He Knows

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

HE KNOWS

Matt 27:6-10

6 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." 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."  

NIV

It is interesting there are the words of the prophets that spoke of these thirty pieces of silver and used them to buy a place where idol worship took place and the idols were buried in that field. However, the most interesting thing about these thirty pieces of silver is what the chief priests thought about them. First, it was their desire to spill the blood of Jesus. They were the ones who plotted with the teachers of the law and others of the Sanhedrin to have Jesus put to death. They are the ones who called in all sorts of false witnesses in an attempt to prove Jesus was worthy of death. They are the ones who determined the amount of thirty pieces of silver when Judas asked how much they were willing to pay for him to betray Jesus. They are the ones who took the money from the treasury and made it blood money. They are the ones with the murderous attitudes and now they want to appear pious and too righteous to put the money back into the treasury. It would seem doubtful they were aware of the words of the prophet about how the thirty pieces of silver were to be used. It would seem they were cherry-pickers of the scriptures, only paying attention to the ones which they could use for their selfish gains. We remember Jesus saying they were all like whitewashed tombs, all nice looking on the outside, but they were nothing but dead man’s bones on the inside. They were the highest order of hypocrites. Still, once again, we see how the Lord God Almighty is all-knowing and spoke of this before it was to happen. It is not that he caused them to decide on the amount of silver or that they would use it to buy this potter’s field. It is the same with our lives. He allows us to decide certain things, to make our plans, although he does order our footsteps, or he knows exactly what steps we will take. As the Lord knew what they would do, so he knows what we will do. Because of this, He opens the door before us, and He closes other doors so that we will take those steps which lead us to the right place at the right time so to do the right thing. There is an assurance that God is before us, behind us, and with us as we make this journey in the life he has given us. He knows.