Then one of the twelve,
who was called Judas Iscariot,
went unto the chief priests,
and said,
What are ye willing to give me,
and I will deliver him unto you? And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.
And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them.
Matthew 26:14-16 RV
What was Jesus worth to the chief priests?
How much did they want Jesus out of the way?
How much did they want to make an example of Jesus?
We only find out the amount through Matthew: 30 pieces of silver.
Like the donkey in Jesus' entry, the amount comes from the OT:
If the ox gore a manservant or a maidservant;
he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver,
and the ox shall be stoned.
Exodus 21:32 RV
The amount is not significant in itself, maybe like "40 days."
But the circumstances in which the figure arises are interesting.
The owner is fired if his ox kills someone.
If the ox has killed before, and the owner is aware of that, he will be executed.
If his ox kills someones daughter, his own daughter will be killed. (likewise for any family member)
If the ox kills someones servant, the ox's owner must pay the master 30 silver pieces.
The ox is killed in any of these scenarios.
I feel that comparing the two readings, one where Jesus is sold, the other an outline for reparation, a great reversal is occuring.
In typical Christian fashion, the meaning is difficult to grasp at first.
Instead of punishment, we have ill gained profit.
Instead of an owner we have a disciple.
Instead of a master, we have the leader of the opposition.
The same amount also appears elsewhere:
And I said vnto them,
If yee thinke good,
giue me my price:
and if not,
forbeare:
so they weighed for my price thirtie pieces of siluer.
Zechariah 11:12 KJV-1611
These two references (other the event in question) are the only times 30 silver pieces are used: one a law, the other a prophecy.
One can only think that the chief priests (and/or Matthew) were alluding to something more than a monetary amount.
On the morrow a great multitude that had come to the feast,
when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took the branches of the palm trees,
and went forth to meet him,
and cried out,
Hosanna:
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,
even the King of Israel.
And Jesus,
having found a young ass,
sat thereon;
John 12:12-14 RV
I have spent the last few days thinking about palm leaves and donkeys.
An early school memory of mine is about Palm Sunday. I can't exactly remember the teacher, but I do remember her telling us about the palm leaves and the donkey. There were crowds of people cheering Jesus as he was their King.
At the age of 8 or whatever, I accepted that. I didn't strike me as wrong but it wasn't amazing. If there was a robot involved, I probably would have responded more.
Last year, I experienced my first Palm Sunday. As it was leading up to my Baptism, I guess I was thinking about other things. Palm Sunday "happened", and things moved on into Holy Week.
However, this year Palm Sunday has been full of meaning and feeling for me. The Palm Sunday service was rich and alive. The service bought the feeling of the event to life. It was something to feel.
Getting home, I started to think about the meaning of it all. What difference does it really make if Jesus did ride upon a donkey, and a crowd waved palm leaves at him? If this didn't happen, would he still have been crucified?
Looking through all four accounts of the event, and with a bit of background, the meaning of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem becomes clear.
In Jesus' time, palm leaves were used as a sign of welcome for victorious soldiers returning from battle. These first believers were welcoming Jesus as one who was to be victorious; maybe he would release them from Roman control.
Yet, he was riding a donkey. (Matthew has an ass and a colt; Mark and Luke, a colt; John, an ass's colt). If Jesus intended to be seen as a victor, he would have ridden a horse, as would be befitting a conquering hero. A donkey (or colt, or ass) is a far humbler animal, and one that would be recognised as such by many.
But as both Matthew and John tell us, the meaning is far more precise:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy king cometh unto thee:
he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zechariah 9:9 RV
The Messiah would be just, have salvation. He would be humble.
Jesus most certainly was these things.
And he was riding a donkey.
