The Messiah’s Treacherous Betrayal

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for His last Passover week, His eyes were firmly fixed on the cross. He knew the purpose for which He came to earth was to die for the sins of humanity. It is interesting to note, however, that the religious leaders who would eventually put Him to death were not planning on following through with arresting and killing Jesus that week. In Matthew 26:5, they were content to wait until after the festival so the people wouldn’t riot against them. They figured if they could just wait a week or two until Jerusalem was less crowded and chaotic, they would have a better chance at succeeding in their plan. But history doesn’t operate on man’s agenda and timeline. God ordains the events of history and had predetermined the death of Christ to correspond with the Passover sacrifice. In less than twenty-four hours, Judas Iscariot had had enough. His frustration with Jesus’s teaching drove Him to approach the religious leaders and ask how much they would give Him to betray Jesus. With such an opportunity to get what they wanted, the religious leaders scrapped their plans as they offered Judas thirty pieces of silver  for Jesus. God has a plan, and He’s working that plan. We’re tempted to think that we control our destiny, but Proverbs 16:9 establishes that although “the mind of man plans his way, . . . the Lord directs his steps.” We could try to fight God’s plan, struggling against Him to get our own way. But we’re much better off submitting and following His lead. Jesus did just that, as our example. Will you submit to God’s sovereign plan? – Pastor Rory

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