Day 1 :: Hatching a Plan
“The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the people.”
Luke 22:2(1-6)
One of my favourite films is Ocean’s Eleven. I love the clever planning, the deliberately meticulous heist and of course, it’s perfect execution.
As we start Lent this year, we’re going to Luke 26 and find the religious elites making a plan to kill Jesus. By this point, their decision is made - they want rid of him. The only thing that stands in their way is the fact that Jesus has a real popularity, so they were afraid of the people and how they would react. Matthew & Mark tell us that they wanted to avoid a scene during the festival season, and they didn’t want a riot on their hands. (Matthew 26:5, Mark 14:2)
These religious leaders were insecure and wanted an underhand way to have Jesus dealt with, as if they were mafia leaders looking for a hit man to ‘take care of a problem.’
Then along came Judas.
Luke says that ‘Satan entered him’. He was consumed with evil. He had been with Jesus for three years but was happy to give him up for a decent pay day. The deal was made, some silver promised, and Judas would find the right moment to betray Jesus, away from the crowds so they could all get away with it. It seemed like their plan has come together.
Jesus had come to his people, and the very ones who should have welcomed him with the greatest joy planned to murder him.
It is a horrible evil and shows the wickedness that’s in the human heart.
In a sense, this was a pivotal moment. From here, each gospel account moves to Jesus’ last days, leading to the cross.
At lent we’re not just remembering a sad or unfortunate series of events orchestrated by human evils though. We’re getting a look at the greatest plan that was made before the dawn of time.
Just 50 days after Jesus’ death, Peter preached in Jerusalem and said that though Jesus was “delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.” (Acts 2:23)
What the chief priests, scribes, Judas, and even Satan planned for evil, God intended for good. All of history was designed meticulously with these moments at the centre.
Jesus came to serve by laying down his life.
He came to die, so that his people could be saved.
He was crucified to bear the wrath of God, so sinners might be forgiven.
Without Jesus, we’re all like those who plotted to kill Jesus. In fact, Jesus was killed not just because they rejected him, but because we have too. Our sin infested hearts are at home in this world. We too are, by nature, consumed by evil.
And yet, Jesus’ death being planned before the dawn of time means that our salvation was also planned before the dawn of time. It is no accident that Jesus came to die. It is no accident that we have heard the Gospel. It is no accident that we have an opportunity to respond today.
In our coming days, we're aiming to read about Jesus’ last days.
Let’s pray that we might not just see some historical events unfolding, but that we would see Jesus, the one who came to lay down his pure life in our place.
Let’s pray too then that we wouldn’t reject Jesus but would wholeheartedly give ourselves to him, knowing he has secured our eternities with the greatest plan ever made.
Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus!
Passages to read: Luke 22:1-6, Matthew 26:1-5, Mark 14:1-2
A thought to remember: Jesus’ death was planned before the dawn of time.
A question to ask: What difference does it make to you that salvation was planned perfectly?
A song to sing: Across the Lands