Conspiracy!

March 18, 2024 Monday Message:

Mark 14:53 NLT: “They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered.”

We’ve heard a lot in the news lately about conspiracies. A conspiracy is, “an agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.” The leading priests, elders, and teachers of religious law were conspiring against Jesus. They should be ashamed of themselves. These teachers of religious matters were conspiring to falsely arrest and eventually murder Jesus. Obviously that was a bad decision and a violation of more than one commandment.

Jesus knew more about God, the Kingdom, and eternity in heaven than the alleged religious experts, so jealousy could have played a part in their decision. I believe position, power and money were also a part of their displeasure.

Jesus was an itinerant preacher, which means that he traveled around a lot and spoke in many different places. He acknowledged this, saying, “The Son of Man has no home.” And when these crowds gathered to hear Jesus, they were oftentimes not at the Temple, which means their tithes were not at the Temple.

The way in which these leaders “did” religion was part of the problem. They had studied Torah and knew God’s commandments well. For them, the goal was catching someone else doing something wrong, enforcing the commandments. They obviously skipped over the parts about God’s love, forgiveness and offer of salvation. The text about loving your neighbor as yourself wasn’t front-of-mind.

Having a complete Bible nowadays gives us a complete picture of what those religious leaders got wrong. Following Jesus, we have been taught how to live our lives. Other Christians should be the nicest people we meet!

Remember, God’s desire is that none would perish, and that all would repent and return to their creator!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship