Paying The Full Price Of Our Sins – Judas Betrays Jesus
Everybody loves a good deal, but have you ever thought about the price God paid for us? Brad takes a look at the moment Judas betrays Jesus.
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A Good Deal
Everyone loves a bargain. Have you ever found yourself pulling off to the side of the road quickly, as you’ve rounded a corner and your eye has caught the glimpse of a garage sale? Flea markets, thrift stores, deals are everywhere.
It’s evident by the amount of sales flyers in the mail in the run of a week…that businesses are spending millions of dollars to let us know what they’ve discounted for our spending pleasure.
We all love to think we’re getting good value for our money, especially when we’re making the larger purchases, like furniture or vehicles. The first thing often said when we’re showing our new car to friends or family is, “did you get a good deal”? It feels good when we can say, “ Yea, I did, I got a really good deal”.
What constitutes a good deal? It’s a feeling of satisfaction that what we’ve paid for… with money, labor, or time, is of greater value than the purchase price.
Conversely, it doesn’t bode as well with us when we feel we’ve paid too much for something.
Paying The Full Price
A visiting brother recently posed the question: “Did God pay too much for us?” Not that re-evaluating the cost has ever entered into the mind of God, as God’s love and the price he would pay, was determined before the foundations of the earth.
But It makes us think. God paid fully, with the blood of his only begotten son. The bible says that Jesus paid the ransom for all. And Jesus obedience in love to the Father is borne out in the gift of love we know as salvation. 1 John 3:16 says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us”
As we examine ourselves, considering all of our faults and imperfections, it’s overwhelming to think that Jesus shed his own blood, and allowed the verdict of death to be rendered, on our behalf. As the benefactors of the greatest purchase of all time; lost souls purchased back through the blood of Christ, into an eternal relationship with God the father, we feel unworthy.
We echo the words of Paul in 1 Tim 1:15 which says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
Judas Betrays Jesus
As we consider how much Jesus paid for our sins, it astounds our minds to think that any price was worthy of his life, let alone the small price he was betrayed for; just 30 pieces of silver. Matthew tells us that Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, “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.”
Judas was not a random hire, nor a stranger to our Lord. He was one of the twelve…one who spent time with him, and saw into his face the expression of deepest love he had for all mankind. Judas gesture of betraying Jesus with a kiss is even more heartbreaking. “And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.” Jesus words to Judas were, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and took him.
We read later on, that Judas realized in some way, the immense mistake he had made… and “returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. He said to them “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
Thirty Pieces Of Silver
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued…”
Prophecy now fulfilled. God the Heavenly Father, the God of all creation; incarnate as man, laying down his life…the all righteous, for the unrighteous! We cannot enter into the depths of understanding required to contemplate it fully. But we thank our God, for the price he was willing to pay, receiving nothing in return; simply to save lost souls, that all might enter into his glorious rest.
What was it, blessed God, Led Thee to give Thy Son,
To yield Thy Well-beloved, for us by sin undone.
Twas love unbounded led Thee thus,
To give Thy Well-beloved for us.
How do you share God’s love? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Brad Hewey
Brad offers up practical, scriptural advice from a perspective borne out of everyday life encounters. As we live and move and have our being…it’s the individual life lessons that most often present the greatest challenges, but can yield the richest blessings. We’ve all, as Christians had those faith-affirming moments, where we’ve had an overwhelming sense of God’s spirit, or his very presence “at a particular but, maybe random time”.
Brad was born and still resides in a small community in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, where he and his wife Karen raised their 3 children. Brad & Karen fellowship at the Greenland Bible Chapel, where Brad serves as an elder.
Brad loves meeting and engaging with people, is a singer/songwriter and has recorded 3 Christian albums. Songs from his “Brighter Day” release, have aired on Christian Radio stations across Canada and two of Brad’s albums are on HopeStreamRadio’s playlist.
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