“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” – Matthew 6:19
In January 2013, a collector paid $10,016,875, the highest selling price of any coin in history, for a 1794 “Flowing Hair” Silver/Copper dollar, the first dollar coin issued by the newly-formed U.S. Federal Government.
Consider that for a moment – the world’s rarest coin is valued at over $10 million. Ten million dollars. Interestingly, at current trading prices, you could buy the 24 grams of actual silver in that coin for about $13, or 0.0001% of the coin’s selling price. But who’s counting?
We place worth in the oddest things.
No Ordinary Dinner
I was reminded of this when re-reading the encounter depicted in John 12:1-11 describing Jesus returning to the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus during the week of his eventual betrayal and arrest.
In this passage, as Jesus and Lazarus are having dinner, Mary approaches and opens a expensive jar of fragrant nard, anointing Jesus’ feet and then drying them with her hair. In today’s dollars, the ointment would be worth just under $25,000, about a year’s wages in 33 A.D. That’s a lot of money for a foot rub!
Feigning shock and indignation, Judas (yes that Judas, who was attending the dinner), rebukes Jesus, saying “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Remember, this is the same Judas who five days later would betray Jesus for $1,000 worth of coins, the same price paid to compensate the death of a slave (Exodus 21:32).
We find worth in the oddest things.
Money in God’s Eyes
Scripture has many references to money. Some mention sacrifices made by the humble, (for instance, the woman with 10 coins in Luke 15:8 who rejoices after believing she had lost one, or the widow who gave her last two mites to the Temple in Luke 21. Others refer to the consequences of valuing money too highly, such as how much easier it is for camels to pass through needle eyes than rich men to enter the kingdom (Matthew 19:24), or how our hearts will be found near that which we treasure (Matthew 6:21).
What struck me about the stories of the $10 million-dollar coin and Judas’ self-righteous outburst followed by his own acceptance of blood money was not the vast difference in their monetary worth ($10 million for a single silver coin vs. $1,000 for 30 pieces of silver) but rather the ironic gulf separating their intrinsic worth. On the one hand, more money than 99.999% of human beings will ever see is exchanged for the equivalent of 1 ounce of silver.
On the other hand, about 17 ounces of silver is exchanged for the life of Man’s Creator and Eternal Savior.
We look for worth in the oddest things.
Betrayal By Many Names
For centuries, “scholars” have offered many explanations of Judas’ betrayal for what was, essentially, a few day’s wages, the price of slave. The most common answer is that Judas was simply a greedy coward, hungry for money and weak to temptation.
I’ve always been troubled by this argument for the simple reason that Judas was the acknowledged “purse holder” for the apostles and could have taken money from their mobile bank any time he wished. 30 more pieces of silver would have hardly made a difference in his daily life.
Another theory is that Judas was part of Jesus’ master plan all along, only pretending to “sell him out” to the Jewish authorities in much the same way Luca Brasi pretended to sell out Don Corleone in The Godfather – all part of an intricate strategy to help Jesus manipulate the prophetic scriptures into fulfillment.
This argument seems suspect to me on many levels, most notably in that it would require Jesus to essentially be a deceiver of Luciferian proportions and imply the Crucifixion and ultimately the Resurrection were hoaxes. Not exactly my view.
In truth, Judas – like all of us – was a frail and flawed human, filled with weakness. Regardless of what lay in his heart, God’s magnificent plan unfolded exactly as it had been foretold, exactly on time. Judas’ betrayal became the pathway to our redemption and salvation.
Truly Priceless
What a handful of 1st Century Jewish leaders spent for a betrayer’s kiss in a garden just outside the walls of Jerusalem bought infinitely more than the easy arrest of a rabble rousing rabbi. It purchased the collective freedom of all mankind.
In that sense, those 30 pieces of silver were the most priceless, most invaluable coins in all of history, worth infinitely more than all the combined wealth of all the kings and nations since the beginning of time.
The next time you read or hear about a painting or a house or a rare coin selling for some unimaginable amount, remember this: the highest price ever paid for anything bought the most precious gift ever freely given by God – forgiveness.
Peace.
Colossians 1:17
That sound you hear? It’s the sound of tires screeching to halt. The man simply couldn’t do it. He couldn’t give up his identify in exchange for the eternal life he sought.
Oh, and be sure to tip your 