Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.
How valuable is Jesus to you? Right after the account of a lavish gift given to express this woman’s love for Jesus, we see someone even closer to Jesus take a completely different perspective on His worth. Even after all the teaching and all the miracles, Judas went on his way to betray Jesus. He had an earthly price tag of what Jesus was worth to Him.
It is easy to look at Judas and wonder how he could do such a thing. From our perspective, it is clear how short-sighted he was. Yet we are humans subject to the same sin and fallen ways of Judas. Over time, it is easy to get jaded or apathetic in our Christian walk. In a world that is fighting for our attention, it is easy to take our eyes off our Savior and forget how precious He is. We, like Judas, have heard the stories, learned the teaching, and maybe even had spiritual experiences that are unrivaled, yet we can still get swept away and betray Jesus for things that don’t ultimately matter. God knows our nature to stray from Him and has given us the Holy Spirit as our guide. When we press into God’s work inside of us, He is the one that keeps us anchored to Him in a world trying to pull us away. He guides us in truth as we come to Him and continues to remind us of His value as we live in His way.
- How valuable is Jesus to you right now? Can you think of a time in your life when He was more valuable than He is now? What has changed?
- How can our lives be evidence of Jesus’s value to us? Who exemplifies that for you?
- Pray and ask God to remind you of the time He was most valuable in your life and how that shaped how you lived. Ask Him to renew the joy of your salvation.
