Zechariah 11:12
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 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.
The shepherd asks those he has led for his wages, and they weigh out for him thirty pieces of silver. That sum was the price of a slave, a paltry and contemptuous valuation that marked the rejection of the Lord and the price set upon the Son of God for humiliation and death. It was fulfilled when Judas, one of His own disciples, sold his divine Master to the priests and rulers for that exact amount, and the money afterward cast down in the house of the Lord stood as a testimony to Christ's innocence. His covetous love of money led him to persist against every call to repentance until remorse came too late, making his betrayal of the Lord of glory a warning of the ruin that follows one cherished sin.
Rejected Shepherd Prophesied
The verse belongs to the prophecy of the rejected shepherd, in which the shepherd asks the people to give him his price if they think good, and they value him at thirty pieces of silver. In that setting the poor of the flock recognize the Lord's word, while the shepherd's covenant is signified and the staff are broken. The thirty pieces of silver named as his price was the price of a slave. To value him at that sum was to betray the Lord of glory to humiliation and death.
That sum was a paltry valuation, marking the rejection of the Lord. It was the price assigned to God's Son, the Lord of life and glory sold by one of His own disciples. The amount itself, and the act of weighing it out, foretold the betrayal by Judas. What was foretold was fulfilled in prophetic vision in the events surrounding the trial of Jesus, when Judas agreed to betray Him and sold Him to the priests and rulers for thirty pieces of silver. The thirty silver pieces were then cast to the potter in the house of the Lord, directly fulfilling the prophecy and becoming a testimony to His innocence.
Betrayal Motive and Warning
The weighing of thirty pieces of silver was fulfilled when one of His own disciples agreed to betray Him to the priests and rulers for that sum. In that bargain the divine Master, the Lord of life and glory, was sold for silver at a paltry price. Love of money and covetousness, with a selfish character, led Judas to make the betrayal. He expected Jesus to escape His captors and display His power. When Jesus instead submitted to abuse and death, Judas understood the full weight of his act and was filled with remorse.
He sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver after repeatedly resisting efforts to awaken his conscience and lead him to repentance. His refusal to surrender and confess led to his ruin. His betrayal of the Lord of glory for thirty pieces of silver stands as a warning of the ruin that can follow one cherished sin. It is presented as a warning of the ruinous result of sin.