The Potter’s Field

“When Judas, which had betrayed Him [Jesus], when he saw that He [Jesus] was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ They said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it.’ He cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. The chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, ‘It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.’ They took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.” [1]

What Judas did was wrong. He betrayed the Lord for the sake of money. Not just once, but often. John tell us that Judas “was a thief. He had the money box. He used to take what was put in it.” [2] But God, in His grace and love, turned what was meant for evil into something good.

God used the chief priests and elders to bring about the death of the Lamb of God. They called for His crucifixion. Christ’s blood is the only blood that cleanses sin away. God also used these evil religious men to purchase a “potter’s field” in which to bury strangers in. In so doing, they fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah on both accounts.

“This “potter’s field”—whose Aramaic name was “Aceldama,” or “The field of blood” was located outside Jerusalem. [3] The potters excavated and gathered its high-quality, deep-red clay to make their ceramics. Removing these nutrients from the soil rendered the land barren.

Unusable for farming, it was better suited to serve as a graveyard. Derived from the English Bible, the term “potter’s field” survives even today—also called “paupers’ grave,” “common grave.” It is used to describe a cemetery reserved for the disposal of unclaimed corpses, as well as the remains of unidentified and/or poor people.” [4]

God transformed betrayal money into charity money. The “potter” is the one who fashions vessels out of clay, pointing to God, who fashioned our own bodies out of the clay of the earth. The “potter’s field” points to a place where people who experienced little acceptance in this life, experience a place of rest in the life to come thanks to the love and mercy of God.

[1] Matthew 27:3-7
[2] John 12:6
[3] Acts 1:19
[4] forwhatsaiththescriptures.org