The Heart of the Matter
I don't often think about the reason(s) as to why the chief priests and elders were so determined to capture Jesus. I mean, we all know that Jesus HAD to die to redeem us from our sins, but the Jewish religious leaders of the day definitely did not have THAT on their minds. So why, exactly, DID they work so hard to find an opportunity to destroy Jesus? Certainly, He was causing a great commotion among the people, and that was causing some discomfort among the leaders. And surely there were mumblings about "revolution", and the leaders were worried about "upsetting the apple cart" by ruining the abusive (but comfortable/familiar) relationship that Israel had with the Roman Empire. But finally, in Matt. 27:18, we see the key, core reasoning behind the whole scheme -- the chief priests and elders were jealous of Christ's ministry. "Hey, who is this nobody who is stealing all of our thunder?!? Who does he think he is, God himself?" (Um, actually, yes...). The religious leaders of the day couldn't stand having somebody stealing their spotlight, a "friend of sinners" who was winning over the hearts and minds of the people... while their synagogues -- and in turn, their tithes and offerings -- were probably starting to thin out (as their usual congregants were too busy following Jesus' traveling ministry). Hence, as it's all laid out there in v. 18: "they handed Him over because of envy". I guess they had forgotten about the 10th commandment -- thou shalt not covet? (Ex. 20:17)
Created over 3 years ago
