Thirty Pieces of Silver

Gospel: Matthew 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, 
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”

He said,

“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; 
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“

The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said, 

“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply,

“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

He answered,

“You have said so.”

***

     Money revolves around the world but the big question is - are we going to allow ourselves to revolve in mere money making? Are we allowing money to possess our soul? (Don’t get me wrong... money is good in many sense and is very much necessary but it’s our thought towards money that makes a big difference...)

          In today’s gospel, Judas Iscariot’s act is emphasized. This act of betrayal led to the death of Jesus with an exchange of 30 pieces of silver - and what is its equivalent? To my surprise, according to scholars, 30 pieces of silver would roughly be comparable to four months' wages for skilled labor at the time – a price of a slave. Do your math in our current economy and monetary unit... a shocking truth.

          Yes, in every sin we execute, the price is 30 pieces of silver coins... IMAGINE! Is it not shameful enough that God in all His abundance and riches has given us free grace and gifts and we, in exchange would willingly do our every best just so we could receive this 30 pieces of silver coins from a devil in disguise... WOW! In many sense, it is clear that we are such a foolish being and narrow-minded specimens but nevertheless God with His loving mercy keeps on forgiving us and so we must truly and seriously repent, not with a suicidal act as Judas with his burdened conscience has done, but with a contrite heart and a determined mind that we acknowledge our every sin and decide with a persevering soul that we be mindful and directed to God’s feelings. Because all he desire is for us to fulfill His greatness in us. 

          This Holy week let us renew our search for Him. Let us seek him continuously and strive to be holy, Let us dig deeper into His meaningful word. Let us abandon our Judas Iscariot-attitude and be a reflection of Jesus’ character. Let us be remorseful as well as resurrected as we follow his ways. Because in the end, God’s prophesies and promises will certainly prevail. Yes, salvation is ours – let us all claim it.

Reflection by: AKRP