“Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” (Jim Rohn)
In Jesus time, the currency of
the day was the denarius. A denarius (plural denarii) is an ancient Roman coin
made of silver. This silver coin usually depicted
an Emperor wearing a laurel wreath on the one side. The reverse varied in topics depending upon the current political
environment of Rome. The denarius was used from approximately 211 Before Common
Era (BCE) during the Second Punic War to 244 Common Era (CE).[i]
The
silver Roman denarius is thought to be based on the small silver Greek coins
that were used in Italy around the 4th century B.C. The Romans later produced their own coin, the "quadrigati,"
named after the Roman quadriga that
appeared on its reverse.
A denarius was
a common day's pay for
unskilled labor (Matthew 20:2). If you take today’s minimum
wage ($10.95 per hour), and multiply that by twelve hours. You come to $131.40 per day. One
hundred denarii would equal $13,140.00 by today’s standards. It is somewhat difficult to come up with an equivalent value
of currency commonly in use today.
Given
that this coin is over 2000 years old, the range of products and services
available to the common man today is different than it was back then. Some classical historians have discovered that a common
day's pay for Roman infantry soldiers were paid slightly less, and Roman
officers were paid slightly more.[ii]
Below are just a few examples where denarii are used in the gospels
taken from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB):[iii]
Jesus tells the Parable of the
Unforgiving Debtor (Matthew 18: 21-35) –Matthew 18:28 says: That
servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred
denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, “Pay what you owe.”
Jesus feeds the 5000 (Mark 6:30-44)- Mark 6:37 says: “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him,
“Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them
something to eat?” (Philip, a disciple)
Jesus tells the Parable of the Good
Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)-Luke 10:35 says: The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care
of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.” (The Good Samaritan)
A Woman Anoints Jesus with Perfume (John
12:1-11)-John
12:5 says: “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred
denarii and given to the poor?” (Judas Iscariot)
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