The Cost of Betrayal

 

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).

 

Our reading today gives us the amount Judas Iscariot was paid to betray Jesus. There has been some disagreement about the actual value of the “thirty pieces of silver”, although most scholars have observed that one silver coin was a working man's wage. Therefore, in modern terms, a worker getting $15 an hour in an eight-hour day would earn $120; and, then we could say that thirty days' wages would be $3,600. I seems a paltry sum of money for such a devastating act of evil.

 

Perhaps you have been betrayed by someone you trusted, perhaps even considered a friend. Using words like trust, betray, and friend in the same sentence brings out painful emotions. Jesus experienced that kind of pain. We see the Apostle John tell us in the Gospel: “Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’” (John 13:21). Jesus knew Judas’s heart of deception. He knew Judas would betray him as soon as he had the opportunity.

 

Perhaps Judas was motivated by money, though given the small amount that seems unlikely. We do know from another passage that he was “keeper of the money bag” for Jesus and the disciples, and that “he used to help himself to what was put into it” (cf. John 12:6). When Judas asked the religious leaders, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” was it silver he had in mind or something bigger? They counted out thirty pieces of silver, and Judas began watching for an opportunity.

 

As a disciple, Judas had heard Jesus teach about trust and friendship. They’d traveled together for three years as Master and disciple. Judas had watched Jesus heal people and calm a stormy sea. We can only wonder what happened to him to cause such a cruel betrayal. Whatever motivated him, Judas betrayed his Master. But Jesus was faithful, motivated by love for us and his Father. That ought to be motivation enough for us to be faithful, loyal followers. Meditate on your relationship to Jesus in the coming weeks before Easter.