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This week we begin chapter 22 of Luke’s Gospel. Please read verses 1-13 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 22:3-6 (New Living Translation – NLT)
‘Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.’
The Centre for Economics and Business Research have been carrying out research and analysis on the cost of raising a child in the UK. The latest figures available state that raising a child from birth to age 21 costs on average approximately £230,000. This includes £70,000 in childcare and another £74,000 on educational expenses such as uniforms, school lunches, trips etc. It’s quite staggering when one considers that salaries haven’t really increased drastically and one wonders how any of us have managed to raise our children!
When I read the details of this research I was quite disturbed by a number of things. It’s clear that childcare is normal and that the child is not expected to have either of its parents with them most of the time during those early years. It is now expected that the mother will be working at least part-time and so childcare costs are essential. I completely understand the pressures that are put on parents these days, but I really think that parents are missing out and ultimately, I believe the child is also. Anyway, I digress. The point I originally wanted to make here was that I couldn’t believe how much all this cost. The cost of a child is huge!
Then I began to think that perhaps some potential parents are counting the cost and trying to determine if the child really is worth it. What is the value of any one individual? If the child grew up to be successful, then perhaps we’d say that yes, they are worth the money. What if the child was disabled in some way? The cost would be higher and would they be worth the money? This is a huge ethical debate but the biblical position of course is that every life is precious! God’s love is not diminished by the success or apparent failure of anyone. There is no partiality with God. We are all equal.
How much was Jesus worth to Judas? We know from the parallel account in Matthew that Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for handing over the Saviour. Is there any significance in this amount? If you read the book of Exodus, we note that if a slave were to be killed by a bull, then the owner of the bull had to pay the slave’s owner 30 pieces of silver. This was the redemption cost of a slave. The value of a slave was just 30 pieces of silver. Judas was handing over Jesus to die for the cost of a slave. No wonder the religious leaders were happy. I’m sure they would have paid much, much more but this is showing us that Judas and the leaders didn’t think much of Jesus. To them, His life was of no more value than a common slave.
I’m going to leave you today with a question that I’d like you to spend some time thinking about. Don’t rush through this but meditate on it prayerfully and leave God’s Spirit began to speak to you. How much is Jesus worth to you?
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