Prophets are known to use sarcasm at times. Elijah famously told some Baal worshippers that their “god” was silent because perhaps “he is relieving himself” (1 Kings 18:27); he encouraged them to “cry aloud, for he is a god.” Isaiah used sarcastic irony to convey contempt for those who cut down a cedar tree to make an idol, who then pray to it, saying “Deliver me, for you are my God!” while they burn the rest of the cedar wood and say, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” (Isaiah 44:16). These are famous examples. But have you ever considered the sarcasm Zechariah employed when describing the offerings of the children of Israel? This one might hit a little closer to home.
“Put a price tag on my forehead!” That’s pretty much what Zechariah demanded. “Pay me what you think I’m worth!” Zechariah wanted to know how much the people valued his ministry. Or better, given the context of Zechariah 11, he wanted to force the people to provide a number that would allow them to see how little they valued the word of the Lord, how little they were willing to give to the God who gives them everything.
The people knew that Zechariah was a prophet. Now Zechariah was requiring them to put a value on hearing the word of the Lord. It wasn’t that Zechariah was greedy for “filthy lucre” (Titus 1:11 KJV). He would soon prove the opposite by throwing all the money back into the Temple (Zechariah 11:13). But he wanted the people to see how little value they were assigning to the ministry of the Word.
They offered up thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah was not impressed…sarcasm warning! Zechariah described their offering as a “magnificent sum” (Zechariah 11:13 NLT). Thirty pieces of silver was the “handsome price” (NIV) assigned to the prophet. In calling their offering “handsome” (NIV) or “magnificent” (NLT) or “lordly” (ESV), Zechariah delivered a heavy dose of sarcasm. Such was his assessment of the paltry valuation they gave him; thirty pieces of silver wasn’t good at all. True prophets will let people know how God really feels about how they are doing, including what they offer. A prophet may even use sarcasm to do it.
But let’s go a little deeper and take this more seriously, by considering how Zechariah’s words relate to Jesus. Jesus is also a Prophet, not to mention a Priest and King, even “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). When He presented Himself to Israel, Judas Iscariot valued him at the same price Zechariah got—thirty pieces of silver. Judas was “a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas had always been a greedy sell-out, but when he went to the chief priests and offered to deliver Jesus into their hands, he finalized the deal. He exchanged the whole of His time with Jesus for a paltry price. He collected on what His relationship with Jesus was worth to him. In so doing, he put a price tag on Jesus’ forehead. To Judas, the Son of the living God was worth thirty pieces of silver.
An entire sermon could be preached on the parallels between Zechariah 11:12-13 and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels. That the Lord said to Zechariah “throw it to the potter” (11:13) is a prophetic type that finds its antitype in the usage of Judas’ blood money to purchase a potter’s field (Matthew 27:7). That the money was “thrown into the house of the Lord” in both cases is another prophetic analogy.
But the prophetic image that ought to arrest our attention the most, in the parallels between the two betrayals, is that in both cases the money ends up back at the feet of those who offered it. The coins bouncing on the pavement is a vivid image of an offering rejected! Picture the chief priests picking up the money with their fat, greedy fingers. They, like Judas, valued Jesus at no more than thirty pieces of silver, and the providence of God displayed that day in the Temple was essentially saying, “keep the money!” When Zechariah threw the thirty pieces of silver “into the house of the Lord”, there were those in attendance who would have scurried about to grab the scattered coins. Maybe a few hands arrived at the same piece at the same moment and jostled against each other in the effort to grab it. Thirty meager coins loose on the floor, free for the taking, drew out a pitiful display of misplaced priorities. How many people only saw bouncing, sparkling silver opportunities while missing that it was a word from the Lord?
Zechariah 11:13 is a word from the Lord. The “lordly price” (ESV) needs to be worthy of our Lord. When we come to “the house of the Lord” we ought to bring our best offering to the Lord. A poor widow did that. She gave a handsome, magnificent, lordly valuation of her Lord. Materially, that valuation was only two mites. But the two mites were all she had. The sum did not matter. The Lord saw her heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus then gave an assessment of her offering. Without sarcasm or hyperbole, but “Truly” (Luke 21:3), He evaluated her gift this way: “I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them” (Luke 21:3). It’s not the sum we bring that determines whether the Lord will accept it or send it scattering back at our feet. The determining factor is whether or not our offerings reflect a heart that values the Lord of glory. David rightly said, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).
Let’s each bring our best this Sunday morning and on every Lord’s Day. Paul instructs the Corinthians, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Paul was referring to his missionary visit. How much more should we be looking forward to the coming of Jesus Christ? The first day of every week is the Lord’s Day. Part of how we worship Him is by putting something in the offering box (or in the proverbial “offering box” when giving on the app). This offering is “as he may prosper,” meaning that to whom more is given, more is expected (Luke 12:48). Perhaps today, the Lord is asking one of us to increase his weekly offering by $2, and obedience to that will bring about God’s pleasure, just as with the widow’s two mites. The Lord may be asking another to increase their weekly offering by $30, and obedience to that will bring about God’s pleasure. But let each one respond to the Word of the Lord in Zechariah 11:13. Those who prayerfully offer the best they can will receive the Lord’s commendation. Those who flippantly offer a poor valuation might one day see the handsome price bounce back at their feet, with a dose of sarcasm. Wouldn’t we rather hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).
