Jesus lifted the sop and handed it to Judas, and said to him, what thou doest, do quickly. Now, it's an old Jewish custom that when the Passover supper is held in a home or family or two families together, that if someone knows someone is planning something diabolical against them, if you lift the sop and give it to them, you're just saying, now listen, no matter what's in your mind that's wrong and terrible, I'm prepared to forgive you at this moment. Now, make up your mind what side you're going to be on. What thou doest, do quickly. Now, this is what we read here. Watch this now, verse 30. He, that is Judas, he then having received the sop, went immediately out, and it was night. And let's get it quite clear that he left the Passover table before the Lord's Supper was instituted. He was never at the Lord's Supper, don't make any mistakes about that. He had gone and when he went out, the Lord instituted what we say is the Lord's Supper. Now, he'd gone out, and he had gone out for a purpose. This is Thursday night, all right, because I can take you back a little bit back to Matthew 22. Let's go back there for a moment. Matthew 22, and this is the Wednesday night. This is the night before the Passover. Luke's Gospel 22, I'm away at the wrong place. It's Luke's Gospel, chapter 22. Now, watch it carefully so that you get the days right, and then everything else will come right. Now, the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. You see, it's not arrived yet. It's the day before it. And the chief priests and scribes thought how they might kill him, for they feared the people. So, then entered Satan into Judas, surname Discariat, being of the number of the twelve, and he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them, and they were glad. And covenanted, now let's get that word very carefully, covenanted to give him money. Now, they hadn't given him it yet, because no Jew, you know, will give you the money until you produce the goods. I would think you would know that. So, they're only making the bargain now. Covenanted is the word. That's the Wednesday, because that was the day before the Passover. It says that he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude, then keep the day off unleavened bread when the Passover must begin. So, you can see that he was playing about with his diabolical sin on the Wednesday. And they had made the bargain, if you come and really betray him to us, then we'll give you the money. Now, we might stop and ask the question, what's this betrayal about? Couldn't they go and lift him at any moment? That's not as easy as always. You see, I don't know if you've ever seen a thousand Jews all together in their long eastern robes, and their turbans on their heads, and their black beards. I don't know if you've seen a thousand of them, but I'll tell you, you couldn't tell the one from the other. Now, I proved this just to prove this point. Mr. Irvine were here, he would tell you. I got an old Jew to give me a Jewish costume when I was in Palestine, and a turban and a beard. And I came down the road, and I bumped into Irvine and nearly knocked him down. And I said, shalom, shalom, shalom. I had to keep the Irish bit out of it as much as I could. And he said, he's all pleased with himself. Oh, it's all right, okay. He didn't know who it was, you know. And a clue. And I did it once or twice, just to see if I could. He was beginning to get the Irish bit going. He looked at me the third time. He wasn't sure, couldn't tell. Now, the high priest, and the priests, and the scribes, had to be sure of the one they were arresting. And the one who could really betray him, was the one who knew him well. And Judas could betray him. And Judas gave them a sign. He said, when we go into the garden where they're all praying, when I kiss the one that I kiss, I'll betray him with a kiss. That's when they arrested the Lord Jesus. Now, let's skip this. We can see him covenanting on the Wednesday, can't we? And then he's in at the Passover on the Thursday. And it was there the Lord Jesus looked round them and said, one of you shall betray me. And that must have sort of shook him a bit, you know. He sort of knew that Jesus knew. And when Jesus said, look what thou dost do quickly, I'm prepared to forgive you up to this moment. And then the thirty pieces jingled in his mind. And then he went out, and it was night. Now, he was on his way. It was Thursday night. I don't know the time. You can't time me down to the time. Might be eight or nine o'clock. He's on his way to the high priests. Gonna get this money. He knows that Jesus will leave the upper room, and he'll go to Gethsemane. He knows where he'll go. Now, if you know John's gospel, it'll save me time. In John 13, he's in the upper room. And in John 14, he's in the upper room. Let's go to John's gospel just to do this properly. Now, at the end of John 14, verse 31, the Lord Jesus is talking to the rest of them in the upper room. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do arise. Let us go hence. And he's leaving the upper room. You come down stone steps onto the cobbled street, and he's going towards Gethsemane now. You will find as he walks towards Gethsemane, that he stopped at the gate, the big ornamented gate into the courtyard of the temple. And there was an ornamentation of the vine on it, and he stopped there and he preached this great message. The message that I think is the greatest message he ever preached, I am the true vine. It's in John 15. And then in John 16, he began to tell them all about the Holy Spirit coming, the one who could work it out for the branches in the vine. I don't want to go into all that. And then in John 17, I think he's over the courtyard and he's going down the valley of the key, valley of Jehoshaphat, and down at the bottom is the Kidron River, and I think it's there he stopped to pray. In John 17, the Lord's Prayer. And don't be getting the idea that the thing they call the Lord's Prayer is the Lord's Prayer, for it's not the Lord's Prayer. My Lord never prayed, forgive us our trespasses. He never had any to forgive. He may have been teaching the boys how to pray, but it is not the Lord's Prayer. Oh no, this Lord's Prayer is in John 17. You see, he's on his way to Gethsemane, and he talks about the vine and the Holy Ghost, and he prays. And when we come to John 18, have a look at it. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron. That's why I think he prayed there. He had stopped to pray. And when you cross the brook Kidron, you're very near to the garden, where was the garden into which he entered and his disciples. And Judas, let's get it now. Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. He knew where to come to. He's been away for the 30 pieces of silver during this time. Says, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. He went there to pray. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. You can see it's nighttime all right. Judas had come to betray him. And if we go into some of the other Gospels, you will find that he betrayed him with a kiss. You'll find they arrested him there, whenever he, when Judas betrayed him. I think that's when he got paid. I'm sort of doing a bit of detective business here now. Because I can see him on the Wednesday making the bargain. Covenant and they say, well we'll give you the money. And I can see him sitting, the diabolical hypocrite that he was, at the Passover table. And the Lord looking into his eyes and saying, one of you shall betray me. And I can see him rising and going out and going back and saying, come on and I'll get them for you. And I can see him in the garden kissing the Lord Jesus. And I think it was there they said, okay there's your money. And they gave him a little bag of money. Now watch me carefully. You'll find that when the priest took him back to the house of Caiaphas, Peter followed the far off eye and so did Judas. Because I'll tell you that Judas was in that night when they were asking him questions. And where we started was, you know, when Judas saw them putting the chains on him, he sort of got excited about it. When the morning was come, they'd kept them all night, and when the morning was come. And Judas, which had betrayed them, when he saw that he, the Lord Jesus, was condemned, saw them putting the chains on him. He's got the money in his hand, hasn't he? He never left it out of his hand. He got it back yonder in the garden. He has held on to it the whole way. Watched the whole night he's got the money. And he threw it down. That's a solid proof he didn't buy the ground. There's no argument about it. Well, I get this to you, and the priests who lifted it up didn't buy the ground until Christ was crucified because his blood must be shed. This was the price of blood. You see, I think you can see this. Now, we have a problem still. Let's go back to the Acts of the Apostles. You see, when Peter is talking about Judas here, he says, verse 18, Now this man purchased a farm, the word should be, small farm at last. And he purchased it with the reward of iniquity, didn't he? I think you can see that quite clearly. Purchased it with the reward of iniquity. Now, this is what some people mix up with the 30 pieces of silver. They say this is the reward of iniquity. I'm afraid not. Let's go back to John chapter 12 for a moment. John chapter 12. And this is in the house of Bethany where they made him a feast and Mary and Martha and Lazarus was there. And you remember how Mary anointed him with this costly ointment, the spikener. Verse 4, Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, it was he, Simon's son, which should betray him. It was always put in there. Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was put therein. That's the reward of iniquity. He had been dipping into the bag. He was the treasurer of the little crowd. And he had dipped in again and again and again. And with the money he had bought a little farm. You got that now? Because I'm teasing it out for you. I don't think there's any problems in this. You see, these are two different occasions. You see, for to say that Judas would buy the field that the priests bought, he sure, or to go to hang himself in the field that the priests bought, sure he would know the field that the priests would buy. He had the money in his hand, I tell you, when he went out to hang himself. No, there are two different occasions here. I think he purchased the field with the money he stole out of the bag quite a little time before this that we're looking at just now. And that the priests took the money and they bought the potter's field and it's kept for a graveyard. At least some of the Arabs took me up there to see this and I don't know whether it was it or not, but there you go. Now let's see this about the problem now of the hanging. He went out and hanged himself, that's what Matthew says. And Peter says, well he fell down and burst asunder. I think the two things are together. It seems, some of the great scholars believe, that on this little farm that Judas had bought, there was a tiny little cliff with a tree overhanging it and it was here that he went to hang himself. Put the rope around his neck, jumped, but the branch broke and he bursts asunder and the two things are together, aren't they? There's no problem, you can either say the one or the other. No problem at all. And I can tell you this, see this problem that we talk about? I want to prove this to you just a little bit more. Let's have a look at the Acts of the Apostles chapter one again. Verse 18. Now this man, this is Peter preaching about Judas, now this man purchased, that's a very special word, a farm with the reward of iniquity and falling headlong. That was when he went to hang himself. He burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers of Jerusalem, in so much as that field is called in their proper tongue, a seldom. Now that's not Greek at all and that's not Hebrew, that's Aramaic. And if the priests in the temple had been naming the field, they would have never used the word. No, it was the citizens of Jerusalem that used the word, because that was a field of blood too. But that was Judas' blood. He burst asunder, that's different. The other is the price of Christ's blood. Oh, I don't think the problem is as big as they try to make it. I had to sit down at Guelph one night in the university and take an old doctor apart. And I'll tell you, he just began to wake up. It's so easy to pick holes and throw stones, isn't it? But when you get somebody who just knows. I want you to get the hold of this, you know, when we go back to this Jeremiah, let's have a look at Matthew 27 again. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet. You know, it's amazing to see some of the great scholars, like Lightfoot, and I don't need to go into them all, I don't want to name them. But you know, some of them say that this is just a mistake in the scriptures, that this word Jeremiah the prophet was put in, that it should have been Zechariah the prophet. Of course in Zechariah the prophet you'll find this wonderful statement in Zechariah 11, where Bob was reading on Sunday morning about the shepherd and how he would be sold for so many pieces of silver. Of course it's in Zechariah. Oh, but I don't think that's the answer. You see, when we talk about it being written in the book of Jeremiah, I don't think we're reading properly. You see, I've always found out that some of the young fellows who come to me with questions, they're reading this book left-handed. Now let me go over it with you again. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken. Oh, Jeremiah didn't write this at all. Oh, Jeremiah had said this somewhere. Now there are many things said that's not written. Let me put you over one or two. Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. So Paul says, just you find me what Jesus said it. He just knew that Jesus said it. Look, he half said, our Lord Jesus half said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. You just find me where he said it. That's no there. These are sayings that came down from the speeches of the Savior. This is a saying that Jeremiah had. It's not written anywhere. No problem with it at all. My, don't we really get tied up in knots about nothing at times. See these old diabolical critics of this book. As far as I'm concerned, they just open their mouths and you can see how ignorant they are. There's just one tiny little lesson for us tonight. And it's this. Don't get your eyes on money. You know, we sometimes blame the big fella who goes in to make a lot of money. And the love of money is the root of all evil. But sometimes the wee fella just wants the thirty pieces of silver. That's just as sinful as the million, you know. We got the story now. Got it right. Is it eased out for you? They were two different fields. He did hang himself and fail and burst asunder. Jeremiah never wrote it anywhere. Jeremiah said it and it came down through the years like the sayings of Christ. See you next Tuesday. Have a look about all men. I will draw all men and I tell you there's a truth in there that will help every gospel preacher.