TEXT:
‘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’ (Matthew 26:14-15).
Judas betrayed Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver! I wonder what his starting price was before it was whittled down by the chief priests, who would never pay more than they had to?
Consider the parents of the man born blind that Jesus healed (See John chapter 9). They had cared for him for years. What would they have paid for their son to see for the first time?
General Naaman the leper came to Israel with, ‘Gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits of clothing’ (2 Kings 5:5 TLB). That’s how much he valued the prophet who could heal him.
Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with very costly fragrant oil in appreciation of what Jesus had done by raising her brother Lazarus from the dead (See John 12:1-8). The critical disciples valued her gift at a year’s wages.
Think for one minute about an impossible situation you or someone you love is facing. If it was possible, what would you be willing to pay to see a miraculous change?
The truth is neither the blind man’s parents, Naaman or Mary paid anything to get their miracle, the same as multitudes of other sick and needy people. Jesus healed them freely, yet all Judas got for his betrayal was just 30 pieces of silver, exactly what the Bible had predicted hundreds of years earlier (See Zechariah 11:12-13).
1. It is easy to lose everything for something cheap
Judas lost his place among the 12 disciples and ended up committing suicide as he realised he had betrayed an innocent man (See Matthew 27:3-10).
Esau lost his birth right after selling it to Jacob for just a bowl of soup (See Genesis 25:29-34 & Hebrews 12:15-17), and was never able to rectify his reckless action.
King David reaped the whirlwind when he spent a night with Bathsheba.
It’s so easy to be tempted with a little and lose a lot. After all it was only an apple that brought about Adam & Eve’s downfall!
Jesus didn’t sell Himself cheaply. When the devil tempted Him with, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me’ (Matthew 4:9), Jesus sent him packing with the words, ‘It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ (Matthew 4:10) ringing in his ears!
Jesus taught, ‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36).
Multitudes are risking losing everything by seeking much less than that, when they choose to reject Jesus and His offer of salvation.
2. Be willing to give everything in order to gain everything
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it’ (Matthew 13:45-46).
The merchant willingly sold everything in order to get the best. Thank God we don’t have to sell or give anything to obtain God’s salvation. It’s a free gift. But we must be willing to give ourselves to the One who gave up everything for us, and include everything we have when we do so.
You may have £30m in the bank or just 30p, it doesn’t matter. God will take you just as you are, if you are willing to come.
Christmas is over but Easter is on its way, the celebration of why Jesus really came into our world. The final verse of that great Easter hymn “When I survey the wondrous cross” says,
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Make sure you start 2023 with God and Jesus!
Recent Comments