Scripture
Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Reflection
In these couple of verses we witness how deceitful and hypocritical (religious) people can be. It’s interesting to note that the chief priests and teachers didn’t only want to banish or imprison Jesus, but they wanted him dead. They despised him so much that they wanted to silence Him once for all. Verse 1 tells us the chief priest and teachers were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly with the aim to kill him. The government aka Pilate didn’t find any wrongdoing on Jesus part (Mark 15:14) but it was the priest and religious teachers who wanted him dead. It’s astonishing to read how the priests and teachers were able to convince and justify not only to themselves but also to the crowd that it’s okay to murder an innocent man over Barabbas who actually committed murder (Mark 15:7).
In the same way, we can very easily sometimes justify to ourselves certain actions to be right (regardless the extend of severity), but in actual fact, we end up only deceiving ourselves for our own personal gain/revenge. This is one of the reasons why Christian community plays such a vital role in every believer’s life. It keeps us accountable and helps us to keep our eyes on Jesus and not to loose perspective (Con).
Thoughts for the day
- What measures do you have put in place to keep you accountable and not to loose perspective?
- What do you feel God is telling you through this passage?
- How can you apply this message in an area of your life that needs transformation?
- Is there anyone you think should hear or will benefit from this message? Go and tell them.
Prayer
Pray the promises of God. Remind yourself of God’s character and power by finding a promise from God that speaks to you. Reflect and pray on it today.
