Welcome to Day 37 of Journey to the Cross, a forty-day devotional preparing us for Easter. We continue today in Holy Week by looking at the cost of the journey in Matthew 26.

Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 26:14-16

As you set out on any journey, you can expect to pay. You pay for your fuel, lodging, and food. You also might need to pay a fare, especially if you use any public form of transportation. You may need to pay fees for various things. Your route could also have some toll roads requiring a toll. You could also buy subway or airline tickets. Often these various costs add up, but sometimes only a few coins are required.

When Judas went to the priests, they offered him thirty silver coins for him to betray Jesus. This was the fare that sent Jesus to the cross. Between Jesus’s enemies and His supposed friend Judas, it was agreed that Jesus’s life was only worth thirty silver coins. In Exodus 21:32, thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave.

Scripture tells us that by our sins we have earned a paycheck, but it is one that no one wants to cash. We have purchased a ticket to a place no one wants to go. Romans 6:23 again reminds us that the wages of sin is death. But Jesus journeyed to the cross to pay our debt. He canceled our one-way ticket, purchased by our rebellion against His Father. Instead, He gave us a round-trip ticket to the Father who will establish a new heaven and a new earth, one without sin on which we can live forever.

As you pray today, thank God for the price Jesus paid for you. Ask Him to forgive you for your many sins that caused Him so much pain.

Thank you for joining me for Day 37. Join me tomorrow, Maundy Thursday, as we look at The God on Bended Knee.