Tag Archives: chief priests

A Treacherous Association

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A TREACHEROUS ASSOCIATION

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand Him over. (Mark 14: 10-11)

Mmm! So Judas was among those who jumped on the woman for wasting her perfume on Jesus, was it?  In John’s account of this or a similar story, he named him. But it is significant, isn’t it, that Judas chose this moment to leave the group and make his offer to the chief priests. Was it this incident that tipped him over the edge?

What was it with Judas that he was never really one with the rest of the disciples? Now and again the gospel writers named one or other of the disciples, apart from Peter, James and John who were the three in the forefront of the action and the conversation in the group. But Judas is not mentioned except for those times when his true nature was revealed. John said he was a thief – helping himself to money from the communal purse. One wonders why Jesus entrusted the bag to him.

On this occasion he was among those who had a lot to say about a woman who poured an entire jar of very expensive nard on Jesus’ head. Jesus openly rebuked them, defending the woman’s action with gracious words. Judas must have stung with the rebuke, especially as it exposed his callous heart. He had no sympathy for the poor. If he did, why did he not give of his own money instead of criticising her for her act of devotion to Jesus? Obviously he did not understand love like that.

What was Judas’ issue with Jesus that drove him to do such a dastardly deed to someone who had whom shown him nothing but love and friendship? What was Judas’ expectation of Jesus? Obviously he was a sympathiser with those who were anti-Rome. Like some of the other disciples, he could not wait for the day when the Romans were driven from Israel, as he and the other disciples expected from their Messiah. Their expectation was so high that they were continually squabbling among themselves about positions in Jesus’ new government.

Jesus had made it obvious that He had no connection with the current religious leaders because of their hypocrisy and double standards – so they would not have a place in Jesus’ cabinet. His disciples would feature prominently in the rulership when He took over, so he must have thought. Judas was the quiet one, not saying anything but scheming under the surface about what he wat going to do. He took no one into his confidence when he cooked up his plan to try to force Jesus’ hand.

Why did he decide to betray his Master to the ruling party? Did he really want to get rid of Him? It’s possible, since there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. Judas had an evil heart and not even his years in the company of Jesus had changed that. The more time he spent with Him, the great the rift became as Judas’ heart was exposed, time and again by the truth that fell from Jesus’ lips. Like the Pharisees, did Judas decide that the only way to silence his conscience was to shut the mouth of the one who pricked and prodded him?

Perhaps Judas was becoming frustrated that his political aspirations were not being fulfilled. Why did he decide to follow Jesus when he heard His call? Did he attach himself to the group initially, becoming interested when he listened to this man talking about the kingdom of God? Then, surprise, when Jesus chose His Twelve from among the many that followed Him, Judas found himself among the chosen ones. Did he want to be there? Perhaps, so that he could find out more about this kingdom He was proclaiming and be in on the planning and preparation to take over.

Imagine his frustration when Jesus spent not one moment scheming with His disciples on their take-over strategy. Instead, He spoke about heart attitudes and actions which hit Judas in the solar plexus, uncovering his greedy and wicked heart until he could stand it no more. This final prod, defending a worthless woman and exposing Judas’ callous attitude to a beautiful act of devotion, sent him over the top.

Off he went to the chief priests, determined to silence Jesus once and for all, or to set up the circumstances that would force Him out into the open. But, in the end, it was not Jesus but Judas that was forced to show his hand – Judas, the treacherous back-stabbing “friend”!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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A Bid For The Throne

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A BID FOR THE THRONE 

“Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him.” John 12:9-11 NIV.

How far will people go to secure their own position and protect their beliefs? These religious leaders were stooping to the very lowest, scheming to get rid of Lazarus as well; to silence both him and Jesus because they were a threat to their power and influence over the people and, of course, to their income from them.

Once again John pointed out that this latest and greatest sign brought another wave of people to faith in Jesus. For the Jewish leaders this was bad news. Things were getting out of hand as far as they were concerned and they had to take action to put a stop to it before they were completely swamped by Jesus and His followers. And it could only get worse…

“The next day the crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’

“Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:12-15 NIV

Although this was a spontaneous outbreak of praise from the people, no doubt set off by one exuberant person and taken up by the crowd, it had been prophesied by the post exilic prophet, Zechariah, centuries before. Surely the religious leaders would have recognised what they were shouting as a fulfilment of prophecy! It should have stopped them in their tracks and alerted them to the amazing truth that they were right in the middle of the fulfilment of their own Scriptures.

“Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 NIV.

For these stubborn unbelievers it was a danger sign, not a reason to celebrate the arrival of their rightful and righteous ruler. Had they only listened to Jesus instead of opposing Him at every turn, they would have realized that Jesus was no threat to Rome. The kingdom of which He spoke was unseen and within, transforming people from selfish and greedy getters to compassionate and generous givers because of a new Master in their lives.

They would still be under Roman rule until the Father saw fit to release them from their oppressors. But that would be nothing compared with their release from the burden of religion, sin and the slave-drivers within; the guilt, shame and fear which tormented them and from which Jesus came to set them free. The throne of which their Scriptures taught was not an earthly throne but the control centre of their lives surrendered to Jesus so that He could direct them into a life of peace and oneness with the Father.

Where was Jesus heading when He came riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey accompanied by the crowds in a party spirit? To Pilate’s residence to make a bid to oust Rome…with a mighty army of twelve men and a crowd of revelling children? To the temple where He would challenge the authority of the religious leaders and take over the temple?

Yes, it was His announcement that He had come as a king but…His reign would be a reign of peace – “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:10 NIV.

But that peace would come at a price, His own blood shed for the nations so that they would experience the peace that is much more than the cessation of war — peace with God and the peace of God which transcends understanding.

An Effective Barrier Against Truth

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AN EFFECTIVE BARRIER TO TRUTH 

“Finally the temple guards went to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring Him?’ ‘No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied, ‘You mean He deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. ‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in Him? No, but this mob that knows nothing of the law — there is a curse on them.’

“Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’ They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.'”

“Then they all went home.” John 7:45-53 (NIV).

Ugh! These men are obnoxious!

They sent temple guards to arrest Jesus, but the guards could not bring themselves to do it. His words fascinated and mesmerized them. They had never heard anyone speak as Jesus spoke. They returned empty-handed to the religious rulers and Pharisees who were so sure of themselves that they dismissed them with withering contempt.

These men held themselves up as the measure of truth. Since none of their number had believed in Jesus (perhaps Nicodemus had kept his night-time visit to Jesus a secret in case he was dismissed with the same disapproval as the temple guards), of course Jesus was a trickster and a fraud! The temple guards were taken in by Him because they were just part of the gullible mob, according to them.

Nicodemus put in a rather weak protest, appealing to his colleagues at least to give Jesus a hearing. But his was a lone voice trying to get a fair deal for Jesus. His plea was swept aside with the same arrogant dismissal as the guards received.

Why did these men stick so tenaciously to their opinion of Jesus that they were not even prepared to give Him a hearing?

Their first argument was the typical everybody’s-doing-it reason. Since all of them (except Nicodemus, and he was of no consequence to them), dismissed Jesus as a fraud, that made them right. Their confidence was based on the flimsy premise that majority opinion must be the truth.

Unfortunately, in God’s eyes this kind of reasoning does not hold water. Even if the whole world chooses to believe lies, that does not make it the truth. Billions of people follow false religions, sincerely believing that they are right and even being willing to murder to defend their beliefs but that still does not make lies the truth.

Secondly, they clung to their superficial reason for rejecting Jesus because they refused to investigate the evidence. What were they afraid of? Would they have changed their minds about Him if they found out the truth? I don’t think so. This was not about Jesus; this was about them. It would take honesty and humility to listen to Jesus and to take Him seriously and they were not prepared to do that because they would have to forfeit their status in the community and bow to Him.

We may not think we are like the Pharisees but deep in every heart there lurks the pride that cuts us off from God. “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”  Humility is the one thing that opens the door to revelation from God. Jesus told His hearers that, if anyone genuinely wants to know the truth, he will be able to discern the source of His teaching — from God or from Himself.

Once again, this conflict opens up new understanding about God, about us and about the depravity of our own hearts. My plea is that we put aside our right to be right and examine the evidence. We have only one source of truth — the Word of God. He has graciously given us an infallible point of reference to keep us on track. If we are humble enough to say, ‘I don’t know,’ we will be on the way to finding out the truth.

Let’s use it!