(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong,he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) "For it is written in the book of Psalms,
'Let his homestead become desolate,
and let there be no one to live init';
and
'Let another take his position of overseer.'"
Question:
All of theaccounts of Judas state that he gave the money back—the 30 pieces ofsilver—and went and hung himself. In Acts 1:18, it states thatJudas bought a field and fell headlong. His body burst open and allhis intestines spilled out. This confuses me because, how if he hunghimself was he able to buy this and this account that he fell headlong andhis body burst open and all of his intestines spilled out? Everyone inJerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their languagea kid to Emma, that is the field of blood. I believe it may mean thatthe Pharisees did not want the blood money bought the property thePotters Field and threw him in it?
Comment:
You are combining elements from this passage and from Matthew 27:3-10. They can't be reconciled; they tell two different versions of the story. They agree that there was a field involved, but the details—as you enumerated—are different. That's not surprising since they were written many years after the events by authors who were not even there. It's the same with the two birth stories. Matthew says the infant Jesus was taken to Egypt; Luke says the family returned to Nazareth after the birth in Bethlehem. There are many more examples throughout scripture. Each author is telling the story as he heard it or knows it. The significance lies not in the details but in the deeper metaphysical guidance they offer. The story of the death of Judas tells us, I think, that choices made from a greedy and angry mortal mind, without relying on the guidance of Spirit, will result in painful life experiences.
Blessings!
Rev. Ed
