Cold Hearted Religion of Hypocrisy (Matthew 27:1-6).Thursday March 19, 2026
Title: Cold Hearted Religion of Hypocrisy (Matthew 27:1-6).
Main idea: The cold hearted religion of the Sanhedrin cannot comfort even their own while at the same time the love of Christ allows Himself to be delivered over to the cross so that all may be forgiven and be eternally comforted.
Intro:
The Lord Jesus allows unworthy people to continually hand Him over until He is finally handed over to the cross. He is not so much marching to the cross as He is allowing Himself to be betrayed to it.
Paradidomai (definition): to hand over, deliver over, give up a person.
Judas betrayed [paradidomai] Him to the chief priests and elders. He was handed over to the officers for arrest. They handed Him over to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin now hands Him over to Pilate.
We have several more instanced to go: used 15X in Mat 26-27.
Mat 27:1-2 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; 2 and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.
Jesus is again the willing victim of paradidomai.
His own betray Him to Gentile authority for the execution of their desires (illegal for them to execute capital punishment).
Judas’ remorse
Only Matthew contains it.
Mat 27:3-10 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood."
Judas’ motivation or reason for betraying the Lord becomes more mysterious.
Remorse: Metamelomai: to have regrets about something in the sense that one wishes it could be undone.
The word is related to repentance, but more focusing on the emotional side.
Parable of the two sons: metamelomai moves him to do the right thing. Mat 21:29 “And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.”
Pharisees: had no metamelomai. Mat 21:32 "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
The parable of the two sons shows us a remorse that leads to a change of mind while in the case of the Pharisees they should have felt remorse over their rejection of John after they had seen the positive effects of his ministry.
Judas’ remorse appeals to his evil handlers. The Sanhedrin has no ability or desire to comfort him.
Forgiveness, restoration, and comfort are only from the Lord.
2Co 1:3-4 Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction.
Peter denied the Lord and felt deep remorse, but he repented to the Lord.
Psa 51:4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
We repent directly to the Lord. We bring our remorse directly to Him (not a priest or other intermediary).
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Psa 38:1, 4 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, … For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
Christ is allowing Himself to be handed over the cross so that we can have final comfort over all of our sins – that we can know that we will never be lost.
Peter, seeking to replace Judas in the 12, gives Judas a eulogy.
Act 1:15-20 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, 16 "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 "For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry." 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms,
'LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE, AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT'; [Psa 69:25] and, 'LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.' [Psa 109:8]
Chief Priests and elders: cold hypocrites
Their dealing with their hired hand reveals more of their heart. They are cold, calculating, and callous.
God made man in His image, therefore every man has a longing for God, whether he recognizes it or not. That is the explanation for the fact that every culture establishes a religion; some closer in kind to the true one, others farther away from it.
The chief priests and elders also have a religion. They should have THE religion.
The most hypocritical is the one who tries to look the holiest.
“What is that to us?”
This gets back to identity. Who are you?
“That’s your problem.”
It is a description of the human heart without love.
1Jo 3:17 But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Jam 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Deu 15:7 you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother;
The hearts of the men in the Sanhedrin were cold to the needs of others. They only served their own ends.
It is not lawful.
In council together they make decisions based on law. Remember, the heart of the law is love of God and love of neighbor; commitment to God and mercy towards your neighbor. Jesus told us, and Paul confirms, this is the very heart of the law.
Cold, selfish hearts wear the dress of goodness.
Mat 27:6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood."
Mat 7:15-16 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits.”
Under Jewish law and temple regulations, such tainted money could not be placed into the Corban (the sacred temple treasury), as it would defile the holy funds used for offerings, sacrifices, and temple upkeep.
Deu 23:18 “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.”
The money they paid for Judas’ betrayal they conclude is unholy. Was it unholy in their hands as it was passed to Judas? Hypocrisy is irony.
Irony is so prevalent. Why? Man made in God’s image tries to perform God’s natural law without God, hence what they do is often ironic.
God’s good is desired by everyone, but fallen creatures resist submission to the Lord, and many will never do so.
Summary:
Christ allows Himself to be handed over, from one hand to another, like a dotted line, like an archipelago of islands, until He is handed over to the cross. By doing so He is satisfying the justice of the Father, the holiness of God that demands righteousness, by paying for our sin and offering to us His own very righteousness. This way our submission to God is a moment of faith in Him as our one and only Savior. The barrier is broken down by Christ’s own holy offering of Himself, and once we are changed, our hearts are then made ready to submit to Him in all things. |