<p>27:4 <em>Saying</em>- As if he was speaking, admitting that &quot;I have sinned&quot;, whilst holding the silver pieces in his hand. Again the impression is given that quite simply he did what he did from the love of money.</p><p><em>I have sinned</em>- The very words of the repentant prodigal son, Job, Micah and David (Lk. 15:18,21; 2 Sam. 12:13; 24:10; Job 7:20; Mic. 7:9). But instead of going back to the Father, Judas went and killed himself. Again we see that recognition of sin and regret for it are one thing, but this is not at all the same as repentance and conversion. Peter, who was in the same position as Judas, truly repented and converted. Instead of going to his own death, Peter went to the cross to see the death of God&rsquo;s Son, and perceived in that the possibility of his own forgiveness. &ldquo;I have sinned&rdquo; were likewise the words of Pharaoh (Ex. 9:27; 10:16), Balaam (Num. 22:34), Achan (Josh. 7:20) and several times of Saul (1 Sam. 15:24,30; 26:21). But although these men all said the same words as the prodigal son, Job, Micah and David- they all perished in condemnation. Recognition of sin, therefore, is not the same as true repentance. To admit that we are, of course, sinners&hellip; is not the same as repentance and conversion. And so it was with Judas.</p><p><em>In that I have betrayed innocent blood</em>- Judas at his final end recognized that Jesus was sinless; and he refers to Jesus not by His name, but as &ldquo;the innocent blood&rdquo;. He had a good theoretical grasp of the principles of the atonement and the nature of Jesus. But that didn&rsquo;t help him. He recognized the ultimate innocence of Jesus. Correct knowledge concerning Jesus and recognition of personal sin is not enough to save us. There has to be the faith in grace which Peter had, and because Judas lacked this, he remained condemned. This highlights the fact that appreciation of grace is not just a cosmetic issue, but is fundamental to the Gospel and our personal salvation. The Greek word for &ldquo;innocent&rdquo; means literally &lsquo;not guilty&rsquo;; Judas recognized that the Lord&rsquo;s trial at the hands of the Jews had been nothing but farcical, and the innocent had been condemned as guilty.</p><p><em>But they said: What is that to us? See to it yourself</em>- Maybe their idea was that Judas had given his testimony in court and it could not now be retracted. Again we note their strict legalism on one hand, whilst behaving in the most unconscionable way on the other.</p>