And they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Matthew 27:7
In a large city like Jerusalem, where many people visited from many different parts of the world, it was not unusual for a stranger to die. Some of these would be people coming to look for the God Whose temple was there and Whose worship was centred there. Like pilgrims today who travel to famous shrines and healing centres in search of healing or comfort, sick people in Bible days often travelled to Jerusalem and other religious centres in search of divine healing or peace with God before they died. And some of those poor souls died during their pilgrimage. Jerusalem had no program for dealing with strangers who died there, and the chief priests in the temple were concerned about that. So, when some unexpected money showed up, they saw immediately an excellent use for it, and purchased a field that they had already identified would be a good location for Stranger Cemetery. After all, the money they had used to entrap the Lord Jesus could not have been used within the temple.
Setting up a cemetery for strangers was probably a good idea, and met a genuine need. But the way in which the chief priests funded the project was a colossal exercise in hypocrisy. The same money a short time earlier had been used to entice Judas to betray his Lord. The chief priests were not above trafficking in treachery, any more than they were above falsely accusing the Lord Jesus and falsely convicting Him of crimes that He had never done. But once they had accomplished their vile purposes in the name of preserving their religion, they were filled with pious concern for a community project. The thirty shekels that purchased Judas betrayal and then the potter’s field now stands as eternal evidence against those same chief priests. Evidence is mounting even today against like-minded religious folks who invest heavily in disposing of those who oppose their little kingdoms and piously pass themselves off as humanitarian benefactors.
What the high priests did with Judas’ money was nothing new. The Lord Jesus condemned the same people and their forerunners for their mistreatment and rejection of the prophets and the godly men of old. Down through hundreds of years of history, we see the Romish church exterminating the little pockets of Christians who rejected the pope’s authority and who sought to follow the truth of Scripture. Zealous followers of one branch of religion have often – and still do – murdered the followers of other branches of religion. In fact, religion has been the greatest source of bloodshed since time began. And all by pious do-gooders.
It is better to be the victims of religious persecution than to ever participate in it ourselves, regardless of how right our cause may seem. -Jim MacIntosh