1 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, 2 “You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified.”
3 Then the leading priests and the elders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas. 4 At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5 But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”
Read Matthew 26:1-5 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Every so often, a detail that I never noticed before jumps out at me in an unassuming passage. This “conspiracy passage” where the leading priests and elders meet to discuss how to arrest Jesus is no exception.
Depending on the translation used, we find that the high priest lived in a palace. Many translations use this word, while a few simply say home, court, or another similar word. The implication in Matthew’s passage is that the priests (especially the high priest) were getting wealthy off of the people. By living in a luxurious home, the high priest was separating himself from the people with his wealth.
This is not a statement on whether wealth is good or bad. It is more a statement on focus and generosity. As the Jewish nation grew, it would become more prosperous, and as the leader in any area (in this case the spiritual area), the more people you have influence over, the more money would come your way. But as the leader of the spiritual area in culture, the high priest would be a clear representative of God, and living in a palace, separated from the people, is not an accurate representation of God’s character.
Jesus came and changed that. He came to show us that God is not a “distant” God, but that He wants to live with us. God does live in a palace, but He wants us to join Him in it. I’m doubtful if the high priest was all that willing to open their home to anyone/everyone.
The high priest probably was tempted by greed. Greed is an issue for almost all people who live in cultures that have a monetary exchange system. One doesn’t have to have money to be greedy, but when one does have money, the greed is amplified all the more.
Jesus’ presence in culture, and His focus on the people, challenged the priests’ position and the status quo that had placed them on top of both the spiritual and economic ladders. They did not like Jesus’ growing influence, so they plotted against Him.
But even though they plotted Jesus’ death, Jesus still came – and death was at the core of His mission. This is because God does not want to be seen as a distant God, but as a God that reaches out to us, who takes the first step, who wants to restore the broken relationship. This is before we have “done” anything.
God is wealthy. He does live in a palace in heaven. But instead of increasing the distance we would have to travel, He especially wants to be close to us and He bridged the gap that sin caused.
Jesus came and He won.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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