It All Points to Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

Thursday, April 17

Silver

By Jack Hoey III

Pastor of Creative and Research

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”
And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 26:14-16 (ESV)

When I was in elementary school, a friend made a bead bracelet for me. I remember telling my mom I would keep it forever, even if someone offered me a million dollars for it. She said something like, “If anyone does offer you a million dollars, you should consider it.” I have no idea what happened to the bead bracelet. I probably took it off later and never thought about it again. What was the bracelet actually worth? Well, both nothing and a great deal. It was worth nothing in terms of actual money but to me, a gift from a friend felt priceless.

The worth of something is largely determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. If someone really had offered me a million bucks for that bracelet, I probably would have said yes. If they’d offered me thirty bucks, I probably would have said no.

While we know Judas was offered (and accepted) thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus, we don’t know exactly what that amounted to in our currency because there were different kinds of silver coins, worth different amounts. But Judas probably betrayed Jesus for about a few hundred dollars. I’m not sure if being a bargain betrayer makes things worse, but it feels like it does.

Consider The Cost

Judas wasn’t motivated by money, though, at least not in this case. When a person is willing to sell out their friend on the cheap, it’s because they are angry and want to do damage. Maybe Judas was sick of waiting for Jesus to start acting like the Messiah he expected. Where was the revolution, the armed resistance?

What was Jesus’ life worth to Judas? Nothing, really. I get the impression he would have done it for free if the religious leaders had refused to pay. Interestingly, we do know what Jesus’ life was worth to those leaders, and I don’t just mean the amount of silver. In Exodus 21:28-32, we find laws governing the penalties for a man whose ox gores someone. The restitution required for a slave who is gored is, as you might have guessed, thirty pieces of silver. Jesus’ life was worth as much as a slave to Israel’s leaders.

As anyone who has watched Antiques Roadshow knows, we often buy and sell things without having any idea of their actual worth. Things aren’t always what they seem. We are rightly indignant when we consider the paltry sum paid for Jesus’ life. But what is our reaction when we consider the cost Jesus himself was willing to pay for our lives?

The Joy Set Before Him

When Jesus paid for our lives with his, it was because his death was necessary to achieve our salvation and because he wanted to. But that doesn’t mean he had to do it. He chose to do it because he wanted us to be back in his family.

What’s even more incredible, Jesus seems to have considered that price perfectly reasonable. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus went to the cross “for the joy set before him.”

The religious leaders and Judas wildly undervalued Jesus’ worth. But we undervalue our own worth to Jesus. The price he paid could not even be measured in money, only in blood. And it was his joy to pay it.

Reflect

Consider the cost that Jesus was willing to pay for your life. Why do you think you undervalue your own worth?