Jeremiah, Zechariah, Silver, and the Field

2021-09-03

Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. (9) 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; (10) And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. (Matthew 27:8-10)

This was the field that was bought with the blood money of Jesus. Judas felt guilty about betraying Jesus, and he returned the money to the chief priests, who had paid the disciple to betray Jesus. They thought it bad to put the silver in the treasury because it was blood money, so they bought a field with it instead.

But then the archivist Matthew does something strange here. He says this fulfills Jeremiah’s prophecy, but then begins to quote Zechariah 11:12-13. Many strange reasons have been given to “reconcile” the apparent contradiction. However, just what if this was very intentional to give a reason to look in both Zechariah and Jeremiah? If we believe in the infallibility of Scripture, we believe the Spirit intentionally wrote Jeremiah and quoted Zechariah.

First, let us look at the passage in Zechariah. It would be good to read the entire chapter, Zechariah 11:1-17, but here is a portion of it:

And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. (11) And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. (12) And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. (13) And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. (14) Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. (Zechariah 11:10-14)

At the death of Jesus, the old covenant between the LORD and the Jews was finished: “I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people” (v. 11). Those of low estate recognized it as being from the Lord (v. 12, i.e., not the leaders of Israel, but the lowly disciples). Notice that the price was the price of the LORD Himself, clearly indicating the deity of Jesus. However, notice this is the price of the Lord, and there is no field here. In verse 14, we see the division of Israel and Judah once again.

That explains the passage in Zechariah, but what about Jeremiah? There is a passage in Jeremiah that describes the buying of a field with silver: Jeremiah 32:1-44. While Jeremiah was sitting in a dungeon, his cousin came and asked him to redeem a field. He does so, but for 17 pieces of silver. Jeremiah asked the Lord why he should buy a field in a land that is about to be captured and destroyed by the Babylonians. See a part of the Lord’s response (though you should read the whole chapter):

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: (38) And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: (39) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. (41) Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. (Jeremiah 32:37-41)

Where there was a broken covenant in Zechariah 11:10, we see a new covenant in Jeremiah 32:40. Where we see division between Judah and Israel in Zechariah 11:14, we see unity with the people having “one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever” in Jeremiah 32:39. Where the people were rejecting the Lord and setting a price for Him in Zechariah 11:13, we see that “they shall be my people, and I will be their God” in Jeremiah 32:38. There is no redemption in Zechariah, but the field was “redeemed” in Jeremiah 32:7-8, foreshadowing a greater redemption found in Jesus Christ, who redeemed us from sin and its penalty.

What is the prophecy of the silver and the field? That out of rejection of Jesus Christ will come great anguish, but ultimately, there will be a full salvation at the end of the world. You need both passages to understand the prophecy.