Resurrection Day – 4: The Number One
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Matthew 26:14-16
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment, he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
Four days before God raised Jesus from the dead, Judas betrayed. Judas didn’t fall all at once. He didn’t wake up one morning and say, “Today I will betray the Son of God.” No, he walked step by step. One poor small decision at a time. One moment. One deal. One decision. Sin loves “one.”
One look.
One lie.
One secret.
One shortcut.
One compromise.
One! Then one more, and another, and then another. And soon Judas was trapped. Fully trapped! Totally ensnared and ready to make a deal with the devil. “What will you give me if I hand him over?” (Matthew 26:15). They count thirty pieces of silver. Clink. Clink. Clink. And Matthew tells us something chilling: from that moment on, Judas began watching for the right time to betray (Matthew 26:16).
Here’s what scares me. Judas didn’t just trade Jesus for money. He traded Jesus for control. He traded Jesus for a way to get what he wanted. We do that too.
We may not carry a bag of silver, but we carry our own “thirty pieces.” We trade our honesty for approval. We trade our worship for comfort. We trade our kindness for winning. We trade our patience for speed. We trade our peace for the right to worry. And it never pays as much as it promises.
Those coins looked shiny in Judas’s hand. But silver can’t hug you when you’re ashamed. Silver can’t wash your conscience clean. Silver can’t give you a new heart. Only Jesus can.
The gospel in a nutshell: It is a good thing for us, and for Judas, that Jesus didn’t come for perfect friends. He came for broken sinners.
So, if you feel the tug of temptation today—if you feel your heart making a deal, stop and listen. Jesus is better than whatever you’re reaching for. He is more satisfying than control. More steady than applause. More precious than money. Don’t take the step.
Instead, open your hands. Let the silver fall. And take hold of the Savior who already took hold of you.
