Then one of the Twelve-the man called Judas Iscariot-went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? So, they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him. Matthew 26:14-16 HCSB
Yesterday we talked about Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Many shouted His praise and honored Him. But not everyone was so happy to see Jesus in Jerusalem. The chief priests, the scribes also known as the Sadducees and Pharisees were less than thrilled.
The chief priests were the temple hierarchy. They were mostly Sadducees. They were known for denying the supernatural, including the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels. They rejected human tradition and only accepted the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy as having any authority. They scorned legalism. They tended to be wealthy aristocratic members of the priestly tribe.
The scribes tended to be Pharisees. They had little in common with the Sadducees. The Pharisees were legalistic, they were ritualist whereas the Sadducees were rationalists. The Pharisees were legalists whereas the Sadducees were liberals. Pharisees were separatists whereas Sadducees were compromisers and political opportunists.
Although these two groups opposed each other in every way, they came together to oppose Jesus Christ.
Jesus went into the temple complex and the blind and the lame came to Him and were healed. The children were shouting, “Hosana to the Son of David!” The chief priests and scribes saw and heard this and were indignant (Matthew 21:14-17).
They tried to trip Jesus up by asking by whose authority He did these things. He answered their question with a question, “Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or men?” They began to argue among themselves and eventually answered that they did not know (Matthew 21:23-27).
The Pharisees plotted on how to trap Jesus by using His own words against Him but were unable to do so in Matthew 21:15-22. They asked Jesus if He thought it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus saw right through this. He asked why they were testing Him and told them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
They continued trying to trap Him but were unsuccessful. They thought for sure they had it when they asked Him what the greatest commandment was. But Jesus answered by saying the greatest commandment was that we love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind. This covers the commandments that deal with our relationship with the Lord.
He then said the second greatest commandment is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. This covers the commandments that deal with our treatment of others.
Jesus continued teaching and astounding many. They gave up trying to trick Him with their questions. In Matthew 26, Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples went to the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
Jesus never stopped teaching and preaching. He did His best to prepare them for his death, burial and resurrection.
Because so many didn’t believe Him to be the Messiah, they didn’t understand. They weren’t prepared for what was about to happen.
So, I ask you today are you prepared? We see how things can change within the blink of an eye.
If Jesus were to return today, are you ready to go to heaven to spend eternity?
If you don’t know how to answer or if the answer is no, I encourage you to draw near to Him (James 4:8). Trust in Him, pray and study your Bible. Repent of any sin in your life.
We see in Matthew 21-26 that a lot of changes can come about in 5 days. But we also know that our lives can be changed in an instant.
No one knows when Jesus will return for the rapture or when we will be called to our eternal home.
We must be ready.
Have a great day!