Thirty Pieces of Silver

Thirty Pieces of Silver
by Pete Berardi

Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with the story of the crucifixion. The story is told in all four of the gospels. Jesus and his apostles are in the garden of Gethsemane praying. Judas Iscariot, the traitor, sold out the secret place to the Pharisees for thirty pieces of silver.

Mathew 26:15 And said [unto them], What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

The brief conversation that Jesus had with his abductors while they were arresting him clarifies several things. They could have come and taken him away at anytime. All of the events occurred in God’s perfect time according to prophecy. Jesus knew that one of them would betray him:

Mathew 26:21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

While studying the Bible, I have found that God does not put things in the Bible for no reason. Everything has a reason. And in turn, everybody is a Judas Iscariot in one way or another. He chose thirty pieces of silver over Jesus. Judas is very similar to Pharaoh in the Old Testament. God chose to harden his heart to essentially make a point. One can look at the story of Judas the same way. What is God’s point?

What is your thirty pieces of silver? Is there a sin in your life that is more important to you than Jesus? There are many vices in this life. For some reason, a certain vice may have power over one person but not another. Regardless of what it is, it can get in the way of your relationship with God. Judas chose because his faith was not true. Is your faith true?

I think that no one in this life is free from sin. There was only one man that could live his entire life without sinning and that is Jesus. God will forgive any sin that you commit.

I John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let us examine our lives and see if there is anything that places itself as a higher priority than obedience to God. This is your thirty pieces of silver. While God will forgive you, you must ask and repent. Let’s not turn into a Judas and let that sin lead to our demise.

Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.

While it may be difficult, because of our prideful nature, to ask for forgiveness, it is the only way to forgiveness. We cannot cover our sins, they will end up killing us like it did Judas. By confessing and repenting, we come clean with Jesus. He forgives us and accepts us. He is an all merciful God and his love is everlasting.