That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, "What will you give me if I hand him over to you?" They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over - Matthew 26:14-16 (Message)Wow - betrayal is cheap, priced at a mere 30 silver coins (denarius - equivalent to about a months wages for an average person, Matthew 20:2). Bear in mind, this was the religious leaders agreeing to "pay him well" (Luke 22:5).
Moving on
When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread to feed these people?" He said this to stretch Philip's faith. He already knew what he was going to do. Philip answered, "Two hundred silver pieces wouldn't be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece." - John 6:5-7 (Message)The price of feeding the flock is far more (over six months wages) & rightly so. Interestingly, it doesn't say they hadn't got that sort of money.
Yet more extravagant again is the cost of our own abandoned worship!
Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house. Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, "Why wasn't this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces." - John 12:3-5 (Message)Bible commentators would suggest that as well as extravagant (we're now getting towards a year's wages), the jar of perfume was likely a key part of Mary's livelihood. This adds another dynamic to the story & caps off three stories that enable me to show a great progression from betrayal to worship & all is well with the world. Or so I thought! It was then that some bounder threw this at me
Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, "The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all!" - Luke 21:1-4 (Message)Two pennies, that doesn't fit, for goodness sake, they weren't even silver!
Not only did that wreck my maths, it didn't do me much good either. The first three stories all contain relative numbers & I thought I had a sporting chance of getting my head around abandoned worship. This however, is absolute, this was "all she had" (I find it fascinating that it's 2 coins, not 1 or 3 - I'll explain why another time).
It might not be comfy & it sure doesn't fit neatly with my logic (although on a non-numerical level, there clearly is an escalation right through to the final story). At the end of the day, there is no escaping that we are called to give our everything. For me, that is a daily work-in-progress as I learn to hold on to some things less tightly & to never let go of Him. I trust you can say the same for yourselves.
Jonathan
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