Archive: 2023

Why not 18?  Why not 32?  Why 30?

In seeking the answer to this question myself, I found this article.  Finding it well written, I offer it for your reflection today:

 

They counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. — Matthew 26:14-16

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? Perhaps even a friend? Using words like trust, betrayal, and friend in a sentence doesn’t paint a comforting picture. Yet, our Savior was betrayed and sold for 30 pieces of silver. Today when we hear the phrase, it immediately brings to mind a traitor or someone who would sell out a friend. There is also a level of curiosity that surrounds the coins. What exactly did Judas receive to betray Jesus? Was it worth it to him?

The Deeper Meaning Behind 30 Pieces of Silver

In the weeks leading up to Easter, we find an interesting story nestled in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 26:6-13, we find Jesus in Bethany at the house of Simon the Leper. As he reclines, a woman enters the house with a repentant heart, praise, respect, and adoration of Jesus. She proceeds to break customs and approaches Jesus with an expensive jar of Alabaster perfume. She pours it over his head and washes his feet with her tears.

All the men attending the event are in shock. How dare Jesus let a lowly woman touch him. And how dare she waste an entire jar of rich perfume. The disciples are said to be indignant that this extravagant gift was being wasted when it could have been sold and used to help the poor. Yet, as Jesus heard their words, he turned and commended the heart of this woman when he explained she had poured out the perfume for his burial as she spared no expense to honor him.

In the very next verse, Matthew reveals Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus was secretly negotiating and plotting with the Chief Priests for Jesus. Judas was willing to be paid just 30 pieces of silver for the betrayal of his Rabbi and one true King.

One woman, a sinner who was so aware of her iniquities, spared no expense in honoring Christ. Yet, a disciple and a few men who thought they were righteous—not in any need of saving—plotted his death for the price of a slave’s burial according to Mosaic Law.

In the Hebrew culture, thirty pieces of silver was not a lot of money. In fact, it was the exact price paid to the master of a slave if and when his slave was gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). In order to compensate for a slave’s death and burial, it was written into law that 30 pieces of silver would account for the cost.

Where Else Are 30 Pieces of Silver Mentioned in the Bible?

There are two other places in the Bible where thirty pieces of silver are mentioned. The first passage is found in Zechariah which contains a prophecy that is later fulfilled and linked to the book of Matthew.

In the book of Zachariah, God had the prophet play the part of a shepherd and care for a flock that was “doomed to be slaughtered,” (Zechariah 11:4-14). God wanted to his life as a way to illustrate what judgment would look like against Israel when they crucified their Savior. It also predicted the fall of Israel in AD 70 and how the nation was scattered.

There are several elements we need to pay close attention to in this passage that point to the prophecy about Jesus.

1. Zechariah says he “got rid of the three shepherds” of the doomed flock (verse 8).

The “three shepherds” is a likely reference to the three religious offices during Jesus’ day that worked to condemn Jesus. These are the scribes, the chief priests and the elders (Matthew 16:21).

2. Zechariah breaks his two shepherding staffs.

The first one is named Favor. It is broken to symbolize the breaking of the Mosaic Covenant for those who disobeyed God and how God then set aside His favor of His people to allow judgment to come upon them (Zachariah 11:10). The second staff named Union is then broken. It represented the breaking of the nations by Roman rule.

3. Zachariah is paid 30 pieces of silver after working as a shepherd.

Those whom Zachariah worked for paid him what they thought he was worth – enough for a slave’s accidental death. When they gave him the 30 pieces of silver, his response was full of sarcasm and called it “a handsome price” because it was so little (Zachariah 11:13). However, the employers had meant to insult Zechariah purposely, and in return, God tells him to “throw it to the potter,” which Zechariah tossed the money into the house of the Lord in order for it to be given to “the Potter.”

Why Is This Meaning Significant?

The events that unfolded in Zechariah are a prophecy of what was to come with Jesus’ death. Jesus was willing to die a save’s death to sin for the sake of you and me. And Judas fell into the hands of the enemy so that Christ would pay our debt.

When Judas Iscariot bargained with the leaders of Israel for the betrayal of Jesus, he asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?” The leaders then counted out a mere “thirty pieces of silver,” (Matthew 26:15). They considered the cost of Jesus’ death to be that of a slave. Later, when Judas was overcome with guilt for betraying Jesus, he fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy and threw all he was paid into the temple (Matthew 27:3-5). Then the leaders used the money to buy a field from a potter as Zechariah had predicted (Matthew 27:6-10). After that, Judas went to that field and hung himself.

In considering the real price that was placed on Jesus it is important to look at the words from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:5-11.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Notice how in verse seven, Paul describes Jesus as taking on the form of a servant, some versions use the term bondservant. Paul uses the Greek word, “doulos” which literally means slave. The significance of the 30 pieces of silver ties the Old Testament to the New Testament and reveals how Jesus was willing to humble himself and offer himself up upon the cross, to purchase what we could never afford. He was the only worth price for our forgiveness in the eyes of God. Judas sold Jesus for the price of a slave as Christ laid down his life as the ultimate give for you and me.

No wonder the woman with the alabaster jar poured out that expensive perfume. She knew what everyone did not and did what she could to honor him as worthy of and as our Savoir, Lord, and King.

(This article originally written by Heather Riggleman and posted at: https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/easter/the-meaning-behind-the-30-pieces-of-silver-that-judas-received.html) 

Prayer: Lord, while the price put on your head was 30 pieces of silver, we marvel at the priceless value you have given to us as a result of a 30 silver piece payment.  Thank you for becoming a servant for the benefit of all of us.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: A Regime Change (CLICK HERE) 

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: A Regime Change (CLICK HERE)

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Coins

Three times in the Holy Week events coins show up.

One set of coins gets scattered.

One coin gets shown.

One set of coins gets the suspect.

Coins indicate value.  If we have more coins, perhaps we have more security.  Coins communicate our worth as an employee as compensation is usually determined on how much coin you can provide to the company in return for your work.

Coins can capture our hearts and the little silver or gold pieces can be items we clutch on to with an iron fist.  Coins can breed corruption when the value of those coins takes primary place in one’s heart.  Coins are spiritually neutral.  They are pieces of metal that have been assigned some sort of value.  The spiritual implication of the coin is how the heart engages with it.  So it’s interesting there are three encounters Jesus has with coins:

First, the money changers in the temple.

With so many people coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, there were individuals with animals for the sacrifice that travelers could purchase instead of bringing their own.  While one may say selling animals for Passover sacrifice was a “legit business,” the location of taking over the temple courts with a market place turned the purpose of the temple from a place to worship the Lord to a place to worship coins.

So Jesus turned over the tables and drove out the dishonest money changers.

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:12-13)

The second encounter with a coin was a trap.  Jesus was asked if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar.  Instead of either being loyal to the Romans or being loyal to the anti-Romans, he simply asked for a coin.

Matthew 22:18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Jesus wasn’t going to get trapped into a question of loyalty.  Obviously his primary loyalty was to God.  He wasn’t going to stop the tax coin from going to Caesar, rather he supported the payment of taxes as to that which is owed to Caesar.  Yet, he also acknowledged that God is also the recipient of our coins.

How we use coins can indicate the loyalty of our heart.   Some have said, “Let me see your expense sheet, and I will show you where your heart is.”  There is truth in that.

Yet Holy Week was not about simply removing coins improperly used and using coins in a proper way, it was a detail that leads us to understand that what Jesus came to do was beyond the scope of a financial transaction.  What he came to do was something the government could never do.  What he came to do was priceless and no amount of coinage would cover the cost.

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

Tomorrow…the third encounter with coins.

 

Apply: What do coins mean to you?  How do they challenge your faith or support your faith?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for doing for us what coins never could.  AMEN.

Last week was a busy week.  

At Crosspoint, we were making the final preparations to host our 2nd Annual Easter Eggstravaganza.  Preparations had started weeks ago, but there are just things that can’t be done until the week of the event.  The Saturday before we had a work day to get our “Backyard” space ready to use.  Tuesday, my dad and I, spent most of the day assembling picnic tables for the Backyard.  My wife, Christy, was amazing at coordinating the whole thing.  Shopping at Sam’s for 500 hot dogs and chips.  Mowing and striping the grass field for parking.  Friday was setting up and staging everything to go out Saturday morning.  9:45am, the steady stream of cars came and came…hours of preparation culminated between 10am and 1pm of Saturday with over 900 guests enjoying the day with us.  And then it was over…and we’re all tired…but amazed at the response God gave us.  We certainly pray the impact of the Gospel continues in the lives of those who came.

Our week pales in comparison to Holy Week.  But the events of Holy Week did not just begin with Palm Sunday.  Planning and preparation had not even started months before, but centuries and millennium before.  What God had been planning in eternity for the salvation of souls, would reach its final culmination in a week’s time…from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Like with any event, details are important.  Many may not recognize them, but to the planner they are important to carry out.  This week, I’d like to reflect on some of the details.

Detail #1: Colt

Would anyone have noticed if Jesus walked into Jerusalem or rode a horse into Jerusalem?  Perhaps some would have still paved the way with branches and garments.  Yet a significant detail is the donkey.  One that probably wasn’t ever ridden.  It was the foal of a donkey – so a young donkey.  

Yet Jesus knew exactly where to find the donkey.  Imagine the disciples sent on this mission to get the donkey and simply say to the owner, “The Lord needs them.”  Is this justified stealing?  No.  It is a detail orchestrated in eternity.  Recorded by the prophet Zechariah 500 years before Jesus and played out in real time with an owner of the donkey near Bethphage.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,

    ‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The mount of Jesus was not just the most convenient.  It was a detail that the Spirit of God orchestrated to convey the humility of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem, not to conquer it, but to serve it.  

The donkey wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a detail that had to be in place for Jesus to bring to completion the salvation of our your soul and mine.

Apply:  What other details of Palm Sunday catch your attention?  Why are they significant?  Read the account in Matthew 21, John 12

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for paying attention to the details to fulfill all prophesy and do all that was necessary for my salvation. AMEN.

“What do we do about it?”

After tragedies such as we experienced play out in Nashville this week, people and pundits naturally gravitate to the question, “What are we going to do about it?”  First topic is usually gun control and some sort of suggestion about banning certain types of weapons.  Second topic is usually mental health and “flagging” people who seek psychiatric help with the inability to purchase firearms.

Perhaps some of this may have impact.  But probably not much.

In this incident, since it was a transgender person at a Christian school, there are those that advocate that since Christians “hate” transgender people that it was understandable the emotional injury this person had would play out against those that instilled it was wrong.  People mock the practice of prayer and indicate that praying is obviously worthless because God didn’t protect the six individuals.

Again, these comments miss the mark and lean toward the wrong solution…banning counseling against gender transition…making Christianity the problem etc.

I wondering if situations like this were on Jesus’ mind when he finished his prayer in the upper room:

John 17:25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” 

The problem?

The world doesn’t know the Father.

With no acknowledgement of the Lord and adherence to his standards or appreciation for his love and grace, the world is becoming a very skewed place.  The thought seems to permeate reactions to tragedies is this, “If we just have the right laws we can get rid of death and evil.

The problem is the sinful heart will always be bent on evil, no matter what laws are in place.  

The problem is a heart problem.

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

The problem is a heart which denies God and loves evil.

The solution?

Notice Jesus doesn’t pray for government policies, stricter laws, or tighter security.  Jesus prays that people come to know the Father, the work of Jesus Christ, and the love of God.  He prays that the love the Father has for him would be in the lives of every individual. 

Jesus knows that the only solution and strength to overcome evil is the presence of God’s Spirit and the love of God permeating the hearts of people.

Perhaps laws will have a short term impact and more security at schools will deter evil, but the solution for a heart of evil is a heart covered by the blood of Jesus.

Apply: Notice coverage of various news stories.  Do you agree or disagree with the solutions proposed?  Would the story line have changed if the people involved knew the Father and were filled with the love of Jesus?

Prayer: Father, make yourself known to us and through us to the world around that hearts bent on evil might be changed to hearts seeking to love you and love others.  AMEN.

Three children.  Three staff.  Dead.

“I can’t believe that someone would do that. It’s like a movie.”

What played out on our TV screens and on our media posts is not a movie, but another senseless killing of innocent school teachers and children.  Three families are grieving the loss of their children.  Three families grieving the loss of their parents.

It doesn’t make sense.  It does make sense.

In reflecting on the prayer Jesus prayed the night before he was senselessly and innocently murdered on a cross, he prays this:

John 17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 

The heart of Jesus as he prayed for his disciples and all believers was one thing.  I want them to be with me where I am.  

I don’t think he was praying that they would be with him as he was scourged.  I don’t think he was praying that they would join him on the cross.  I don’t think he was praying that they would be falsely accused and innocently killed.

He was praying that he would lose none of those the Father had given him and that all who had believed in him would be with him in the glory of heaven.

He wants all to be able to say in their final breath, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

There is not a morning that goes by as I drop my daughter off to school, that evil incarnate could come into that school and commit sick, heinous crimes against the students and teachers of her high school.  In spite of a police on staff, security measures in place, and regular intruder drills among the students, evil can enter and life can be taken.

So my prayer echos that of Jesus.  I just want my daughters and my wife and I to be in heaven with Jesus.  If my morning, “I love you” is the last I see of my daughter on earth, I pray it is the first of her hearing Jesus say, “Welcome home! I love you! I’m glad you’re safe with me.”  I pray that if our time on earth is cut short, our reunion in heaven is long lived.

Jesus wants you to be with him.  Period.

This weekend begins Holy Week.  The purpose of Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem, teaching in the temple, gathering with his disciples, going on trial before the Sanhedrin and Pilate, being nailed to the cross and coming out of the tomb alive has one focus.

He loves you.  He wants you to be where he is and to see his glory.

While outright evil took the life-breath from six individuals, I pray that Jesus’ prayer has been answered and another six individuals are where he is and experiencing his glory because Jesus lived, died and rose again for them.

And we grieve for the one, who appears from outward actions, will miss out on the glory of heaven forever.  

Apply: A school shooting can be a sobering reminder of evil and the fragility of life.  Use this event to renew your trust in Jesus, lead those you love to do the same, and pray as Jesus did that all, but especially those you love and care about, will be with him and see his glory forever.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and your heart and your action that not only desires us to be with your forever, but has done everything necessary for us to be with you forever.  Keep us close to you and to all those you love.  AMEN.