O WHAT A (HOLY) WEEK ! DAY 4
Beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Day we have “Holy Week” - the last week of Jesus human life. Many will readily remember some key events such as Jesus entrance into Jerusalem riding a donkey, the Last Supper, Jesus’ Crucifixion and His Resurrection. Yet so much more happens and we don’t always fully appreciate all that occurred during this week. Each day of Holy Week will look at what was going on and select just one simple thought on which to reflect.
DAY FOUR- Wednesday
Today’s scripture reading (WAC Bible Reading Plan) Matthew 26:6–16; Mark 14:3–11; Luke 22:3–6
The events.
Wednesday appears to have been a quieter day. There are three events which each portray a different response to Jesus.
# The response of the religious leaders who plan to arrest and kill Him.
# The response of the woman with the alabaster jar of perfumed nard who shows such adoration and insight by prophetically anointing Jesus’ body for burial
# The response of Judas who agrees to betray Jesus. Why?
# Additionally Jesus tells his disciples to watch, stay alert and live peacefully. To engage in radical acts of love. Jesus also spends time with Simon the leper, restoring someone who would have been an outcast into the community.
Reflection
Consider the actions of the religious leaders. The chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law assembled at the palace of the High Priest.(Joseph Caiaphas) These members of the ruling council held authority at the grant of Rome. This was dependent upon them collecting taxes and maintaining peaceful public order. The purpose of their meeting on this Wednesday was to discuss Jesus and how they could scheme for him to be arrested and killed.
Why did they want Jesus dead? Well certainly they were jealous of HIs popularity. Annoyed that he had called them out for their hypocrisy and that he had challenged their authority. Jesus had certainly damaged their egos but was this enough to justify plotting to kill him? John’s Gospel suggests that there was a bigger more strategic issue. They were concerned for the future and how the Romans might react to Jesus’ increasing popularity. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation”.
Jesus was a threat to the stability of the nation. If something wasn’t done to stop Jesus Rome might step in and take away their Temple and destroy the nation.
Caiaphas had been a successful high priest. He had done what was needed to maintain stability and keep Rome satisfied. He listened carefully to what the members of the Sanhedrin were telling him.
Concerned at the likelihood that the Romans might intervene and they might loose everything. Being a good political thinker Caiaphas takes control and declares that “it is better that one man die for the people than the whole nation perish”. Simply, the killing of Jesus versus the well being of the nation. The killing of Jesus might be a wrong thing to do but it was better than the alternative. Unfortunate but necessary. The ends justify the means.
The ends justify the means. This remains a prevailing ideology in the world today. We see it in decisions of our own and international politicians particularly with regard to conflict and dictators. It is a sobering thought to consider if faced with the situation facing Caiaphas, what would I have done?
The problem with Caiaphas’s logic is that it relies upon him accurately predicting the future. Knowing what will happen if he doesn’t kill Jesus. In fact the killing of Jesus starts a chain of mistrust and aggressive response to Rome that culminates in the destruction of the temple in AD70. The very thing Caiaphas was seeking to avert.
Roman peace “Pax Romana” was achieved through military might. It was brought to an end through civil war. The means used to achieve peace determine the end. Jesus’ peace was achieved through a lifestyle of peace and was the fruit of justice.
Prayer
Loving Jesus we give thanks for your example to us of living a peaceful life. This isn’t easy in the times in which we live. We confess that we can find it difficult to know the right way to act. We are grateful we do not face the big strategic decisions that leaders and politicians face but we ask that in our day to day lives we might be sowers of seeds of peace wherever we walk.
Amen