And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Zechariah 11:12-13 KJV
The book of Zechariah contains several significant prophecies about the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. This one is quickly recognized for the price, thirty pieces of silver, received by Judas for betraying or selling out the Lord, described for us in Matthew 27. It was the price of a useless slave, gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). After carrying out his wicked deed Judas realized he had betrayed innocent blood and tried to return the money to the priests, they refused, so he threw the money to the floor of the Temple. Because this was considered blood money, it could not lawfully be placed in the Temple treasury so they used the money to purchase the field of the potter as a burial ground for strangers.
Lord, it is shocking that such a value would be placed upon You and the work You accomplished in our behalf, of course, people still reject You and by doing so they agree that You are of low value. May my response to You in word and deed manifest a high estimate of Your value to me.
