The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 610

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 4..-Jwlas's C011j'ession. The wretched traitor got no satisfaction out of his crime, No sooner had he committed it than he was horrified at the enormity of the deed. Covetous as he was, he could not hold the blood-money, and he flung it down as though the very touch of it burnt his fingers. It is not often that the revulsion from an act of wickedness follows so swiftly. Very probably Judas was aghast at the consequence of his treason, never having imagined that it would issue fatally, He may have aimed at forcing the band of Jesus, assuming that at the last his Master would exert miraculous powers and claim bis Christly rights. If so, the man was i,-ievously mistaken, and the discovery of his deadly error appalled him. Then a great darkness fell upon him, and the madness of suicide took possession of him. He seems to stand alone in the enormity of his crime, but bis very despair shows him to be human, and his confession almost gives us a gli=er of hope that even in this miserable man there is a possibility of better things. I. THE TRAITOR CONFESSED ms sur. He knew that he had acted vilely, an,1 bis accomplices, who were glad to use him as their tool, had no pity for such a scoundrel. But it is something that he was brought to own himself a sinner. The vilest sinner is the man who tries to hide his sin, who plays the hypocrite before men, and who even endeavours to excuse himself in his own conscience by sophistical arguments. There are sins, however, whose scarlet hue so blazes in the sunlight that the rankest hypocrite does not attempt to deny them. Confession is good, but it is not repent- ance, much less is it regeneration. II. JUDAS OWNED THE INNOCENOE OF CHRIST. He knew it was innocent blood that he had betrayed. It is striking to notice how many of the leading actors in the murder of Christ testify to his merits. Pilate could find no fault in him. The centurion at the cross acknowledged him as a Son of God,, Even the traitor is con- strained by bis own conscience to own his treason and to vindicate the innocence of his Master. Many men have a fair appearance in the distance, but they will not bear too close a scrutiny. But those who knew Jesus most intimately, and those who examined him in the most critical momenta, were able to discover no flaw in his perfect character. • • Ill. CoNFESBION OF SIN AND A RECOGNITION OF THE MERITS OF CHRIST ARE NOT 8UF'FICENT FOR SALVATION. In Judas there were the beginnings of better things. But alas I they ended in despair and death. If we only see our sin and Christ's good- ness, we may well shrink from entertaining any hope for ourselves. We need to go a step f~ther. Judas never fled to Christ's cross; therefore he ran to his own gallows. The only deliverance from the tyranny and the doom of sin Is to be found in the redemption which Christ has wrought on the cross. Even the murderers of the innocent Saviour come within the scope of bis wonderful grace. There would be hope for a Judas, if Judas would but turn from his awful sin in real repentance to Christ as even his Saviour.-W. F. A. Ver. 21.-Barabbas. The name of Barabbas has become odious throughout Christen- dom, although we really know very little against him. The.t he was a rebel against the Roman government only means that he furthered the cause of liberty which all his people cherished in their hearts; so that bis name might have been associated with the names of Tell, Wallace, and other well-known patriots, if only be had been successful. That he combined brigandage with insurrection is only too characteristic of the revolt of a wild, d-etermined, lawless man in desperate straits, although this fact spoils much of his heroism. Still we do not know enough against him to account for the detestation which his name has attached to it. That detestation does not arise from anything in his charncter or conduct. It simply springs from the accident that lt was he whom the people had an opportunity of preferring to Jesus. Therefore it i~ their treatment of him that is of significant interest when we consider the place of Barabbas in the gospel story. I. llAIIADDAB WAS l'HEFEIIRED TO CHRIST, 1. An indication of tl,e people's hat,ed lo Ul1rist. There is uo reason to thiuk that Barabbas was a popular hero. His insur- 616 THE GOSPEL AOOORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [ctt, :um. 1-66.