The Great Irony

"When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.” - Matthew 26:1-5

Do you notice the irony in these verses? The religious leaders plotting to kill Jesus, but not during the holy festival. The people entrusted with keeping the laws (including, 'You shall not murder') willing to break the same laws for their own benefit. 

Holy Week reminds us of how fickle we are as people. It shines a light onto the church, as much as it does to the world. Jesus is not some kind of 'convenience' that we latch unto when it suits us. His call is for us to surrender all to Him.

Living in Grace

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A great display of love

 

Sometimes we don't have adequate words to express the depth of our feelings. When the woman (Mary) anoints Jesus' head, while he is eating at the home of Simon the Leper, we see the incredible love she has for Jesus. 

"While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head." - Matthew 26:7

The depth of her gratitude is revealed in the value she places on Jesus. The jar of perfume was worth a full year's wages for the average worker. That is a lot of money to offer up as a gift to Jesus, especially as it was only to be used in a once off act. 

Mary came to understand the true 'worth' of Jesus and her generosity always challenges me to reflect on the love that I show Christ. Is my love merely in words, or does it come with a great display of love.

"Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." - 1 John 3:18

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John 12:3-6 - Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

The Coins

How much is Jesus worth to you? 

When Judas approached the chief priests and negotiated to hand Jesus over to them, we note the value he placed on Jesus' head - 30 pieces of silver. According to tradition, this was the sum of money that was needed to be paid for a slave that had been killed (Exodus 21:32). To reimburse the slave owner, a price of 30 silver coins was paid to settle the debt. 

Although we understand Judas' role in death of Jesus, it does seem incredibly sad that Judas felt that his teacher, Jesus, was worth the price of a slave. Of course, the great irony in this is that Jesus came to be a servant to all, so the actual amount of money probably didn't bother Jesus. However, it does strike a chord in my own heart, when I consider the tough question: What is Jesus worth to me? 

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So, they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. - Matthew 26:14-16

Thought: The 30 coins don't only speak to us of betrayal, but they also speak to us of value and worth!

Living in Grace

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Matthew 26b - What do you say?

Words can carry a lot of weight and they can help us out of many sticky situations. When Jesus was offered the chance to speak up in self-defence, he realised that there was nothing more he needed to say. In fact, he had said all he needed to say. Now was the time to show people what he had come to do. His death loomed large before him and Jesus knew he needed to reveal his Father's purpose.

"Finally, two men came forward ⁶¹ who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
⁶⁴ Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” - Matthew 26:61-64

Genuine sacrifice reveals the true heart of a person.

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26a - Delusions of grandeur

We are all a lot like Simon Peter - we have delusions of granduer! We promise much, but end up falling short of our bold promises. We mean well and we desperately want to give our all to Jesus, but in the end our frailties trip us up.

³¹ On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,

‘God will strike the Shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³² But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

³³ Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
³⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
³⁵ “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same. (Matthew 26:31-35)

We can't fault Peter for his willingness to try and this is why he is such a beloved disciple for all of us. He keeps stumbling, but then rising again. He makes a mistake, wrestles with his sins, and then comes clean before Jesus. And in seeing the heart of Peter, Jesus loves him and gives him the greatest responsibility of all - carrying the message of Hope to a broken world.

This Holy Week remember that Peter was forgiven for his failings and lauded for his Faith. 

It is not our failings that will turn Jesus away from us, but rather our refusal to to recognise him as our Lord.

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Promises, Promises

^{We live in a world where it is very quick to make promises, but much harder to honour them. No longer is a person's word their bond (promise). One of the disciples, Peter, was very quick to make a promise to Jesus, but no matter how well meaning he was try to be, he couldn't keep his word.
 
33} Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
³⁵ But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same (Matthew 26).

The challenge for us is try and keep our promises in the small things, before we start promising the big things. A whole of lot of small faithful actions will all add up to a BIG commitment in the end. Following Jesus is a lot like this. Don't make the big "I will follow you Jesus" promise, if you aren't committed to honour that on a daily basis.

Next time we catch ourselves saying "I promise you", let us be reminded of what we are actually committing too. 

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