Are We Jealous of Jesus?
Series Introduction
This is the first Sunday of Lent. This Lent season I want us to spend some time at the cross. And that is the title of this Lent series, At the Cross. Where are we at the cross? Who are we at the cross? We will explore the different persons and groups at the cross. We will look at their roles and viewpoints as they were involved in the events before, during, and after the cross. Where are you at the Cross? What does the cross mean for you? Who is Jesus to you? Do you know him? Do you love him? Do you obey him? Do you serve him?
I want us to be brutally honest with ourselves before God as we examine these questions. Don’t think or say too quickly, “Oh, I am not like them.” Every person encounters and stands at the cross of Jesus Christ. If you are not a follower of Jesus the cross confronts you every day. It challenges and invites you to make a choice, to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” And as believers we stand at the cross every day as we try to follow Jesus. It challenges and invites us to take up our crosses daily, to die to self, and love, obey, and serve Jesus. We are at the cross. The question is — Where are you? Who are you at the cross?
Today we will look at the Jewish leaders. Are we like the Jewish leaders? Are we jealous of Jesus? The word jealous has two meanings. First, it means we envy what someone else possess or has achieved.
Jealous also means to be fiercely protective and possessive of one’s own interests, power, authority, wealth, or relationships. You care very much for something or someone. So you are protective, mindful, careful, watchful, vigilant about that person or thing.
Are we jealous of Jesus? Are we jealous of Jesus like the Jewish leaders? Are we jealous, protective and possessive of our own rights, interests, power and authority, and therefore, we reject Jesus? Or are we jealous of Jesus, jealous for Jesus so that we care only about his interests, his will, his purposes, his glory, his Name? So much so, that our jealousy turns into zealousness, into passion for Jesus and his kingdom?
1. The Story of the Jewish Leaders
Let us look at what the Jewish leaders did. The Jewish leaders were the high priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders of the people. These leaders ruled and controlled the Jewish people. They maintained the peace with the Roman Empire.
The plot to kill Jesus began early in Jesus’ ministry when he challenged their teachings regarding the Sabbath. “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. … for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” After Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus told his disciples “not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah, [and] from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead things became serious. The Jewish leaders were worried. This man clearly has power. It’s no longer just their teachings that are challenged, but also their power, authority, and leadership. So, ‘the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. ARROGANCE — DO GOD’S WORK — MESSIAH COMPLEX
During that last week ‘when Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”’ At the same time ‘the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”’ They were delighted when Judas offered to betray Jesus and payed him thirty pieces of silver.
The Jewish leaders sent a large crowd armed with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus. Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward, their statements did not agree. Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent. “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer.” The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He is worthy of death,” they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. Pilate asked them, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. SCHEME—BLAME
So they accused Jesus of many things. “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” … Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
While Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest (envy) that they had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Now remember Barabbas was in prison for insurrection and murder. IRONY?
Again he asked them whether he should release to them the king of the Jews. But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So, Pilate decided to grant their demand and handed Jesus over to be crucified. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” TO END — JEALOUS BUT TRUTH PREVAILED
At the cross the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
Jesus died. Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. HYPOCRISY—PROPHESY
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
On the third day, there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The women came and saw that Jesus had risen.
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus. They envied his authority, his power, his teachings, his influence, his following. He was a threat to their positions of power and privilege. Therefore, they became jealous of their own interests. They became protective of their own power, authority, wealth, their teachings, and their interpretation of the Scriptures. They became so obsessed with their own safety and security and that of the Jewish nation that they did not accept the truth, the Messiah, when he was standing right in front of them. Instead, to defend their own self-interests, they avoided the truth, and rejected Jesus. They schemed, plotted, lied, bribed, deceived. They shifted blame and responsibility. They called upon false witnesses. They murdered. They ignored, rejected, disobeyed the truths and morals of their own Law for selfish purposes.
2. Where are we at the cross? Are we jealous of Jesus?
Before we judge the Jewish leaders too harshly we should take a hard look at ourselves. Examine our thoughts, our words, our actions, our lives.
We can be so jealous of our own self, my life, that we reject Jesus outright. We plot against Jesus to avoid him, and to keep his power, his authority and his rule out of our lives.
We can be so jealous of our own self-interests that we follow Jesus only half-heartedly. We confess Jesus with our mouths but with our hearts we look out and live only for ourselves. We plot to keep Jesus our of certain areas of our lives. We cling to our worldly securities and power.
We can become so jealous of our faith that we miss the Lord of our faith. We cling to our human understandings of the Bible forgetting that they are partly true and sometimes even wrong. We are so comfortable in the way we are doing the Christian faith, complacent in the way we are doing church, that we become obsessive about forms and rules. We are jealous of maintaining the church as a place to entertain and serve us, forgetting that Jesus Christ is Lord and Head of the church, that we are the church, and we, the church serve our Lord’s purposes. And beware of the one who dares to question or criticize our way of viewing and doing things. Unforgiving and unloving.
We can become so jealous of the Jesus we created in our image that we miss the real, true living Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. We have created a Jesus who serves us, our needs, wants, and wishes. We have created a Jesus with whom we are comfortable, a Jesus ho is not asking too much of a price to follow him. We use Jesus as a resource to help us survive this life and this world. But we scheme and plot. We make excuses not to follow his commands. We ignore his difficult and uncomfortable teachings.
Are you jealous of or jealous for Jesus? Where are you at the cross? Everyday we are standing at the cross. Everyday the cross proclaims to us that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. What is our answer?
Everyday at the cross Jesus confronts us, and calls us to take up our crosses, to die to self, to leave everything behind and to follow him, to live the new, eternal life, which he has bought for us at such a high price. Where are you? What is your answer?