Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Matthew 26:14-15 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
MEMENTOS OF HIS PASSION: THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER
It was the price of a slave, roughly half a year's wages. If we were to ask Judas, "What would it take for you to give up Jesus?" he would have to answer, "thirty pieces of silver".
If only Judas had been the last to give up Jesus for the things of this world. Sadly, there have been many betrayals like his since then. How many Christians have been drawn away from their Savior by the things of this world? How many have had the privilege to know the Savior, but instead, for a price, have sold Him out?
What about you and me? Have we started the selling-out process by compromising on "little things"? Have we started the selling-out process by not considering time in God's Word the most valuable part of our day?
Judas' thirty pieces of silver serve as a painful reminder of our failures as Christians, our sins. These coins are also a warning of what happens when sin is downplayed, and love for created things exceeds love for one's Creator.
Thankfully, the thirty pieces of silver leads us to another question, "What would Jesus give to save sinners?" The answer is, "Everything". God the Son gave up His heavenly throne and came down to earth. God the Son became a mortal man, and experienced a life of poverty and pain. Through it all He remained sinless. But Jesus was not content to pay part of the price. He would not rest until He had paid the full price for our redemption. He not only gave is lifetime, but His very life.
The thirty pieces of silver remind us of sin and betrayal. But, these thirty pieces of silver also remind us of the infinitely higher price that Jesus paid when He bought us the ticket to heaven.
