Jesus was sold for the price of a slave.
“I told them, If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it. So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Throw it to the potter – the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.” Zechariah 11:12, 13. The prophet Zechariah, almost 550 years before Gethsemane, foretold how people would treat the world’s Savior. The thirty pieces of silver were the price of a slave — Exodus 21:32. The thirty pieces of silver were the lowest price one would pay for the life of a slave. This price for human life was considered an insult. Accordingly, the prophet Zechariah employs irony in saying, the handsome price at which they priced me. So, the prophet Zechariah, a priest, threw the thirty pieces of silver into the house of the Lord, to the potter. When was this fulfilled?
The one of the twelve—called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.” Matthew 26:14, 15. Judas’s action confirmed Jesus’ knowledge that Judas had joined Him with the intent to betray Him. After the Passover meal, Jesus went to Gethsemane, where He prayed in agony, knowing He would face separation from the Father because of the world’s sin. When He finished praying, Jesus was arrested and condemned to be crucified according to the laws of the temple.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders… So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” Matthew 27:3–5. What did the priests do with the thirty silver coins? It was against the temple law to keep it there. “So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.” Matthew 27:7. Therefore, what the prophet foretold about 550 years earlier was fulfilled.
One Lord will reign forever. Read the next blog.