Holy Week: Wednesday: When God Seems Silent

Today we're talking about Holy Week and Holy Wednesday. So I want to just ask you real quick off the bat, have you ever had a moment where God felt completely silent? Like maybe nothing was happening, nothing in your situation was changing, nothing felt clear about what was going on. Well, that's the feeling that we get on Wednesday of Holy Week. It feels a lot like that, but actually there's a lot happening. There's anything but nothing happening, even if we don't necessarily see it. So let me set the scene for you. By this point of the week, remember Jesus has entered Jerusalem. We talked about that for Palm Sunday. He's cleansed the temple. He's confronted the religious leaders and now everything goes quiet. There's actually very little recorded about what Jesus said publicly on that day. But just because scripture is quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. In fact, it was setting the scene for what was to come for this weekend. And so I'm going to be reading in Matthew 26 today. You can follow along or just listen to me read. But let me remind you what's happening. So starting at verse one, remember this is on Holy Wednesday. What would have been happening the week that Jesus died. It says, when Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, as you know, Passover begins in two days and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. At that same time, the leading priests and elders were meeting and the residents at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. But not during the Passover celebration, they agreed, or the people may riot. So what's happening here is the religious leaders are meeting in secret. They're no longer questioning Jesus. They're quietly plotting to kill him. Now remember, these are the highest religious leaders of the time. This is very calculated and it's very intentional. Now let me jump down to verses 14 through 16. It says, then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, how much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you? And they gave him 30 pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. I want to spend a little bit of time talking about that 30 pieces of silver. You know, I think for me, when I thought about that in the past, I thought, man, that must have been a lot of money because if I think about 30 pieces of silver and what silver costs now, I just say in my mind, I think I just equated that to a lot of money. But actually, that's not the truth at all. So Judas, who was one of the 12 disciples who had been with Jesus, who had been seeing the miracles that knew, that saw with his own eyes that Jesus was the son of God, one of his own, went to them. They didn't recruit Judas. Judas approached them. And in Matthew 26, verse 15, we just read, Judas says, what are you willing to give me if I give them over to you? And they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver. Here's the thing about 30 pieces of silver. This was a set known price in the ancient world. This wasn't a random number. Back in Exodus, chapter 21, 30 pieces of silver is listed as the compensation that would be paid if a slave was killed. These were shekels. These weren't the same kind of coins that you and I might get if we go and we try to get pieces of silver. This is the compensation paid if a slave is killed. It was the legal value of a slave's life. So they didn't just pay Judas. They priced Jesus. They priced him at this value that was the lowest level. They saw Jesus as anything but dangerous, but they did see him as powerful. And they could have offered more, but they didn't. And so what that means is they were dismissing him. They saw him as being in contempt. They rejected him. They didn't just betray him. They undervalued him. In Zachariah, chapter 11, where the prophet is asking for his wages, they also weighed out 30 pieces of silver. And you know what God says in that situation? He says, throw it to the potter, the handsome price at which they valued me. God is speaking through the prophet Zachariah and he's saying, this is what my people think I'm worth. And it's said with irony because centuries later, Jesus is betrayed for that exact same amount. So here's the thing about Judas. Judas was close to Jesus. He saw everything. He witnessed everything happening firsthand, but proximity does not equal surrender. It doesn't equal relationship. See, what that tells us is that you can be near to Jesus and still not fully trust him or see the value in his relationship. And so what this means is that by Wednesday, everything is set. The betrayal is already in motion and Jesus knows exactly what's coming. Tomorrow, we're going to step into one of the most personal moments of the entire week. You don't want to miss it, but let's pray. Father, thank you that even in the silence, even when we don't understand, even in the betrayal, we know that you're working. Lord, we know that Judas was permitted to be put in this situation, even though he sought them out, even though he sought out to betray you, you knew and you allowed it to happen. Lord, help us to be a reminder for us that just because we're near you, just because we've witnessed you doesn't mean that we're surrendered to you. Lord, would you seek out any things that are in our heart or in our mind or in our brain that would betray you, Father God? And would you extinguish them right now? Thank you, Father, that you love this enough to submit yourself to the cross. I pray this week as we are meditating on what that actually means, that you would remind us of how much you love us. In Jesus' name, amen. So this week, if this series, this mini series is speaking to you at all, I want to encourage you to follow along and come back tomorrow and maybe even share this with someone that might also feel like God has been silent. And the encouragement that they need that he is still working in the silence. Tomorrow, we're going to step into the Last Supper and the Gap Seminy. It's a really important piece of the story. You don't want to miss it. Thanks for listening, friends.