Imagine all the religious leaders of the United States getting together and planning the death of a fellow religious leader. That would be a pretty sad day, don’t you agree. It would speak volumes about the depth of their spiritual life, and the height of their hatred for that individual. For all of them to agree on anything would be a miracle of the devilish type. They would have to put aside years of mistrust and skepticism about motives to even get them in the room together. To get them to view one person as worthy of death boggles the imagination.
Do you think Congress, both House and Senate, the Supreme Court and the President all agreeing on the same issue and moving it forward? This is in essence what happened when all the various parties got together before sunrise on that fateful day. Sound possible? I can’t see it happening, can you?
I also hate backroom deals. I know it is often easier to come to a decision without the cameras and microphones catching every nuance of negotiation, but I always get the feeling they are hiding something. I want to know the motives of the people reaching the decision, to hear their inner mental workings. I want to make sure they thought through all the various options. I want to know who wins and who loses.
And in our world today, where every small statement gets pulled out of context and used as a sound bite, it makes sense to have parts of the process out of earshot. Our political correctness has run amuck. We can’t have open, honest conversation. We must carefully couch our language. To offend someone is tantamount to murder. And we have developed a very thin skin as a people. We have become ‘intolerant’ of opposing opinions. We label them so, and then tout our intolerance of their views as ‘civilized, progressive’ thinking. Everyone believes in manmade global warming, except those people who believe in a flat earth. Everyone supports the right of everyone to get married, and if you don’t, you are backward and bigoted. And so the attacks go on.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day gathered after the religious grand jury hearing. They heard Jesus declare that He was the Messiah, God in the flesh. They weren’t happy. Now they must consider the best approach to get Pilate to agree to allow them to kill Jesus. Only Rome had authority to kill someone. It was one of many powers that Rome held for itself across its territories. Rome gave some authority to local governments to allow flexibility. It also made Roman rule a little less oppressive.
So these religious leaders must agree on a strategy. They oppose Jesus for different reasons, but they all oppose Him. They must put aside their theological and political rivalries and unite if they want to clear the stage of this Jesus.
Remember, they had earlier met and agreed to pay for the chance to kill Jesus. Judas had cashed in on their offer. Now their dream had come true, the moment for which they had been waiting. But they had planned for the capture and murder of Jesus to take place at a different time. They didn’t want the crowds of festival goers to mess up their plans. They wanted to do it quietly and on the down low.
Watch out for those who want to cash in on some else’s demise. When someone is attacking another person, it is a good idea to follow the money to see who benefits from the negative activity. What power shifts will take place if they are successful? Who will be on top after the dust settles? Who is pushing from behind the scenes? Who else will lose out if they win?
The Arnold Journey 