MACA Lenten Service 2026
30 Pieces of Silver
Matthew 27:1-10
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
In all four of the gospel books, Jesus gathers his disciples for what we call the last supper. They are seated around a table (or all on one side, if you believe Leonardo da Vinci). And Jesus—seemingly randomly—announces that one of them will betray him. And how do the disciples respond? Depending on which gospel account you’re reading, they either ask one another who it could be, or they ask Jesus directly: Is it I, Lord?
Someone will betray Jesus. Is it I, Lord? What’s easy to miss here is that by asking this question, they’re all acknowledging that . . . it’s possible. They’re all capable of doing it. Someone is going to do the most horrible thing imaginable, and what I want to know is, is it I, Lord? It could be me. It could be someone else. The disciples don’t know who it’s going to be. But we do.
We know who is going to betray our Lord. We know his name. And I can 100% guarantee you that no one in this room is named Judas. So we KNOW it’s not one of us who will betray Jesus. We’re off the hook right? We can live our lives never having to ask, “Is it I, Lord?” We can confidently say, “It is not I, Lord!”
And I hope you can see the danger here. The danger is that we can walk ourselves right into thinking we are better than Judas. We can even convince ourselves that we are better than all the disciples, because we don’t have to ask Jesus if we might be the one to betray him. We can point to Judas. There he is. Case closed. Turns out, it is not I, Lord.
However, we could say that people who think of themselves as incapable of doing horrible things are actually just incapable of self awareness and reflection. The ability to ask ourselves, “Is it I, Lord?” should not be overlooked. For enough money, you can get a person to do just about anything. As they say, everyone has their price. Which brings us to the 30 pieces of silver.
30 pieces of silver sounds like a lot of money to me. Or, it did until I dug around a bit. Depending on which kind of coin we are talking about, the estimated value of these 30 pieces of silver, translated into today’s US dollars would be . . . ready? Between $91 and $441. At most, it’s like 450 bucks. Who would betray their friend and Lord for $450?!? Surely not I Lord! I am way better than Judas!
When we hear that Judas betrayed Jesus for such a tiny amount of money we feel a bit offended, don’t we? Like it’s just so crass and transactional. If he’d done it for lofty ideals and principles, that would be one thing. If it was because Jesus was actually an immoral and compromised leader, or something like that. Like we could understand that. But to turn Jesus over to the authorities for a pittance. To sacrifice his life for what is essentially a monthly car payment. It’s just so . . . paltry.
We just wouldn’t do that, would we. We wouldn’t trade anyone’s life for a few bucks. Certainly not I, Lord. People are made in the image of God. All people are made in the image of God. Even the people we don’t like are made in the image of God. You can’t put a price on somebody’s life, if they are made in the image of God.
I recently saw a headline in the NY Times that said, “Americans may turn against the war in Iran if they feel the pinch at the pump.” So far, there have been over 1,300 people killed in Iran, including hundreds of children. When 150 schoolgirls are killed in their school, along with their parents who came to rescue them, that’s just a cost of doing business. BUT if gas prices go up, that’s a whole different thing! Now you’ve got our attention! We could say that 30 cents at the pump is our 30 pieces of silver. But, hey, whatever it takes.
Back to Judas. As we heard, when Judas saw that Jesus had been betrayed, he repented, and brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the priests. He repented. Did the chief priests and elders forgive him? Certainly not! They said, “What is that to us?” and sent him away. Did Judas forgive himself? It seems doubtful, since Matthew tells us he went out and hanged himself. Did Jesus forgive him? Hard to say, right? But here’s a clue: Judas was still present at the very first Lord’s Supper. Jesus knew what Judas was going to do, and yet . . . in John’s telling, Jesus washed Judas’ feet. As best we can tell, Jesus did not reject Judas, his betrayer.
That’s hard to hear, isn't it? The very one who betrayed Jesus, who sold him out for—at most—$450 was not kept away. Was not rejected. Was not banished from the Lord’s Supper. Was not excluded from the washing of the disciples’ feet. And maybe that’s where you and I can find good news in the story of Judas and the 30 pieces of silver.
Because if we’re really honest with ourselves, if we’re really willing to do the hard work of being self aware, then the answer to the question “Is it I, Lord?” is yes. Yes, it is I. It is I who daily fails to see Christ in other persons. It is I who daily sins against God and my neighbor. It is I who does not love God with my whole heart or love my neighbor as myself. It is I who will throw away another’s life for 30 pieces of silver or 30 cents at the gas pump, because of my own selfish needs and desires.
I recently ran across this poem by the Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges, which seems apt:
The coin fell on my hollow hand.
I could not bear it, although it was light,
and I let it fall. It was all in vain.
The other said: "There are still twenty nine.”
It’s not easy to hear or to face, but the answer to the question, “Is it I, Lord?” is yes; it is I. But if Jesus can break bread with his betrayer, if Jesus can wash the feet of the one with 30 coins still in his pocket, then Jesus can welcome you and me as well. No matter what we have done or where we have been, God’s grace is big enough for us. God’s mercy is wide enough for us. And God’s love for us is more than we could ever ask or imagine. Remember that most of all. God’s grace, mercy, and love are for you.
Amen
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