Matthew 27:7 Meaning: The Potter's Field
They took counsel, and bought the potter’s field with them to bury strangers in.
And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
and having taken counsel, they bought with them the field of the potter, for the burial of strangers;
And having taken counsel, they bought with them the field of the potter for a burying-ground for strangers.
Meaning in one sentence
Why did the chief priests buy a potter's field with Judas' blood money? Matthew 27:7 shows God's sovereignty over human sin.
Context
This verse appears right after Judas throws the thirty pieces of silver into the temple and goes out to hang himself. The chief priests pick up the coins and face a problem: they cannot put blood money into the temple treasury. So they talk it over and decide to buy a field that potters had used until the clay ran out. The land is cheap, worthless for farming, but useful as a burial place for foreigners. Jewish pilgrims who died while visiting Jerusalem, or perhaps Gentiles, could be buried there. The priests think they are solving a practical problem and maybe even doing something decent. But Matthew shows that their decision unwittingly fulfills prophecy, and the field becomes a permanent reminder of what they did.
Key Words
The Greek word for bought is agorazo, an ordinary word for a market purchase. The priests handled the transaction like any other business deal. But the money itself was anything but ordinary, it was the price of a life.
Then there is strangers, xenois. It means foreigners, people who do not belong. The same word appears in the New Testament for those who are far off, outsiders, guests. The priests spent blood money on a burial plot for the very kind of people who had no place among them. Without meaning to, they created a resting place for the homeless.
And potter (kerameus) ties back to Jeremiah and Zechariah. A potter works with clay, shaping and remaking what has been broken. That image runs through the Old Testament as a picture of God forming His people. So even this small field, bought with guilty coins, sits inside a much larger story of God still shaping something new.
How Christians Read This Verse
Adam Clarke, a Methodist commentator, sees mercy here: the money that bought Jesus becomes the means of kindness, and the souls of strangers find rest in His blood. Matthew Henry and other Reformed writers focus on the irony. The priests meant to cover their sin, but the field stood as a public memorial of their guilt. The Cambridge Bible notes the traditional location in the valley of Hinnom, a place long associated with judgment. All these readings agree on one thing: God was at work even through the twisted motives of the chief priests. What they intended for good cover, He used to point to Christ.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers think Judas himself bought the field, based on Acts 1:18 where it says he “purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity.” In fact, the money came from Judas, but he was dead before the purchase. The priests made the transaction. Acts simply means Judas was the cause or occasion of the purchase, not that he signed the deed. Matthew gives the accurate picture: the chief priests took counsel, then bought the field.
Living This Out
This week, you might notice how you handle guilt. When you have done something wrong, do you try to make it go away by doing something good? The priests thought buying a burial field would clean up the blood money. It did not. Their act was decent, but it did not remove their sin. Real guilt needs real forgiveness, not a charitable cover-up. At the same time, notice how God still used their decision. Even a wrong motive cannot stop Him from bringing good. That is not an excuse to sin, it is an invitation to trust that He can work with broken pieces. You do not have to fix your past before coming to Him.
Main takeaway: God can take the worst of human sin and weave it into a story of mercy, even using blood money to provide a resting place for the homeless.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
The priests took the bad money and bought a field. They let people who had no home be buried there. God can take something bad and make something good.
For ages 9, 12
The priests wanted to get rid of the blood money Judas threw back at them. They bought a cheap field that potters had dug up, and turned it into a cemetery for strangers. They thought they were cleaning up their mess, but God was really showing that He cares for people on the outside. Even their guilty money became part of His plan.
Questions People Ask
Why did the chief priests buy a potter's field instead of something else?
A potter's field was land where clay had been dug out for making pots, leaving it useless for farming. It was cheap, and they could buy it with a small amount of money. It also happened to be a place connected to Old Testament prophecies about the price of a life.
What does 'strangers' mean in this verse?
The Greek word is xenos, which means foreigners or outsiders. The commentators agree these were likely Jewish pilgrims from other regions who died while visiting Jerusalem, or possibly Gentiles. The priests would not have buried Gentiles in Jewish tombs.
How does this verse fulfill prophecy?
Matthew quotes Jeremiah and Zechariah in verses 9-10, saying the thirty pieces of silver were used to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded. The prophecy pointed to the price of a life and what it would buy.
Is the Field of Blood the same as the potter's field?
Yes. In verse 8, Matthew says the field was called 'The Field of Blood' because it was bought with blood money. The Aramaic name is Akeldama, and tradition places it in the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem.
Doesn't Acts 1:18 say Judas bought the field?
Acts says Judas 'purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity.' This means his betrayal provided the money. The actual purchase was made by the chief priests after his death, as Matthew records. Acts uses a common way of speaking: a person is said to do what they cause to be done.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study