Matthew 27:1–10: Appearances are Deceiving
Introduction
To an outside observer, the proceedings against Jesus may have seemed strangely urgent, but one could perhaps have rested in the fact that things seemed to proceed, more or less, by the book. All the essential i’s seemed to have been dotted, and all the most important t’s were crossed. Someone might still have sensed that something was not quite right, but at the very least there was no real appearance of impropriety. Yet, as Matthew is at pains to reveal, all is not as it may have seemed. Rather, in the crucifixion of the Lord of glory, appearances are deceiving.
Discussion Questions
1. What does it mean that the Sanhedrin “took counsel” against Jesus (v. 1)? Why did they need to maintain a certain level of formality in their proceedings? What role did Pilate have in overseeing the eventual execution of Jesus (v. 2)? Why did the Sanhedrin bind Jesus on his way over to Pilate (v. 2)? How does this contribute to the appearance that Jesus is a dangerous criminal who deserves the worst possible punishment? What does this tell us about putting our faith in the civil sphere?
2. What do you think Judas “saw” that prompted him to go back to the chief priests (v. 3a)? What does it mean that he “changed his mind,” and how is this different from true repentance (v. 3b)? Why does his confession that he has “sinned” fall short of a full confession of sin (v. 4a)? Why do the chief priests tell Judas to “see” (v. 4b)? What does Judas’s suicide tell us about his spiritual state?
3. What would have made it “not lawful” for the chief priests to put the ”blood money” into the temple treasury? How does their scrupulous concern for ceremonial issues contrast with their abominable violations of God’s moral law? How does this concern for appearances illustrate a legalistic approach to religion? In what ways are you tempted to protect your external appearance as clean when you know that you are unclean spiritually, on the inside?
4. How does Matthew combine the prophecy from Zechariah 11:13 with the themes from the book of Jeremiah (vv. 9–10)? Why is the theme of covenant annulment and the rejection of God’s shepherd by the other shepherds in Zechariah contrast with the hope of a new covenant in Jeremiah? In what way, then, are the outward appearances of the gospel itself deceiving to those who look upon it? When it comes to the gospel, are you walking by faith, or by sight?
