About Those High Priests and Elders…
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. Matthew 26:3-4 (NIV)
What can we say about Caiaphas and his followers? What was their motive to capture Jesus and kill Him. If this had happened today, Magnum P.I., Castle, NCIS, or Blue Bloods would have uncovered the reason very quickly and the offenders would have been caught. The jails might have been full by the end of this case with those priests, elders, and liars in the crowds.
They pronounced Him guilty of claiming to be God’s Son. He spoke only the truth! Their own ignorance and greed sent Him to Golgotha. They simply wanted Him gone and figured His followers would be too scared to continue without Him. Impossible.! Too many people had heard the good news for the religious leaders to sweep everything under the rug.
Consider what those arrogant leaders felt when the veil was torn apart. Imagine their surprise and inept attempts to explain the empty tomb on that blessed Easter morning.
These men tried to be religious. They followed the laws found in the Old Testament (and probably added a few of their own). However, they did not accept Jesus as the promised Messiah. That would have meant they were not needed anymore. We can only assume they liked their lucrative and high-profile positions.
Do we sometimes try to be religious and simply follow the rules? In doing so, we become overwhelmed with failure and miss the greatest relationship. What a difficult road to travel! Being human, we make innumerable mistakes. Today do not need a high priest to ask for forgiveness. We can go straight to the Forgiver.
Finally, what about the people in the crowds who were influenced by the priests to add untruths? Today it would be called perjury. Presumably, we do not lie about our faith. But do we remain silent when we should right a wrong, verbally take a stand for Him, or show love and compassion as needed?
I wonder where they are today.
Thankfully, our High Priest is still alive and active in our world and in our hearts.
Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to take away our sins. Please help us to always stand up for our faith and to willingly share it with others. Teach us not to be stuffy and pious but to love as Jesus has taught us. AMEN.