Read Luke 22:1-6
Jesus arrived in Jerusalem in chapter 19 and all are expecting the king to ride to glory. When he arrives on a donkey, it seems like it is all a bit of a joke. Here in Luke 22 verses 1-6 the chief priests and teachers of the law see Jesus as no joke. They see him as a threat. They wish to get rid of him. But they know they have to ‘bide their time’. They don’t have to wait too long. Verse 3 is scary and raises many questions!? It could be said verse 5 is even scarier, that the chief priests are delighted they have discovered a way to get rid of Jesus, the author of life!! No, Judas waits and watches for a way, not to crown Christ as King, but to capture him when there is no crowd. Away from watching eyes, the King who should have captivated them will be captured by them.
By Stew Playsted (Gospel Community Vision Coordinator)
Questions for Reflection
- What is the Chief priests’ plan?
- Do you find verse 3 or verse 5 scarier? Why?
- Why was Judas so committed to this cunning handover when there was no crowd?
- Judas consented to handing Christ over for money. When are you tempted to hand Christ over to pursue one of your loves?
- It is clear the chief priests, teachers of the law, Satan and Judas conspired to the capture of Christ. Are we innocent? Why/Why Not?
Family Around the Table
It is so sad that Jesus was betrayed. How can we live for Jesus today, even in a crowd?
Luke 22:3-5
3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. (NIV)
Thanks for preparing this devotional. We all did this devotion over lunch today as we were all home then. I’d be interested in anyone who thought v5 was scarer.
It was also a bit ironic talking about “living for Jesus today, even in a crowd” given the announcements for recently to enforce greater “social distancing”. We assumed that it was talking about how can we not give in to society’s general rejection of Jesus’ Lordship. I guess not giving in to fear and hording toilet paper etc and offering to help our neighbours by getting them groceries etc would be a good start.
Thanks David. We did it together after dinner. We thought verse 5 was scarier in the sense that the chief priests so eagerly accepted the opportunity (were delighted) to do away with Jesus.
As for the last question – during this time it is going to be easy just to ‘bunker down’ and think only about ourselves but if we are genuinely and actively looking for ways to ‘creatively’ love and serve our neighbours, and speak openly about our faith, then we’re going to stand out amongst ‘the crowd’.
David we can chat more about verses 3-5. Lots of questions there!! But I was sad to read that the chief priests were delighted to have a way to catch Jesus!
Sorry yes you can see I wrote the questions earlier last week! I guess I was trying to pick up the way that Jesus can be made fun of in a crowd today and it takes real courage to speak of him, in that kind of context. We need the Holy Spirit 🙂