Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Dr. Kari Vo "Thirty Pieces of Silver" for Monday, March 12, 2018
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. (Matthew 26:14-15)
Read Matthew 27:3-10
Matthew 27:3 When Y’hudah, who had betrayed him, saw that Yeshua had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the head cohanim and elders, 4 saying, “I sinned in betraying an innocent man to death.” “What is that to us?” they answered. “That’s your problem.” 5 Hurling the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, he left; then he went off and hanged himself.
Read Matthew 27:3-10
Matthew 27:3 When Y’hudah, who had betrayed him, saw that Yeshua had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the head cohanim and elders, 4 saying, “I sinned in betraying an innocent man to death.” “What is that to us?” they answered. “That’s your problem.” 5 Hurling the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, he left; then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The head cohanim took the silver coins and said, “It is prohibited to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use it to buy the potter’s field as a cemetery for foreigners. 8 This is how it came to be called the Field of Blood, a name it still bears. 9 Then what Yirmeyahu the prophet spoke was fulfilled, “And they took the thirty silver coins, which was the price the people of Isra’el had agreed to pay for him, 10 and used them to buy the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.”[Matthew 27:10 Zechariah 11:12–13, where Hebrew yotzer means “treasury”; here it means “potter” (see v. 7).]
(Complete Jewish Bible)
***
The price of a slave. The price of a cemetery. The price of God.
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he brought his traitor's money back to the leaders who had given it to him. "I have betrayed innocent blood!" he cried out. And he tried to give the money back, as if somehow, some way, that would stop Jesus from dying.
But there was no hope of that. "What is that to us?" they said. "You deal with it. It's your problem, not ours." There was no room for repentance there -- no leader who was man enough to admit their own involvement in the sin, no priest true enough to speak mercy to Judas' terrified soul. And so he went out and hanged himself.
But the silver remained, there on the floor where Judas had thrown it. Something had to be done with it. And so they set their minds to a solution, as if that were the most important decision they would make all day.
After due deliberation, they decided to buy a piece of land to use for a pauper's cemetery -- a place to bury strangers who had no one to care for them in death. And so the money that led to two men's deaths ended up doing some good after all.
The price of a dead slave's life, paid as recompense (see Exodus 21:32). The price of a cemetery where the last, least, and lowest might find decent burial. The price of the God who took on the form of a slave: "But (He) emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:7-11)
THE PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, that You paid the price for me with Your own life. Set my heart upon You that I may love You in return with my whole life. Amen.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Numbers 5-6; Mark 13:1-20
Numbers 5:1 (iii) Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Order the people of Isra’el to expel from the camp everyone with tzara‘at, everyone with a discharge and whoever is unclean because of touching a corpse. 3 Both male and female you must expel; put them outside the camp; so that they won’t defile their camp, where I live among you.” 4 The people of Isra’el did this and put them outside the camp — the people of Isra’el did what Adonai had said to Moshe.
***
The price of a slave. The price of a cemetery. The price of God.
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he brought his traitor's money back to the leaders who had given it to him. "I have betrayed innocent blood!" he cried out. And he tried to give the money back, as if somehow, some way, that would stop Jesus from dying.
But there was no hope of that. "What is that to us?" they said. "You deal with it. It's your problem, not ours." There was no room for repentance there -- no leader who was man enough to admit their own involvement in the sin, no priest true enough to speak mercy to Judas' terrified soul. And so he went out and hanged himself.
But the silver remained, there on the floor where Judas had thrown it. Something had to be done with it. And so they set their minds to a solution, as if that were the most important decision they would make all day.
After due deliberation, they decided to buy a piece of land to use for a pauper's cemetery -- a place to bury strangers who had no one to care for them in death. And so the money that led to two men's deaths ended up doing some good after all.
The price of a dead slave's life, paid as recompense (see Exodus 21:32). The price of a cemetery where the last, least, and lowest might find decent burial. The price of the God who took on the form of a slave: "But (He) emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:7-11)
THE PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, that You paid the price for me with Your own life. Set my heart upon You that I may love You in return with my whole life. Amen.
Reflection Questions
- The new cemetery was called "The Field of Blood." What are some of the reasons this is an appropriate name for it? What else might you have named it, if asked?
- Imagine for a moment--what might have happened if one of the priests had had enough mercy to try to reach out to Judas in his despair? What might have been some possible outcomes?
- Jesus made Himself the price of your life. What does this say to you about your value in the eyes of God?
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Numbers 5-6; Mark 13:1-20
Numbers 5:1 (iii) Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Order the people of Isra’el to expel from the camp everyone with tzara‘at, everyone with a discharge and whoever is unclean because of touching a corpse. 3 Both male and female you must expel; put them outside the camp; so that they won’t defile their camp, where I live among you.” 4 The people of Isra’el did this and put them outside the camp — the people of Isra’el did what Adonai had said to Moshe.
5 Adonai said to Moshe, 6 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When a man or woman commits any kind of sin against another person and thus breaks faith with Adonai, he incurs guilt. 7 He must confess the sin which he has committed; and he must make full restitution for his guilt, add twenty percent and give it to the victim of his sin. 8 But if the person has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the guilt, then what is given in restitution for guilt will belong to Adonai, that is, to the cohen — in addition to the ram of atonement through which atonement is made for him.
9 “‘Every contribution which the people of Isra’el consecrate and present to the cohen will belong to him. 10 Anything an individual consecrates will be his own [to allocate among the cohanim], but what a person gives to the cohen will belong to him.’”
(A: iv) 11 Adonai said to Moshe, 12 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him; 13 that is, if another man goes to bed with her without her husband’s knowledge, so that she becomes impure secretly, and there is no witness against her, and she was not caught in the act; 14 then, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she has become impure — or, for that matter, if the spirit of jealousy comes over him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she has not become impure — 15 he is to bring his wife to the cohen, along with the offering for her, two quarts of barley flour on which he has not poured olive oil or put frankincense, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a grain offering for remembering, for recalling guilt to mind. 16 The cohen will bring her forward and place her before Adonai. 17 The cohen will put holy water in a clay pot, and then the cohen will take some of the dust on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. 18 The cohen will place the woman before Adonai, unbind the woman’s hair and put the grain offering for remembering in her hands, the grain offering for jealousy; while the cohen has in his hand the water of embitterment and cursing. 19 The cohen will make her swear by saying to her, “If no man has gone to bed with you, if you have not gone astray to make yourself unclean while under your husband’s authority, then be free from this water of embitterment and cursing. 20 But if you have in fact gone astray while under your husband’s authority and become unclean, because some man other than your husband has gone to bed with you . . .” 21 then the cohen is to make the woman swear with an oath that includes a curse; the cohen will say to the woman, “. . .may Adonai make you an object of cursing and condemnation among your people by making your private parts shrivel and your abdomen swell up! 22 May this water that causes the curse go into your inner parts and make your abdomen swell and your private parts shrivel up!” — and the woman is to respond, “Amen! Amen!” 23 The cohen is to write these curses on a scroll, wash them off into the water of embitterment 24 and make the woman drink the water of embitterment and cursing — the water of cursing will enter her and become bitter. 25 Then the cohen is to remove the grain offering for jealousy from the woman’s hand, wave the grain offering before Adonai and bring it to the altar. 26 The cohen is to take a handful of the grain offering as its reminder portion and make it go up in smoke on the altar; afterwards, he is to make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then, if she is unclean and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that causes the curse will enter her and become bitter, so that her abdomen swells and her private parts shrivel up; and the woman will become an object of cursing among her people. 28 But if the woman is not unclean but clean, then she will be innocent and will have children. 29 This is the law for jealousy: when either a wife under her husband’s authority goes astray and becomes unclean, 30 or the spirit of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife, then he is to place the woman before Adonai, and the cohen is to deal with her in accordance with all of this law. 31 The husband will be clear of guilt, but the wife will bear the consequences of her guilt.’”
6:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When either a man or a woman makes a special kind of vow, the vow of a nazir, consecrating himself to Adonai; 3 he is to abstain from wine and other intoxicating liquor, he is not to drink vinegar from either source, he is not to drink grape juice, and he is not to eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as he remains a nazir he is to eat nothing derived from the grapevine, not even the grape-skins or the seeds.
5 “‘Throughout the period of his vow as a nazir, he is not to shave his head. Until the end of the time for which he has consecrated himself to Adonai he is to be holy: he is to let the hair on his head grow long.
6 “‘Throughout the period for which he has consecrated himself to Adonai, he is not to approach a corpse. 7 He is not to make himself unclean for his father, mother, brother or sister when they die, since his consecration to God is on his head. 8 Throughout the time of his being a nazir he is holy for Adonai.
9 “‘If someone next to him dies very suddenly, so that he defiles his consecrated head, then he is to shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day. 10 On the eighth day he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the cohen at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The cohen is to prepare one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and thus make atonement for him, inasmuch as he sinned because of the dead person. That same day he is to re-consecrate his head; 12 he is to consecrate to Adonai the full period of his being a nazir by bringing a male lamb in its first year as a guilt offering. The previous days will not be counted, because his consecration became defiled.
13 “‘This is the law for the nazir when his period of consecration is over: he is to be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 14 where he will present his offering to Adonai — one male lamb in its first year without defect as a burnt offering, one female lamb in its first year without defect as a sin offering, one ram without defect as peace offerings, 15 a basket of matzah, loaves made of fine flour mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers spread with olive oil, their grain offering and their drink offerings. 16 The cohen is to bring them before Adonai, offer his sin offering, his burnt offering, 17 and his ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai, with the basket of matzah. The cohen will also offer the grain offering and drink offering that go with the peace offering. 18 The nazir will shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair removed from his consecrated head and put it on the fire under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19 When the ram has been boiled, the cohen is to take its shoulder, one loaf of matzah from the basket and one unleavened wafer, and place them in the hands of the nazir, after he has shaved his consecrated head. 20 The cohen is to wave them as a wave offering before Adonai; this is set aside for the cohen, along with the breast for waving and the raised-up thigh. Following that, the nazir may drink wine.
21 “‘This is the law for the nazir who makes a vow and for his offering to Adonai for his being a nazir — in addition to anything more for which he has sufficient means. In keeping with whatever vow he makes, he must do it according to the law for the nazir.’”
22 Adonai said to Moshe, 23 “Speak to Aharon and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Isra’el: you are to say to them,
24 ‘Y’varekh’kha Adonai v’yishmerekha.
[May Adonai bless you and keep you.]
25 Ya’er Adonai panav eleikha vichunekka.
[May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor.]
26 Yissa Adonai panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.
[May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.]’
27 “In this way they are to put my name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.”
Mark 13:1 As Yeshua came out of the Temple, one of the talmidim said to him, “Look, Rabbi! What huge stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “You see all these great buildings?” Yeshua said to him, “They will be totally destroyed — not a single stone will be left standing!”
3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Kefa, Ya‘akov, Yochanan and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what sign will show when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Yeshua began speaking to them: “Watch out! Don’t let anyone fool you! 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will fool many people. 7 When you hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off, don’t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. 8 For peoples will fight each other, and nations will fight each other, there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines; this is but the beginning of the ‘birth pains.’
9 “But you, watch yourselves! They will hand you over to the local Sanhedrins, you will be beaten up in synagogues, and on my account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 Indeed, the Good News has to be proclaimed first to all the Goyim. 11 Now when they arrest you and bring you to trial, don’t worry beforehand about what to say. Rather, say whatever is given you when the time comes; for it will not be just you speaking, but the Ruach HaKodesh. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death; 13 and everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered.
14 “Now when you see the abomination that causes devastation[Mark 13:14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11] standing where it ought not to be” (let the reader understand the allusion), “that will be the time for those in Y’hudah to escape to the hills. 15 If someone is on the roof, he must not go down and enter his house to take any of his belongings; 16 if someone is in the field, he must not turn back to get his coat. 17 What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For there will be worse trouble at that time than there has ever been from the very beginning, when God created the universe, until now; and there will be nothing like it again.[Mark 13:19 Joel 2:2; Daniel 12:1] 20 Indeed, if God had not limited the duration of the trouble, no one would survive; but for the sake of the elect, those whom he has chosen, he has limited it. (Complete Jewish Bible)
***
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Share this email:
No comments:
Post a Comment