THE ROAD TO CALVARY - PLOT AND BETRAYAL

TEXT: Matthew 26:1-5; 14 - 16 (NIV)

The Plot Against Jesus
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2"As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. 5"But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. 16From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.


(26:1-5) Jesus once again prepares the twelve for things to come. It's important to notice Jesus' mentioning of the Passover Feast (the Jews' great annual celebration in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, Their lives were spared when the death angel passed over their homes because of the sacrificial blood that was posted on their doors -- thus they were able to leave Egypt). How interesting that the Lamb of God was being handed over to shed His blood. Jesus is the Passover. He is/was the ultimate sacrifice. He is our salvation.

Jesus' mention of the Passover also sets a timetable. After He states this, the enemy began to put the plot into action. An official meeting was held at the palace. The elders, the chief priests, the high priests.........this was the Sanhedrin Council.........the leaders........they took this very seriously. They wanted to, however, wait until after the Passover. Not necessarily for "religious" reasons, but due to the fact that the city would be filled with many celebrants. They didn't want to intice a riot on the possibility that the multitude of people would side with Jesus. Afterall, they were just praising and worshipping Him as He made the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

(26:14-16) Judas Iscariot obviously did not accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Although he was a follower, he did not learn. His character was such that he was an opportunist and when he saw that he could make personal gain for being with the Lord, he jumped at it.

Everyone that is with you, is not for you. Everyone that is in your circle is not your brother or sister. Everyone that walks with you does not have your back. And everyone that say that they want to learn from you may not believe in you. This was Judas. Someone who was willing to sell his soul for silver!

But, we can't really be mad at Judas. He played an integral part in Jesus' work and His journey to calvary. The Jewish leaders had ample time and means to arrest and kill Jesus. Yet, Judas' role played into theirs because it was all done on the sly. It was underhanded, untruthful, and with malice. Their actions, and Judas', simply demonstrate what we will, have, or had already experienced because of who we are -- Children of God. As such, satan is always trying to find ways to destroy us and to hurt us. Evil basically lurks and crawls around and does things underhanded. Evil will stare you in the face, smile at you, give you a kiss, and then hand you over for destruction.

As difficult as it may be for us, when persecution comes our way, we have to stand tall and remember what Jesus went through just for us. We can rest assured that He will deliver us.


Carla