PASSION WEEK – Thursday

We have reached the day of the Passover. Now, Matthew 26 covers a LOT. It picks up at the end of the Olivet Discourse (probably on Wednesday) and recounts the preparation and the Passover, the betrayal in Gethsemane and all the way through Jesus’ mock trial. Mark 14 and Luke 22 are almost identical in that respect.

I plan to write about different moments in each chapter. Like this:

• Mt 26 – The plot to kill Jesus
• Mk. 14 – The Preparation & Meal
• Lk. 22 – Strife at the table and Jesus’ remaking of the Passover

DO read the whole chapter for the reading, but just know I’m only going to write about one portion of the chapter.

Then, next week I’m rearranging things and I recommend reading the chapters in this order. Here’s what I’m going to cover:

• Jn. 13 – Washing feet and the traitor
• Jn. 14-15 – Jesus’ parting words & The Vine and Branches
• Jn. 16-17 – The Holy Spirit & Jesus’ Intercessory Prayer
• Jn. 18 – The betrayal, arrest, & trial
• Mt. 27 – Jesus & Pilate
• Mk 15 – The Crucifixion Part 1

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THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS

This is an interesting period in Judean history. There are TWO high priests.

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Annas was the father-in-law of Chaiaphas, (Jn. 18:13). And it may be that he was elderly and not able to carry out all the duties of the high priest but still carried the authority and title.

Chaiaphas is the one who “accidentally” prophesied in John 11:49-53 that Jesus would die for the nation and all people.

Ever since the resurrection of Lazarus about 6 months earlier, the chief priests, Pharisees, and scribes have been regularly discussing options on how to kill Jesus, (Jn. 11:53).

Chaiaphas invites select heads of state to his mansion for um… ya know… just a little get together. Just an informal dinner party. Nothing official. Nothing to see here.

If presidents or prime ministers do this sort of thing today, it’s generally frowned upon if not an outright scandal. But we will see as the next 48 hours of Jesus’ life unfolds, that there were several shady and downright illegal things done by the Jewish leadership.

It’s likely that men like Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were excluded from the invitation list to Chaiaphas’ house.

“Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If the Jewish leaders had their way, Jesus would NOT have been crucified as the Passover lamb.

Let me unpack that.

The Jews were not permitted to execute criminals, (See Jn. 18:31). They might’ve occasionally stoned someone, but it technically wasn’t legal for them to do so.

If they planned to “arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” the Romans wouldn’t have been involved at all. Jesus would’ve been “brought in for questioning” by the Levitical temple guards, then probably quietly disappeared into a dungeon and left to starve or perhaps done in by some other method. But He certainly would not have been crucified.

Only the Romans had the authority and frankly the brutal know-how to crucify.

And Jesus HAD to be crucified to fulfill scripture. Remember all those Hebrew words with the letters about the pierced man on the cross with the serpent?

If the Jewish leaders had been in control and did things the way they planned, Jesus would not have been crucified and would not have fulfilled prophecy.

Let that sink in.

They are NOT the ones in control here. It may look that way, but this one text shows that NOTHING about Jesus’ death was according to their plan. They didn’t plan to hand Him over to the Romans. They planned to handle it themselves. Quietly. They didn’t plan to have Him killed during Passover either. They were too worried about the political fallout if it should cause a riot.

Next, there needed to be an inside actor. Again, in order for scripture to be fulfilled (Ps. 41:9 and 2:12), Jesus has to be betrayed by a close friend with a kiss.

In recent passages we have seen Judas fussing at the women who have anointed Jesus. On the surface, his criticism would’ve seemed justified. Pouring out an entire container of perfumed oil was the kind of extravagance we would associate with Gilded Age millionaires filling their fountains with champagne instead of water.

Judas is the one who approached the chief priests.

🤔 How does Judas know they want Jesus?

Because… there were basically “Wanted Posters” with Jesus’ on them.

“Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.”
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭57‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This transaction also has to happen in order to fulfill prophecy. Remember a while back when we read about Zechariah the prophet doing this as a prophetic sign?

“Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the Lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭11‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

These were most likely silver shekels. Using an online ancient currency calculator, and based on a $15/hr minimum wage, 30 silver shekels would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000-$11,000.

I’ve heard several theories about Judas’ motive in handing Jesus over to the authorities.

• Sheer and simple greed
• Desperation, he really needed money
• He thought an arrest would force Jesus’ hand to overthrow Rome and the Jewish elites and usher in the kingdom
• He figured Jesus would use His power to escape. All would be well and they’d have a bunch of money to boot.

I don’t know and neither does anyone else. What we CAN tell from the text is that Judas’ heart was not with Jesus. If he truly thought that Jesus was the Son of God, why would he think that a jar of perfume was too extravagant a gift to be poured on Him?

And there is another, very disturbing clue. Jesus has just said that one of them will betray Him. And young John asks Jesus who it is…

“Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.””
‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Satan entered into him. (See also Lk. 22:3)

This is unprecedented in scripture.

Not demonic influence. Not even possession by an unclean spirit. No. Satan entered into him. Y’all that is chilling. What does that even mean? And how does it even happen? We don’t read about a seance or some bizarre voodoo ceremony where Judas turns into a demonized warlock or something. It’s much more subtle than that. And I want you to remember it, because there is only one other entity in the Bible of whom it could be said that Satan was in him in some way, empowering him. And we’ll get to him later.

There have been and are people who look at the betrayal and death of Jesus as a horrible thing. And while His suffering and anguish WAS unspeakably horrible, it was NOT a “Plan B” or an accident. None of this was a surprise to Jesus. Not for one second was man or Hell in control. The genius of God is, Man and Hell thought they were in control. They were acting upon their own evil desires and will. And God used it against them. I do not believe that God has to “play both sides of the chess board” and dictate man’s every move in order to accomplish His will. The Almighty is such a masterful “chess player” that no matter what moves His opponents freely make, He can still maneuver the game to His intended outcome.

Jesus is absolutely in control of how and when His life will be offered up. It WILL go according to the plan made from the foundation of the world. And there isn’t a thing the hostile religious elites, the Roman empire, or Satan himself can do about it.