Have you ever had anyone teach you something in such a way that it amazed you? Or maybe it wasn’t the way they taught you, but the content that amazed you. I’m talking jaw-dropping amazement.
The spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day had a big problem. Jesus! His teaching had such a ring of authenticity that people were gathering around Him, rather than around them. They were losing their grip on the people. They were losing their carefully scripted place in their world. And if they lost that place, they would have a much more limited place of leadership, if any place was left.
So they had to do something.
Fear can be a powerful motivator, for both good and evil. Fear is one of our most basic emotions, driving right to the core of our being. When we are afraid we can do little else. Fear can take over our life.
What is amazing is that Jesus’ teaching put fear in the hearts of these seemingly fearless leaders. And what do they do with the fear? They turn it into a murder plot. That probably wouldn’t be my first choice, although I have to admit, when I allow my sinful self to imagine, murder does sometimes pop to the surface. Now before you get a spiritual on me, murder has flashed across your mind too!
But these leaders do more that flash murder. They begin to look for a way to do it. They begin to take steps to make it happen.
Jesus has put His finger on their spiritual pulse and found them flat-lined. They were the den of robbers. They were the ones corrupting the LORD’s temple. They are the ones preventing prayer from happening in the temple courts. They had authority over that space, and they were giving authority to those who were doing the selling. Their permission was needed to be there, so they were part of the problem.
Is murder part of godly living? I didn’t think so either! But if we followed these religious leaders, we might think it was, the ends justifying the means. Killing Jesus would help the greater cause. They certainly didn’t want any trouble with Rome. They were charged with keeping peace in their little corner of the Roman empire. And Jerusalem had a bad reputation for brewing dissidents. Or at least dissidents would show up in Jerusalem preaching their rebellion.
These religious leaders had a vested interest in keeping the status quo. They didn’t want any change. Things were fine just the way they were. Change meant the unknown. The unknown brings uncertainty, unpredictability.
Sometimes we need to shake up the status quo. Sometimes things need to change in order for things to get better. Are you ready for some change?
The Arnold Journey 