Condemned

Scripture: Luke 22:66-71

66 At daybreak all the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before this high council, 67 and they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” But he replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. 68 And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.” 70 They all shouted, “So, are you claiming to be the Son of God?” And he replied, “You say that I am.” 71 “Why do we need other witnesses?” they said. “We ourselves heard him say it.” (Luke 22:66-71 NLT)

The “leading priests and the elders of the people” were so careful about their religious practices, the way they dressed, the activities they permitted and didn’t permit themselves and others to perform. They wouldn’t in their wildest imaginations think of eating a shrimp salad or having bacon with their eggs. They wouldn’t walk a mile or cook a meal or wash dishes on the Sabbath because it was a no-work day.

But they hated Jesus for his freedom to heal and do good, to care for the outsiders, to show mercy and friendship to prostitutes and night-club owners and fast-talking used-car salesmen. And they feared Jesus for the disruption he might cause to their sometimes fragile relationship with the puppet-King Herod and the Roman military governor. It seems incredible the lengths to which the most law-oriented and morality-focused people will go when motivated by fear, envy, and greed.

The Jews didn’t have the authority to impose capital punishment. So they met together to find a way to accuse Jesus of something potentially threatening to Roman rule and “…to discuss how to persuade the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death.”  Once they had their plan, they cuffed him and took him to Pilate.

This makes me so angry! But it also makes me think about Christians in the US and about me in my little world. How close do we come to doing the same thing today that they did then? How much of our morality, our humanity, our commitment to “Love God with all our hearts and love others as we love ourselves” might we, will we, compromise due to fear, to prejudice, to envy, to the desire to be served rather than to serve?

Prayer:

Father, As we’ve journeyed through Luke, this whole “Pharisees, priests, and teachers of the law” thing has been a cautionary tale to me. Don’t let me blame them and excuse myself. Show my friends and me the seeds of this same attitude in our own hearts. Please forgive us for our sins and protect us from ourselves. In Jesus’ name!