The price of betrayal
During childhood summers with my cousins in Pampanga, I was taught that Holy Wednesday marked the day Judas Iscariot offered to turn Jesus over to the temple authorities for 30 pieces of silver. I read the Bible years later, for a college theology class, and know of Matthew 26:14-16: “Then one of the Twelve [Apostles]—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”
The 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas were not a figure pulled out of a hat; it goes way back to the Old Testament. Exodus 21:32 states:
“If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.”
In monetary terms, Jesus’ betrayal was worth the price of an Old Testament slave. Since the shekels paid out to Judas were taken from the temple treasury, these were probably silver coins from Tyre, the only ones acceptable for the temple tax. This shekel had a face of a man and an eagle on the reverse, objectionable to Jews, yet it was accepted over the other foreign coins with equally objectionable images for a practical reason—these were of the purest silver. Shekels got their name from the Hebrew verb “to weigh,” and Tyrian shekels weighed about 14 grams each. Judas was paid 30 shekels or about 420 grams of silver. The spot price of silver in the Philippines, at the time this column was written, is about P133 per gram. Therefore, Jesus was betrayed for P55,860. Quite a bargain. Imagine the Son of God would be worth barely $1,000 today.
Of the four Gospels, it is only Matthew that gives the exact amount paid. Among the four evangelists or gospel writers, Matthew has the most references to money. He talks about different types: denarius (Roman), drachma (Greek), stater (Jewish) or shekel (Tyrian) were silver coins, while the “talents” were weights or measures of currency. Matthew also mentions the lepton, the humble copper coin we know as “widow’s mite.”
If you compare the different Gospel versions on the commissioning of the apostles, Jesus ordered the 12 to go out and preach, without taking any money in their belts. Only Matthew is specific about this money: “Do not acquire gold, silver, or copper.” That Matthew knew and was particular about money and currency is understandable, because he was a tax collector before his conversion. The other apostles were fishermen.
There is the story of Jesus throwing a tantrum in the temple that was swarming with money changers. People had to exchange their coins, money, or goods for Tyrian shekels, which were acceptable coins for the temple tax. This led to a thriving business of money changers crowding the temple, prompting Jesus to throw a tantrum as described in John 2:15:
“So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.”
Matthew’s version (21:12) reads:
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers … And He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’’”
The above should not be taken to mean that Jesus did not want to pay the temple tax since the temple was his Father’s house. Matthew is the only Gospel that documents Jesus paying the temple tax, and take note, he did not pay out of his own pocket. He ordered Peter to fish and find the coin for their payment there:
“But so that we may not cause offence, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth, and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” (Matthew 17:24-27)
Temple tax, as set in Exodus 30:13, is half a shekel. So one coin paid the temple tax for Jesus and Peter. A coin like that found on the fish is quite rare and in numismatic collections, but the fish is still found, served, and roasted in Israel to this day. My parents, like many Filipino pilgrims to the Holy Land, were both surprised and disappointed to be served “St. Peter’s Fish” during their tour. St. Peter’s fish reminds them of home—it is no other than a Galilee tilapia!
Going back to Judas and the 30 shekels. After the betrayal, Judas felt remorse and returned the coins to the authorities, who refused them. Matthew wrote:
“The chief priests picked up the coins and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into the treasury since it is blood money.’ So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.” (Matthew 27:6-8).
I remember from childhood summers in Pampanga, an effigy of Judas was burned with glee. I never understood, because without him, the story would not have panned out as it did.
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Comments are welcome at ambeth.ocampo@inquirer.net
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