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30 Pieces of Silver (Wednesday Holy Week)
Wednesday Holy Week
We do not know exactly why Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. St. John’s gospel (chapter 12) implies greed was his motive. Then, we should see at what price Judas sold our Lord. In today’s gospel, St. Matthew tells us it was 30 pieces of silver. What was the worth of 30 pieces of silver? Some estimate it is only $300 in today’s dollar, based on the value of silver. But the Bible tells us it was an average price of a slave in the ancient times of Israel. We do not know the monetary value of a slave in our times, since nowhere in the world slavery is legal. But when we consider the average prices of slaves in the mid-19 century in America, it would be about $25,000 to $30,000 in today’s dollar value. So, Judas traded Jesus at the value of a compact car in our times. Do you think it is a lot of money?
Judas Iscariot saw all the wonders of Jesus during his public ministry. And Judas himself was sent out to heal people and cast out demons with the power Jesus gave to him. All Israel was watching Jesus. Jesus could be potentially a king of the Jews. Then, how could Judas estimate the value of Jesus for an average slave? Was he really greedy?
When people live for their own greed, people become blinded to spiritual values. In fact, they lose sight of all values. They become unreasonable. They choose worthless things. People choose the economy over life. People choose personal freedom over the lives of babies. Judas chose $30,000 over life-saving God.
My brothers and sisters, do you have worries these days? What are they about? Are they about the salvation of your soul? On the Way of the Cross, Jesus told the women of Jerusalem, “Do not weep for me; rather, weep for yourselves and for your children.” He wanted us to put salvation first and foremost. Everything else does not really matter, then.
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By Fr Swann KimWednesday Holy Week
We do not know exactly why Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. St. John’s gospel (chapter 12) implies greed was his motive. Then, we should see at what price Judas sold our Lord. In today’s gospel, St. Matthew tells us it was 30 pieces of silver. What was the worth of 30 pieces of silver? Some estimate it is only $300 in today’s dollar, based on the value of silver. But the Bible tells us it was an average price of a slave in the ancient times of Israel. We do not know the monetary value of a slave in our times, since nowhere in the world slavery is legal. But when we consider the average prices of slaves in the mid-19 century in America, it would be about $25,000 to $30,000 in today’s dollar value. So, Judas traded Jesus at the value of a compact car in our times. Do you think it is a lot of money?
Judas Iscariot saw all the wonders of Jesus during his public ministry. And Judas himself was sent out to heal people and cast out demons with the power Jesus gave to him. All Israel was watching Jesus. Jesus could be potentially a king of the Jews. Then, how could Judas estimate the value of Jesus for an average slave? Was he really greedy?
When people live for their own greed, people become blinded to spiritual values. In fact, they lose sight of all values. They become unreasonable. They choose worthless things. People choose the economy over life. People choose personal freedom over the lives of babies. Judas chose $30,000 over life-saving God.
My brothers and sisters, do you have worries these days? What are they about? Are they about the salvation of your soul? On the Way of the Cross, Jesus told the women of Jerusalem, “Do not weep for me; rather, weep for yourselves and for your children.” He wanted us to put salvation first and foremost. Everything else does not really matter, then.