20 JUDAS IS REMORSEFUL-Jesus, at dawn was condemned guilty and understanding that His life was in danger, Judas realised that he had been a traitor to Jesus, who was innocent. Jesus was not going to take control politically. Able to recognise the evil of his deception, he regretted his deed and was left with a deep sense of dishonour and threw the money on The Temple floor, giving it back to the priests.

The priests decided to buy a potter's field with the money, which was the silver that Judas returned, for 'blood money' was not allowed to be used by the Temple Treasury, so they unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 11:13, by acquiring a potter's field in Judas' name. The potter's field had been used for a dump for broken pottery. This piece of land was called The Field of Blood.

Instead of begging God's forgiveness for being disloyal, Judas killed himself. He knew he could not undo the evil that he had done, it was too late. He died in sorrow but without repentance. His death on the Potter's field was that work of suicide, probably half accomplished when Judas fell resulting in the spilling open of his body.

Judas did not repent but was remorseful, he felt sorry for himself; his plan in betraying Christ had failed. He presumed Christ would use His miraculous power to save Himself and declare Himself King when in the crisis of facing danger and death. It seems probable Judas was impatient with Christ, who to Judas had powers so great but yet had not used them for worldly advantage.

Sincere sorrow and bitter remorse (for himself) is not repentance towards God. He returned to the Temple priests with deep feelings of emotions affecting his whole being and testified to Christ's innocence and his own guilt. Their responsibility should have been to help Judas when he admitted that had performed sinfully but they too had rejected the Saviour, and they also had discarded their true role as priests.

Having sold his Saviour, his end was hopeless, not that he committed anything unpardonable, but instead of fleeing to his Deliverer for forgiveness and mercy, he guiltily went unpardoned. Though he returned the ill-gotten thirty pieces of silver, he prayed not. He made no appeal to God or Christ, thus having no faith or any hope.

Many have pitied Judas for not realising what he was doing and many agree with his action to end Jesus' earthly mission as prophesied. He, by his own choice, willingly betrayed God's Son into the hands of the enemy. Jesus knew that Judas' selfish heart of evil would not change.

Although the betrayal of Jesus was part of God's Sovereign plan, Judas was not a puppet of God's will, he made a choice. God knew what that choice would be and it was confirmed by Jesus. Judas did the most darkest deed, a horrible, diabolical crime. Judas himself, as a person, made the worst decision and mistake in human history. Judas was not coerced against his will. God is not the author of sin, and His purposes are never thwarted. This terrible crime was predicted, the bargain for thirty pieces of silver was foretold.

Judas became the devil's tool and was called the 'son of hell', belonging to the realm of damnation. He was never saved, he never had a committed relationship to Jesus.

No one excommunicated Judas, he went out of fellowship of his own accord. Judas left a vacancy, a position that had to be filled. Another disciple, Matthias, who had also been with Jesus from the beginning, was elected to take Judas' place. The Apostles quoted Psalm 109:8 in referring to the choosing another apostle.

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