Matthew 27:1 says, When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:  The chief priests and elders were still conspiring against Jesus.  False religious leaders are still conspiring against Jesus today.  We can only claim to be justified by our faith in the things of this world if we can somehow discredit Jesus.  Verse two says, And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  The religious leaders did not have the authority to put Jesus to death, so they took Him to the governor, Pontius Pilate, who did have the authority.  It is a very sad situation when those who profess to be God's people look to the government to enforce their will, instead of looking to God to enforce His will.  Verse three declares, Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,  Though I don't believe that Judas betrayed Jesus for any noble reason, when he saw the reality of what he had done, he repented.  He brought the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders.  This is as all that Judas received for betraying Jesus.  No matter how much we may think we have gained by betraying or even not accepting Jesus today, we like Judas will ultimately end up with nothing.  I am not sure that Judas repented about not following Jesus by faith, or just for his actions in betraying Him.  Repenting for our actions without accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord is not enough.  Verse four says, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.  Judas confessed to betraying an innocent person, Jesus.  If he thought this would save Jesus,, he was wrong.  The chief priests and elders basically said to Judas, "So what?" They told Judas to see to the problem if he had one.  If we have betrayed Christ, we are the only one who can fix it, and the only way to do that is by going to Jesus Himself and asking forgiveness.  Neither government nor religion can make us right with God.  Verse five declares, And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.  Judas left the thirty pieces of silver in the temple, then he went out and killed himself.  Judas ended up gaining nothing from betraying Jesus but self condemnation.  Ultimately, this is all anyone can gain from betraying or denying Jesus.  I don't believe that Judas had asked Jesus for forgiveness but still saw the religious leaders as the ones who could forgive.  I believe that had Judas looked to Jesus for forgiveness, he would have been forgiven and could have gone on with his life witnessing for Jesus.  Judas had not seen Jesus for Who He really is, and then he looked to the wrong place for forgiveness.  No matter how bad something we did is, if we ask Jesus by faith in Him as our Savior, then we will be forgiven and can go forward in life.  Verse six states, And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.  The chief priests, who had given the thirty pieces of silver to Judas, now said they couldn't put it back in the treasury, because it was associated with the blood of Jesus.  If they chief priests had thought what they were doing was in accordance with the will of God, then they should have had no problem with the silver being returned to the treasury.  We cannot claim to be doing God's will and at the same time claim that the outcome of our actions is somehow tainted by the blood of Christ.  Verse seven states,  And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.   After discussing it in council, the chief priests decided to use the thirty pieces of silver buy a potter's field to bury strangers in.  We cannot justify bad actions by using what we gain, or in this case reclaim, for good purposes.  If the chief priests had not believed that paying someone to betray Jesus was wrong, then they would have had no trouble taking the money and putting it back in the treasury.  Verse eight says, Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. The field, now a burial ground was called the field of blood, since it was purchased by money gained from the betrayal and the shedding of the blood of Jesus, though this may not have been what was meant when it was named.  Verse nine states, Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;   This was the fulfillment of a prophecy.  I don't believe that the chief priests, who were attempting to discredit Jesus, decided that they needed to do something in order to fulfill a prophecy about the coming Messiah.  The prophecies about Jesus were not fulfilled simply to prove that He was the awaited Messiah, but were fulfilled because of the truth of God's word through the prophets.  We can be certain that God's prophecies always have and always will be fulfilled.  Verse ten says, And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.  Just as Jeremiah had prophesied, the potter's field was purchased from the thirty pieces of silver, the price that the religious leaders had valued the betrayal of Jesus at.  We can be certain that we will never ultimately profit from rejecting or betraying Jesus.