The Greatest Exchange

by Apr 8, 2020Devotional, Easter, Echoes of Easter

Read Zechariah 11:12-13

 

I’ve never tasted Turkish delight before, but my siblings would be furious if I betrayed them for a box of candy from an evil witch. Though I’ve never made an exchange quite like Edmund in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I’ve definitely made decisions I wish I could redo. 

In the Bible, Judas betrayed Jesus and turned Him over to the temple authorities in exchange for only 30 pieces of silver. It’s impossible to know exactly what was going on inside Judas’ head, but he let the enticement of control, greed, or even his disappointment that Jesus didn’t overthrow the government outshine the truth he’d heard for the past three years as a disciple of Jesus. 

When Jesus is sentenced to death, Judas feels remorse for his actions and attempts to return the money he received for betraying Jesus. The religious leaders don’t want the “blood money” back, so Judas throws the silver into the temple and ends up taking his own life (Matthew 27:3-10). 

Later, the temple leaders buy a potter’s field with the money. This may seem like an insignificant detail of the story, but the temple leaders’ purchase perfectly fulfills the prophecy by the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah 11, 30 pieces of silver are given in exchange for the removal of the Shepherd of Israel and then thrown to the potter in the house of the Lord. In Matthew, the 30 pieces of silver are used in the betrayal of Jesus, Israel’s Shepherd.

Like Judas, Edmund also betrayed King Aslan in his deal with the White Witch by exchanging his loyalty to those he cared about for something as fleeting as Turkish delight. But in an act to save Edmund from the evil witch, Aslan then gave his life in exchange for the boy who previously betrayed him. 

However, Edmund’s story has a marked difference from Judas’. Edmund had a powerful conversation with Aslan that radically changed the course of his life. Edmund repented and found forgiveness for his selfish actions, and he was restored. But Judas’ heart was filled with guilt, not true repentance. 

Pridefully, we think there’s no way we would betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver or some Turkish delight. Yet, we repeatedly give in to temptation in our own way and then experience the shame of regret. 

Through the greatest exchange in history Jesus laid down His life for us. We all are given the opportunity to repent when we choose sinful things over Him. We don’t have to remain in the shame Judas felt. Just like Edmund, we can experience the joy of an encounter with our King. We have a Savior whose death on the cross allows us to live in the freedom of forgiveness.

More Than Enough

Read Psalm 16:8-11   I made a quick grocery run last week. As I dashed through the store, focusing on getting the essentials on my list as quickly as possible while staying six feet away from the other masked shoppers, gigantic wrapped Easter baskets caught my...

Out of Darkness

Read Isaiah 53:8-9   Plastered in mud from head to toe, I crawled on my hands and knees through the last section of the cave called the Pancake. Eventually, I lowered myself on my stomach and army-crawled the rest of the way out. Walking out of the cave, I...

The Power of a Word

Read Psalm 22:1   I love the power of words. Even though a single word isn’t enough to tell a story, one word is powerful enough to stir our emotions. Words like forsaken and alone can evoke memories, and those memories create strong emotions. For introverts, the...

Not Enough

Read Genesis 22:8   In 2013 I was part of hike to raise money a non-profit organization that does amazing work. The goal was ambitious - hike 60 miles in 24 hours. I trained for months, invested in equipment, gathered people’s support, recruited friends to join...

Spoiler Alert

Read Jeremiah 31:31   I don’t see a lot of movies in the theater. If I do, I typically wait until the movie has been out for a few weeks, find the earliest time available, and stretch out in the theater.  The only problem with this plan is the internet, because...

The Perfect Cornerstone

Read Psalm 118:22-24    Three years ago, I found myself standing in Jerusalem near where the temple would have been at the time of Jesus. Only a portion of the retaining wall of temple remains, also known as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. Jews pray at the wall...

Coming in Peace

Read Zechariah 9:9 Have you ever witnessed a motorcade? It’s hard to miss. First, the police vehicles arrive with flashing lights and sirens to clear the traffic, then various security vehicles, followed by the official limousine carrying the president, with all the...

Redemption’s Story

Read Ruth 4:4-9   Redemption is one of most compelling themes of a storyline. We see it time and time again in books and movies. A great example of this is the figure of Darth Vader in Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI. Over the course of these three films we see...

Only Better

Read Deuteronomy 18:15-19   When I was six, my Dad took me on my first roller coaster - The Comet at Hershey Park. I was so excited as we buckled into the car and the lap bars dropped. I remember the shudder of the train and the clickety-click sound as we went up...

The Sting

Read Numbers 21: 6-9   Aww, Spring. The season of spring is one of my favorite times of the year! Everything seems a little bit brighter and a little bit happier. But unfortunately with warmer weather comes bees, wasps and all sorts of flying things. I don’t just...

Victory

Read Genesis 3:15 Today, Easter isn’t very violent. Walk into any grocery store and you’ll find lots of pastel colors, plastic eggs and baskets filled with candy to mark the season. I’ll admit, biting the heads off of chocolate covered bunnies and marshmallow chickens...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *