30 Pieces Of Silver

INTRO: With Easter right around the corner, Iv’e been thinking about Jesus last week on Earth, and was drawn to the story of Judas Iscariot..

PLEASE STAND FOR THE READING OF GOD’S WORD!

Matthew 26:14–16 “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.”

Now lets skip down verse 20:

Matthew 26:20–25 “When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”

PRAY!!!

Top 10 Betrayals In The Bible (According To Me!)

10. Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve had it all! The garden of eden was heaven on Earth. They walked with God and talked with God, they had free access to God and gave it all away..

Disobedience, reminding us of the consequences of losing sight of God's will.

Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

9. Achan

The Israelites were an absolute war machine under Joshua, and Achan was a soldier in Joshua’s army who were claiming “the promised land” that God gave them.

After the mind blowing victory of the heavily defended Jericho, the next city was supposed to be cake walk;Joshua’s spies had said that Ai didn’t need to be taken with Israels whole army, they could beat these guys down with an army of just 3,000.

Achan was an active part of God’s giving of Canaan land to the Israelites and threw it all away for a robe, and some silver and gold.

Joshua 6:18–19 “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

Joshua 7:20–21 “And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

 Achan says he “coveted them”.. Lust Of The Eyes

I would challenge all of us, to be mindful of what’s in our tent.

8. Gehazi

Elisha’s servant Gehazi, here was a man who very well would have succeeded Elisha, like Elisha had succeeded Elijah. Elisha had a double portion of anointing, and who knows maybe Gehazi might have gotten a triple portion! But no, Gehazi would trade it all away for a portion of Naaman offered Elisha

2 Kings 5:21:22 “ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”

Once again, the lust for money cost a man who was in a great position to throw it all away. Gehazi life would end a very bad way.

2 Kings 5:25–27 “Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.”

7. Esau

In the book of Gen is the story of Isaac’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob

He was the much loved son Isaac

Esau was born first and thereby became legal heir to the family birthright which included, among other things, being heir to the Covenant between God and Abraham. This birthright was a link in the line of descent through which the Promised Messiah was to come

and he sold his blessing for a bowl of soup

Jewish literature and history even has that the Romans were the descendants of Esau.

The author of the book of Hebrews had this to say about Esau:

Hebrews 12:14-17“ Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

6. Samson

In the book of Judges we have the story of Samson.

I just did a pretty thorough sermon on Sampson a few weeks ago, so I will just summarize.

Sampson was a man blessed by God like no other man before or since. He was blessed with super human strength and was a great leader/Judge of Israel, but Sampson had a problem of lust for the ladies..

Sampson was sold out by the woman he just couldn't say no to, Delilah. After the secret of his strength was revealed, that his hair was never to be cut. He was took and his eyes were gouged out and he was forced into slave labor and paraded around in humiliation to his enemy's delight.

He did get his revenge, but at the cost of his life. Just think about what could've been

5. Solomon

The son of King David, it was said he was the wisest of all men and rich beyond imagination

Solomon's wisdom was unmatched, granting him great insight and understanding.

However, he fell into the trap of seeking pleasure above all else, allowing the pursuit of wealth, power, and earthly desires to consume him.

His downfall came as he indulged in excessive wealth and opulence, leading to a life of idolatry and spiritual neglect

When in the book of Ecclesiastes he say’s

Ecclesiastes 1:14 “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”

Another word for vanity is “meaningless”

4. King Saul

The first King of Israel

If I had to sum up King Saul in one word it would be- “Disobedient”

Saul's story is a sobering reminder to prioritize honoring God and staying obedient, rather than seeking personal glory.

Early in his career, Saul made a fatal mistake. He disobeyed God by failing to completely destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions, as God had commanded. A key part of the conditional covenant between God and Israel was obedience. Saul, as God's anointed king, was responsible for keeping that command.

One of the saddest verses, that make you pause for thought is this:

1 Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul”

God said He regretted making Saul King

The Lord withdrew his favor from Saul and had Samuel the prophet anoint David as king.

3. Demas

 At one time he ministered alongside such greats as the Apostle Paul and doctor Luke. Yet, like Lot, he forsook this company of believers to pursue the pleasures of this life. And he left when Paul apparently needed him most.

2 Timothy 4:10 “for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—

Again, Demas was with The apostle Paul and Luke! He would have seen the miracles that Paul did, and they were mighty! And traded his position for “this worlds pleasures! NOOOO! so sad

1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

The downfall of Demas: Demas, once a fellow worker of the apostle Paul, abandoned the ministry and succumbed to worldly allure. The consequences of abandoning faith: Demas' abandonment of the ministry and faith led to his downfall, showcasing the grave outcomes of forsaking one's spiritual commitment.

2. Ananias and Sapphira 

So many times, I have thought to myself, that early church in Acts was absolute perfection! They shared everything, they were living together, sharing all with each other they were doing a life group for real, how beautiful!

But a couple by the name Ananias and Sapphira were doing the whole hypocrite thing, and it should be a stark warning and reminder to us that church hypocrisy doesn’t go unnoticed by the Lord

Acts 5:1–4 “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.””

Ananias' and Sapphira's sin was not that they held back part of the money for themselves, but that they acted deceitfully lying about the sale price as if they had given the entire amount.

The apostle Paul saw the same principle of solidarity at work in the church (1 Cor 5:6-13). Unjudged sin contaminated the whole assembly—”Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?”

1 Corinthians 5:6–7 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.

Judas Iscariot

Friends we need to remember, Judas was 1 of the 12 disciples. He was part of Jesus’s inner circle. Judas was there for all the miracles, when Jesus went into a town, many times ALL were healed. He seen Jesus walking on the water, he heard Jesus tell the wind and the waves to calm down, and they obeyed. Judas played the part so convincingly, that the other disciples had no idea the evil that was lurking inside the man

Matthew 26:22 “And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”

Judas had been stealing from Jesus and the disciples work the whole time

Something of note is Judas called Jesus rabbi (teacher), The other disciples called him Lord.

John 12:4–6 “But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.”

30 pieces of silver. The price of a slave

Judas could've asked Jesus for forgiveness after he betrayed Jesus, but he didn’t. Even though it said that he was filled with remorse, it never came into his mind that he needed Jesus’s forgiveness

His story warns us about the dangers of unchecked sin and the devastating consequences of a heart divided. Though his betrayal was part of God’s redemptive plan, Judas’ choices remind us of the importance of staying faithful to Jesus Christ.

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IN CLOSING:

As bad as it hurts to think about..Haven't we betrayed Jesus for a lot less than 30 pieces of silver? God help us.

When we sold Jesus out because we just wanted to get high or drunk with some friends on a Saturday night, I’m not alcoholic or anything, I just like to party a little now and then.

Or when we just wanted to sleep with that guy or girl 1 time, I mean you would take a new car out for a spin before you bought it, right?

Or maybe when we betrayed Jesus by opening that computer and looking at porn? I mean, that doesn't make a pervert right?

Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to look down on these other examples we just covered.

Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV) All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Thank You Jesus!

PRAY!