Easter Devotional Series
Day 4: Silent Wednesday
“And I said to them, ‘If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.’ So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.” Zechariah 11:12-13 (NLT)
“Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, ‘How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?’ And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-15 (NLT)
“When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So, he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he declared, ‘for I have betrayed an innocent man.’”
‘What do we care?’ they retorted. ‘That’s your problem.’
Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.” Matthew 27:3-5 (NLT)
On this day in the life of Jesus, which we know as “Silent Wednesday,” we find no events were happening. It was an unusually quiet day midway through Holy Week.
This was a busy week. Passover was being celebrated, and there were hundreds of thousands of people in the city to celebrate. Yet, amidst a multitude of people, Judas was alone. There is no mention that he was around the other disciples.
An isolated Judas found himself tempted, and he succumbed to his addiction—money. Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a servant under the law at that time. Judas found himself agreeing to betray Jesus for this amount. Did you know that God gave us the details of Christ’s crucifixion hundreds of years in advance?
In Zechariah, the Bible shows us how much Judas would be paid to betray Jesus and what he would do with the money. He would cast it down in the house of the Lord. Matthew tells us the money was used to buy a potter’s field.
In silence and isolation from his fellow apostles, Judas—not being accountable to anyone—followed his heart’s desire. It was not the lack of money, but the love of money that caused Judas to trade in his relationship with Jesus. Money had that much power over his heart.
If we’re honest, we’ve all had fleeting fantasies of winning the lottery or having a long-lost relative leave us a million dollars. People think money is the key to happiness and the definition of success, so they will often do crazy things to get it, even if it means cheating, lying, destroying relationships; or worse, even murder!
As a disciple, Judas was in Jesus’ inner circle. For money, Judas was willing to sever his relationship with the other apostles—men who had become like brothers—and, worst of all, he was willing to give up his close relationship with Jesus.
Judas’ story begs the question: Do we desire money more than we desire a relationship with Jesus? If given the opportunity to gain more money, could we sacrifice our relationship with Him to gain what the world calls “success”?
Soak and Reflect
“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” - Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
Heavenly Father, Thank you for always being there for me. When life gets hard, sometimes I struggle to keep up my faith. During those days and seasons when it doesn’t seem like you’re working, help me to remember all the times in my life where you showed up. Make me brave and courageous. Help me to wait patiently for you. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
