Reflective Bible Study

When looking at the details the gospel writers share about the resurrection, Matthew’s gospel includes a phrase that is very powerful, while also being very easy to overlook. The idea implied in Matthew’s gospel is the powerful truth that once a lie has been said or spoken, it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to break through that lie with the truth.

Even today, for years, and maybe even decades and/or centuries, myths that have been proven false have kept circulating because some lies are easier to believe than the truth. Some people might say that the Bible is one such myth, but time and time again, even though the ways the Bible has been vindicated are not widely popularized, the Bible contains way more truth than error, even with its flaws.

Within the resurrection account in Matthew’s gospel, we learn that the religious leaders start a lie about Jesus and His disciples, and in the details of this event, we discover how hard it can be to actually change some people’s minds. Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 11, Matthew tells us that:

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

Did you catch that last part of this passage? “This story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”

Matthew clearly states that the priests and religious leaders start this lie and in many ways, the lie is more believable than the miraculous resurrection that Jesus’ followers proclaimed.

However, if we look closer at this lie, I am amazed that the details of this lie are incredibly incriminating. In this lie, the religious leaders bribe the soldiers to say that they fell asleep while on the job, which is something you would only do if you wanted to lose your job, or in the case of the military at that time, you might lose more than your job if caught sleeping. The religious leaders bribe the soldiers to say that they “failed at their job”.

While believing in a resurrection is challenging on one hand, the lie these religious leaders bribe into existence is surprisingly ridiculous. It is ridiculous to think that some scared disciples could overpower a group of armed soldiers, and it is equally ridiculous to think that these scared civilian disciples could silently and secretly roll the large boulder away from the entrance of the tomb while every single guard slept. Even if some of the guards had been heavy sleepers, all it would take is one twig to break and one light sleeping soldier to foil a plan.

It is also worth pointing out that if every guard was sleeping, there is a logical challenge that said how the guards would know it was the disciples who stole Jesus’ body. If the guards woke up as the disciples were running away, it wouldn’t have been difficult for a soldier to catch someone carrying a heavy corpse, and there would have been a dead disciple, and multiple corpses placed back in the tomb.

All this to say that a guard who failed at his job was liable at the very least to lose his job, if not lose his life. A whole garrison of guards who failed because they fell asleep is the ultimate bad excuse that any sane governor would need to punish. Part of me wonders if word ever did make it to the governor’s ears, and if so, if the governor was actually satisfied with the excuses the priests and leaders gave. Another part of me wonders if the governor discovered the lie and learned that his soldiers actually were overpowered by an angel.

Another detail about this lie doesn’t make sense in my mind. This additional detail is why someone would promote a rumor about themselves failing at a task when their failure could cost them their life. People usually brag about successes, and what the soldiers share is a monumental failure. The soldiers’ failure is such a bad failure that it almost isn’t believable as well.

However, let’s take another step back. In this event, the priests and leaders had already convinced themselves that Jesus was not special or significant, and specifically that Jesus was not from God. The religious leaders repeatedly pushed back at Jesus while He was teaching, healing, and spreading good news about God. These religious leaders built their lie about Jesus long before crucifixion and resurrection weekend.

The lie the religious leaders believed about Jesus not being from God was behind them pushing for Jesus’ execution, and it is what led them to bribe the next lie about a stolen body into existence. In the minds of these religious leaders, Jesus could not have been raised from the dead because Jesus was clearly not from God. Instead, the only explanation left was that His disciples stole the body.

What happened that weekend surrounding the religious leaders bribing a lie into existence is fascinating for another reason. Because soldiers were present guarding the tomb, in an ironic turn of events, the priests and Jewish leaders were the first to learn about the resurrection. While the women were confused at an empty tomb and headed to share their confusion with Jesus’ disciples, the chief priests and religious leaders are receiving a report about the resurrection from the soldiers they posted at the tomb.

In a similar way that many people don’t think of, at the beginning of the gospel of Luke, the priest Zechariah is the first to learn about God paving the way for Jesus through His forerunner John the Baptist. Now at the point Jesus is resurrected following His crucifixion, the priests are again the first people to know about the resurrection – and these priests have enough witnesses among these guards to validate the story in a court.

While the disciples take the testimony of the women who visited the empty tomb as enough evidence to go check it out for themselves, the religious leaders get their testimony from men and dismiss it in favor of their lie. This isn’t meant to be a sexist statement; instead it is a statement focused on the first century culture and time.

Looking again at the lie the religious leaders bribe into existence, we discover that this lie is easily dismissible. The simple event that would need to happen to dismiss this lie is actually seeing the resurrected Jesus and then the lie would be exposed as a lie. Over the forty days between Jesus being resurrected and ascending to heaven, this is what we discover happened. Over that span of time, Jesus appeared to individuals and groups in a variety of ways leading up to His return to heaven.

However, how do we know which story is true? How can we know whether Jesus really was resurrected or whether His disciples stole the body? Only one of these records can be true.

Like we began this episode by saying, a lie is almost impossible to unstick once it has been spoken or written, and even decades after Jesus’ resurrection, when Matthew sat down to write out His gospel letter, he points out that this lie was still circulating. When faced with these two conflicting ideas, how should we judge the validity of each?

In my mind, the first thing to look at is the evidence of those who believed when they died. Hundreds of first century believers were executed for their belief in the resurrection, and they all died believing the resurrection was a historical fact. Every one of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples was executed for their faith, and each one believed the resurrection was a historical fact.

To counter this narrative, Matthew’s gospel shares a private conversation between the priests and the guards, meaning that either Matthew made up a source for the lie, or one of the guards defected and told Matthew the truth. I suspect that Matthew would have had soldier friends from his time as a tax collector, so Matthew learning and including a detail in his gospel the other gospel writers didn’t is not surprising to me.

In closing, while in most cases, lies are easier to believe than the truth, the simple truth we should remember is that wherever lies are present, the truth will come to light eventually – and when it does, it is up to us to examine the evidence and choose the truth. In this case, our eternity depends on it!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and look for things that reveal His truth. While lies are often easier to believe in the short term than the truth, the truth is the only reality that will ultimately set you free.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself so you can accurately identify truth from error when you see it. The Bible has stood the test of time and has reliably helped people for thousands of years.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Over the past year, which I’ve loosely called our first chronological year moving through the gospels, we have been progressively moving forward through Jesus’ life and ministry looking at events that happened while He was here on earth. This episode marks the climax of Jesus’ life and ministry, and it focuses our attention onto something that happened while Jesus was hanging on the cross. While it is very tempting to jump to a different gospel that might give more or less insight on this event, the way Matthew frames what happened while Jesus was hanging on the cross is amazing in my mind.

Let’s read what happened. Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 27, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 38, Matthew tells us that:

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

While reading this passage, I am reminded of a question I had a while ago. This question wondered whether Jesus had one big temptation that Satan pushed His way over the course of His life.

At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted, and the three temptations He faced are very significant. Also, throughout His ministry, Jesus is faced with many challenges. However, in the last weeks, days, and hours of Jesus’ life, He seems to be faced with one temptation that appeared to intensify the closer He comes to it – and that temptation is avoiding the cross.

Nothing about crucifixion weekend was a surprise to Jesus. While the disciples were all surprised with the crucifixion, and while Judas Iscariot happened to be the betrayer, none of the disciples believed Jesus would ultimately face the cross. Even Judas Iscariot, who chose to betray Jesus, believed Jesus would maneuver a way out of the religious leader’s trial and hostile plan. When Judas Iscariot realized Jesus wasn’t seeking to free Himself, Judas tried in vain to undo what he had done. Prior to the banquet where Jesus is anointed with expensive perfume, Judas likely didn’t have any clue that a traitor would show up within the twelve closest followers – or even that he would be that guy.

In my mind, leading up to the cross, I suspect Jesus’ big temptation was simply to avoid the cross and all the pain that would be associated with it. Even though no one in Jesus’ life could see it, for over three years of ministry, and over a decade more during His time living at home, Jesus knew and understood the cross as His end goal.

However, in our passage for this episode, Jesus has succeeded fighting off this temptation, because He is now on the cross. While some might think that Jesus’ temptations would now be minor in comparison, a new temptation presents itself and this new temptation might be even more powerful than the temptation to avoid the cross. Before being nailed to the cross Jesus had the option of, and the temptation to, avoid it entirely; after being nailed to the cross, Jesus faced the temptation to come down off of it.

While reading this passage and focusing on what the crowd says while they are mocking Jesus, we see a clear challenge and temptation for Jesus to prove who He was. We also see Satan behind all these challenges. In each of the three temptations in the wilderness, Satan beings by saying the words, “If you are the Son of God”, and here in our passage, this same challenge is repeated in the last half of verse 40, “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

The only way this temptation works is if Jesus really had the power to come down from the cross. The two rebels did not have this power, but Jesus did. It was fully within Jesus’ ability to come off of the cross. However, if Jesus had chosen to display this power, everything He would have worked to accomplish would have been lost. If Jesus abandoned the cross, Satan would have won – and the empty belief the priests and Jewish leaders were promising to give to Jesus would have meant nothing.

The insults thrown at Jesus while He is on the cross range from challenging Jesus’ ability, to challenging His mission, to tempting Him with additional people who will believe, all the way to challenging Jesus’ faith and trust in God.

In the few minutes we have left in this episode, let’s look closer at these temptations.

The first temptation Jesus faced was challenging His ability to come off of the cross. However, it did not occur to those present that, Jesus also had the choice to stay on the cross. Jesus chose to stay on the cross because His mission was more important than showing off His ability.

The second temptation Jesus faced challenged His mission. However, no one present even suspected or considered that hanging on the cross was the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission to this earth. Jesus fulfilled His mission on the cross because it is the way for His followers to receive salvation.

The third temptation Jesus faced challenged Him as the king of Israel. However, this temptation only works for someone who is interested in seeking glory, status, and position for themselves. Jesus was crowned King, but He chose to only accept this glory from God the Father after ascending into heaven and not from a group of hate-filled humans.

The last temptation that Matthew draws our attention onto is whether God would want to rescue Jesus from the cross. From Jesus’ perspective, this is a challenge of doubt, but it also is a challenge that is more directed towards God the Father Himself. In a similar way to Jesus’ big temptation being centered on the cross, whether it was avoiding it or coming down from it, God the Father’s gets drawn into this temptation because at His Son’s greatest moment of need, the temptation is present to rescue Jesus from the cross.

However, in all these temptations, both Jesus and God the Father kept a larger time frame in view. All the temptations present in this event focused on the moment of pain, and shortening or avoiding it. While I am sure it was difficult to do in the moment, both Jesus and God kept their perspective on eternity. While this moment in time is arguably the darkest point in all of human history, God the Father and Jesus kept their perspective on the big picture, and on how this sacrifice would open the way for all of God’s people to experience eternity with God in heaven.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you do to, intentionally seek God first in your life and if you are facing a big temptation or a challenge to your faith, consider meeting the problem with a broader frame of time. While problems we face today seem big, if we expand out the challenge we have today and look at it from the perspective of our lifetime, almost none of today’s problems seems that big.

For encouragement and because I always challenge you to do so, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. As you read and study, look for examples of how God has worked behind the scenes to help those who trust in Him. I’m positive you will discover more places where God helped than you first realized or thought.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Over the past several episodes in this first chronological year moving through events from Jesus’ life, we have looked closer at details surrounding the 24 hours leading up to Jesus being hung on the cross. Our last episode focused in on how Jesus was brought before a trial of religious leaders, and this episode, we move forward to Jesus’ trial before Pilate, the Roman governor of that region.

However, while some people might want to skim over or discount Jesus’ trial before Pilate, this event has some very interesting and unique details. It is also interesting to note that each gospel includes unique details about this event, and plenty of things happened at this trial that make it unlikely to have happened at any other time.

Let’s read John’s version of the trial for this podcast episode. Jesus’ trial before Pilate can be found in the gospel of John, chapter 18, and let’s read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 28, John tells us that:

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

While reading this passage, a number of things stood out in my mind.

The first thing in this passage that stands out in my mind is a detail John shares at the very beginning of this passage. The Jewish leaders bring Jesus to Pilate, but they all do not enter the palace. The ceremonial cleanliness of these religious leaders is more important to them than the life of the person they already have placed judgment on. While a normal trial happens in a courtroom or in a palace with the accusers present to give their testimony, because of when this trial happened, Jesus was brought in separate from those who were accusing Him, making this trial unique – and very distinct – in the trials of that time.

The second thing that really stands out as unique to Jesus’ trial is that no official charge is given against Jesus. While other gospel writers include a very generic charge against Jesus, John opts to share that they simply don’t have any charge to share. In a courtroom setting, a charge must be given for there to be a prosecution and defense. The Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pilate but when asked for a charge they simply say that Jesus is a criminal without sharing any details of His supposed crime. When Pilate pushes back, he learns that they are demanding the death penalty – all without ever hearing what the accusation is.

Perhaps this is by design, because if any actual charge came forward, Pilate may have completely dismissed the case and spared Jesus’ life. An abstract and unspecified charge could let the imagination of each person create a just reason for the death penalty – regardless of the truth of reality.

The next thing to stand out in this passage as interesting in my mind is Pilate’s conversation with Jesus. Instead of claiming innocence, Jesus speaks relatively openly with Pilate, talking in a way that sort of answers Pilate’s questions, but not using the words that Pilate is searching for. I suspect that Pilate understands the charge against Jesus as being the King of the Jews, from what we see recorded in other gospels, but in this extended conversation, Jesus does not display any of the usual characteristics or personality traits one would find in a typical king.

However, while Pilate is fishing for Jesus to confirm that He claims to be a king, Jesus instead says that His kingdom is not of this world. In this conversation, Jesus comes about as close as He does in any conversation with someone to revealing His divine nature. With a kingdom that is not in this world, and a solid knowledge of His purpose for coming into the world in the first place, Jesus subtly positions Himself alongside the legends of the Roman gods who occasionally had interactions with humans. In Pilate’s mind, if Jesus was in a similar position as one of the Roman gods, then it would be best not to anger Him.

It is interesting that from the way Jesus frames Himself, it is as though Jesus prompts Pilate to understand that if Jesus is the God of anything, He is the God of Truth. It is perfectly understandable to picture Pilate having doubts and/or questions regarding this since he was a Roman ruling a very non-Roman religious place. Similar to the secular and Christian worlds of today, it is easy to see the faults of both sides, and because of this when both sides have obvious flaws, genuine truth is hard to find.

Probably the strangest thing in my mind in this entire passage is how it ends – specifically from Pilate’s perspective. First, Pilate finds no basis for a charge against Jesus, but then he turns around and thinks that those present – the ones who brought Jesus to trial – would be interested in releasing Him. God’s hand must have been at work in this oversight because at any other trial, a person who has no basis for a charge is simply released apart from any custom present. The custom of freeing a prisoner was for guilty people, and all throughout Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, right up till the very end, Jesus is never assumed as being guilty. At the very end of this passage, when Jesus is condemned to death, Jesus also assumes the guilt of all humanity when He does not deserve it.

All the beating, punishment, and His eventual death is Jesus taking all of humanity’s guilt and punishment onto Himself when He had done nothing to warrant it. The secular governor is just as guilty as the hate-filled religious leaders. Both the world and the leaders of God’s people are equally responsible for Jesus’ death. Pilate absent-mindedly switches from defending Jesus’ innocence to assuming He is already guilty, which then allows the Jewish leaders the opening to demand His death.

And Jesus is a willing participant. He came to take our place, to take the punishment, so that we have the opportunity and the choice to accept God’s gift of an eternal future with Him. Showing us God’s love and opening the way for us to experience a new life with God is the truth Jesus came to both model and share.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally put God and Jesus first in your life. Remember that Jesus took your punishment onto Himself when He didn’t deserve it so that you wouldn’t have to face the death you deserve. Jesus facing the cross shows us how much God loves each of us, and what He was willing to do to redeem us from this sin-filled world.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself, looking for places and ways that it can help you grow closer to Jesus. While other people can give you ideas to think about, test everything you read, hear, and see against the truth of the Bible to know whether it is spiritually true and whether it will stand the test of eternity.

And in whatever place you are at in your life, never belittle yourself into thinking that God cannot use you. God created you with a purpose and you should never let anything derail you from moving fully into His purpose for your life with Him!

After Jesus was betrayed and arrested during the night before His crucifixion, one of the first stops the mob takes Jesus is to a trial. However, far from being a fair trial, this mob takes Jesus to a trial where every piece of this trial was tilted against His favor. While most people would hope for a fair trial if they faced something similar, the trial Jesus faced, as we will soon discover, was filled with a countless number of liars who all wanted to see Jesus executed.

However, even more amazing than this clearly biased trial against Jesus, was that when the trial was falling apart, help came from an unexpected source to keep the trial moving forward. Let’s read about what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, and we will read it using the New Century Version. Starting in verse 59, Matthew tells us that:

⁵⁹ The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill him. ⁶⁰ Many people came and told lies about him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came and said, ⁶¹ “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus said nothing.

Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴ Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”

⁶⁵ When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

The people answered, “He should die.”

While reading this passage, several things jumped off the page at me.

First off, when reading this event, I am always amazed that when faced with false accusation after false accusation, and lie after lie, Jesus choose to say nothing. Jesus stayed silent rather than defend Himself. This response is amazing in my mind, because the more logical and rational response would be to counter the lie with some form of the truth. I know that at least in my own life, it is very difficult to remain silent when lies are being thrown my way.

However, Jesus models what can happen when we stay silent. In Jesus’ case, the more lies that are thrown His way, the less credible the liars become. While we might think that the lies spoken about Jesus would reflect negatively upon Him, the opposite happened. All the lies the religious leaders tried to use to condemn Jesus almost cost them the validity of their trial, if their trial actually had any validity in the first place.

Again, I am amazed by Jesus choosing to stay silent, because I suspect if I were present and in a similar situation, staying silent would be among the hardest things for me to do.

Next in this passage, I want to point out that present in the brief conversation Jesus has with Caiaphas, there is a subtle shift in the language present. Firstly, Caiaphas demands Jesus to answer whether He is God’s Son, and Jesus responds by naming Himself as a Son of Man, though in this particular context, the Son of Man Jesus was referring to was a Son of Man who would be glorified by God.

Caiaphas then takes Jesus’ words and frames them as a statement against God. While a casual reader or observer would be unlikely to see the connection between Jesus’ words and a statement against God, nothing stops Caiaphas from framing Jesus’ words this way, before demanding that His supporters accept and agree with this position.

As I read Jesus’ response, I don’t see anything that is against God. If God wanted to, He could place any mortal person or immortal being at His right hand for a specific event, or for a specific reason. It would be ridiculous for us to vilify God for honoring someone who is clearly supporting and drawing people to praise God.

However, perhaps the issue these religious leaders have with Jesus is that Jesus used the phrase Son of Man and placed it in the most important position in God’s kingdom – which in Jesus’ own statement is at the right hand of the God. In God’s kingdom, man is lower than God, and because of this reason, man does not deserve to be given that significant, prestigious place of honor.

Also possible, I wonder if Caiaphas’ issue is that the man Jesus would claim to prophesy about what would happen in the future regarding God. While Jesus didn’t preface His words with any of the typical prophetic introductions, Caiaphas concludes that Jesus could only be speaking from a place of humanity.

I’ll be the first to state that I don’t know what Caiaphas was thinking, or what grounds He wanted to use to build the case against Jesus. What I do know from reading this is that the false witnesses and liars were doing more harm to the trial against Jesus than helping it, and Caiaphas needed something to validate the case against Jesus.

When all hope appeared to be lost, Caiaphas presses Jesus to speak, and Jesus gives Caiaphas something that could be twisted into a claim against God, even if what Jesus said was nothing remotely like that.

Oddly enough, this trial against Jesus validates the words written in Psalm 35:19, which Jesus quotes in John 15:35 that says “They hated me for no reason.” While these religious leaders hated Jesus, there was nothing spiritual or significant in their hatred of Jesus. Instead, they simply disliked Jesus because He wasn’t one of them, and because He was clearly supported by God outside of their chain of spiritual command.

The last thing we have time to talk about in this podcast episode that stood out to me is that the people responded to Caiaphas’ challenge with the death sentence. Because this was a significant weekend that would have brought the religious leaders together from all over the region, I suspect that there would be no shortage of people the religious leaders could have hand-picked from to side with them calling for Jesus’ death. Even though there were several synagogue leaders who Jesus had helped, I suspect that these religious leaders who lived in Jerusalem focused their attention on collecting those they knew would support them in being hostile towards Jesus.

And while it might surprise you to hear me say this, we should thank them. All the hostility thrust towards Jesus on that weekend paved the way for God’s greatest demonstration of love. Even though this whole trial was a setup, and this trial was far from even appearing fair, Jesus still went through with it, and accepted the false accusations thrust upon Him because His goal was paying for your sins and mine. Jesus faced the cross for you and me, and this only happened because the religious leaders in the first century stacked a case against Jesus, calling for His death.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Understand and believe that Jesus came to demonstrate the God the Father’s love for each of us – and He was willing to go through anything to help us see and understand this truth.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to fully grasp what happened in Jesus’ life and death, and to really know what God’s love looks like. Don’t take my word or anyone else’s word for this. Personally read and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God each and every day.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!