LUKE 22: 1-6
‘The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus’ (v. 2 MSG)
The chief priests and the teachers of the law had made their minds up: Jesus was to be killed. The decision was made after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Many Jews began to put their faith in Jesus and the religious establishment felt their position threatened(John 11: 48). Interestingly they did not question that Jesus was ‘performing many miraculous signs’ (John 11:47) and they also ‘were amazed at him’ (Mark 12:17) when he countered their attempts at trapping him in religious arguments. But it did not change their minds, Jesus was to die.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross they literally added insult to injury, mockingly challenging him, ‘Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe’ (Mark 15:32). But I wonder if that would have changed anything?
It think it was C.S. Lewis that pointed out that it is not so much a matter of seeing is believing, but rather that believing is seeing. The chief priests could not believe, because Jesus did not fit their expectations to the promised Messiah, and because they could not believe they could not see, even when the glory of God was in front of them.
We can be tempted to shake our heads in disbelief at the chief priests, but maybe we should rather pray that we will not fall into the same trap as they. God works in mysterious ways and reveals himself in unexpected places and people. Even with the best of intentions, we also run the risk of not recognizing him. Rather than saying, as the chief priests, this can’t be God, let us learn to ask: Is this you, God? so we will not miss him and his glory.
Maybe we should personalise Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and pray that ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give the Spirit, who will make wise and reveal God to , so that will know him’ (Eph. 1:17 GNB), remembering the promise of Jesus, ‘If you believe you will see God’s glory’ (John 11: 40 CEB).