greetings!
happy holy week...
do you remember caiaphas?
john [18.13] reminds us that he was the jewish high priest when Jesus was arrested...
in fact, after Jesus was betrayed by judas' kiss, he had to appear before caiaphas in his role as the high priest for this year...
caiaphas was a strategic player in the mock trial of Jesus -- he was a driving force behind the mob-inspired crucifixion of the Messiah...
he set the tone for Jesus' condemnation...
john says [in 18.14]: "now caiaphas was the one who had advised the jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people..."
Jesus was dangerous -- he was far too popular -- he was "winning over the whole world!"
something had to be done -- there were positions of power to protect...
there was a treasured system to maintain...
caiaphas was the mouthpiece for a host of other religious leaders who were scared of losing their power, their place and their prestige...
better for one to die than for the whole system to topple to the palestinian soil...
Jesus would have to die!
ever wonder how caiaphas came to this pitiable point?
what was his story?
brennan manning in "reflections for ragamuffins" [march 12] offers the following commentary...
"a terrible thing has happened to caiaphas. religion has left the realm of respect for person, immediate concern for the individual, for communion. for caiaphas, sacredness has become institutions, structures, abstractions. caiaphas is dedicated to the 'people'. therefore, individual, flesh-and-blood men, real people, are expendable. caiaphas is dedicated to the 'nation'. but the nation does not bleed like Jesus. caiaphas is dedicated to the 'temple', a mere building, impersonal brick and mortar. caiaphas becomes impersonal himself, no longer a warm human being but a robot, as fixed and rigid as his own unchanging world...the choice usually presented to christians is NOT between Jesus and barabbas. no one wants to appear an obvious murderer. the choice we have to be careful about is between JESUS and CAIAPHAS. and caiaphas can fool us. he is a very 'religious' man..."
beware the cultic koolaid of religion gone toxic...
it is deadly...
and, it is so easy to be deceived...
we have a choice to make -- for Jesus, not for caiaphas...
let's not be fooled!
shalom...
guy
may your holy week be filled with passion for the Christ!
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The devotional was excellent--inspiring and insightful. The quote from Manning was timely in many ways.
ReplyDeletei love manning's daily devotional -- he is almost as inspiring as nouwen to me... THANK YOU for reading and interacting! See you this weekend -- ready for the Colombia???
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