Holy Week Devotional - Wednesday

There are no recorded acts of Jesus on the Wednesday of holy week.  Isn’t that interesting?  I wonder why that is.  What did He do? 

Well, there were still things happening.  One thing in particular.  Judas was plotting with the religious leaders for the arrest of Jesus. 

Matthew 26:14-16 – “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.”

And

Matthew 26:3-5 – “3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.””

The religious leaders were plotting against Jesus, even working with one of His disciples (Judas) to arrest Him.  Why were they so interested in getting Jesus? 

For the crowds, Jesus represented their political hope.  He was, they thought, the coming king who would throw off the yoke of Rome and restore the glory of Israel.  But for the religious leaders, Jesus represented a threat to their own establishment of power.  He constantly had harsh words for the Pharisees, for example.  He shocked them by letting them know that the gospel was for Gentiles, not just Jews. 

So here’s the question:  In what way does Jesus threaten you?  That may seem like a strange question.  But Jesus threatens many things that seem natural and normal to us.  That’s because Jesus is a bit…radical.  He brings a radical message and He shows that God’s ways are different than ours. 

You want to prosper?  Be generous and give to others.

You want to live?  Surrender your life.

In what way does Jesus challenge you?  In what areas of your life do you feel Him pressing in and making you reconsider? 

Today, take time to ask yourself what areas of your life is God pressing in on and challenging you?  Think about the ways you respond when you sense Him challenging you.  Do you surrender, or do you act like the Jewish religious leaders and resist Him?