I want you to contemplate a question. I want you to ask yourself what it would take for someone to purchase your loyalty. Would it take money, possessions, fame, or position?

Maybe it wouldn’t take any of these things. Maybe you could be bought just for the satisfaction of doing something for a particular person because of who they are. Maybe you could be bought out of fear.

Let’s look at two examples of men who were bought, one out of greed and the second out of fear.

The first is Judas Iscariot. “Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him” (Matthew 26:14-16, ESV).

Judas was a man chosen by the Lord Himself to be with Him during His ministry on earth. He was an insider. He saw the miracles, heard the parables, and travelled with the other chosen eleven.

Judas was the one that complained when Mary took a pound of expensive perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus. He said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:6). John said there was a reason for Judas’ reaction. He did it, “Not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6).

Judas was chosen, but he didn’t live up to his calling. He not only could be bought, he sold his services willingly and with mischief in mind from the beginning.

The second example is found in Matthew 28. After the crucifixion and resurrection, the guards appointed to watch the tomb of Jesus went into the city to the chief priests. They wanted to make their report of what had transpired at the tomb.

They were in a difficult place since they would be killed if they lost the one to whom they were assigned. In this case, they were to secure the tomb. They failed in their responsibility.

The chief priests assembled the elders, and together they came up with a plan. They said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble” (Matthew 28:13-14).

These are the same chief priests to whom Judas had gone. So it should not surprise us that they bought these soldiers. The King James Version says they were offered a large sum of money. “So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day” (Matthew 28:15).

Could you be bought so easily? Could you have taken money to identify the Son of God? Could you have lied about the Lord’s resurrection?

We won’t ever know the answer to either of those questions, but I have another question for you. Did you know you have been bought?

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (First Corinthians 6:19-20).

A slave that is purchased for money becomes the property of the one who bought him. As a slave, one would be obligated to obey his master and to serve him in whatever way he demands.

No price for a slave is as great as the price Jesus paid for us. He gave His life for us, dying on a cross to be the sacrifice for our sins.

We, unlike the slave, have a choice. We can choose to obey Him, or we can choose a life of sin. When we choose a life of sin, we become servants of men, not Christ. Paul said, “You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men” (First Corinthians 7:23).

Here are some ways we can be obedient as those bought by the blood of Christ from First Thessalonians 5:12-22:

• Respect those who are over us.
• Admonish the idle.
• Encourage the fainthearted.
• Help the weak.
• Be patient.
• Do not repay evil for evil.
• Always seek to do good.
• Rejoice always.
• Pray without ceasing.
• Give thanks in all circumstances.
• Do not quench the Spirit.
• Do not despise prophecies.
• Test everything.
• Hold to what is good.
• Abstain from every appearance of evil.

Our challenge is to not be bought by fame and fortune, or from greed or position, or even from fear. We have all already been bought by the blood of Jesus, and may we seek to serve Him and only Him.

Sandra Oliver