2024 Passion Week Devotional, Day 4: Open People's Eyes to Spiritual Warfare

Wednesday

Jesus Continues Teaching in the Temple

With Passover rapidly approaching, Jesus continues teaching in the temple area (Luke 21:37–38), and the Sanhedrin continues to plot his demise (Matt. 26:3–5; Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–2). As we read in Luke’s Gospel, “And every day he [Jesus] was teaching in the temple [area], but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning, all the people came to him in the temple [area] to hear him.”

The Authorities Plot to Kill Jesus

While Jesus is busy teaching the people about God’s kingdom, however, the chief priests and elders gather in the high priest Caiaphas’ palace, plotting “to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him,” though not during Passover, “lest there be an uproar among the people” (Matt. 26:3–5; cf. Luke 22:2: “for they feared the people”). Here, the Jewish religious authorities were motivated primarily by political considerations as they sought to avoid public rioting that would disturb the jealously guarded Roman peace. The uproar the authorities feared, of course, was due to Jesus’ phenomenal popularity among the people. While people didn’t truly understand who Jesus was, they loved listening to his captivating teaching and were the beneficiaries of countless healings and other ways in which he met the needs of those who were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36; cf. Num. 27:17).

On Wednesday, therefore, we see the calm before the storm. While Sunday saw Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Monday witnessed his cleansing of the temple area, and Tuesday brought intense polemical interchanges with Jesus’ opponents, Wednesday is relatively calm, at least on the outside. Yet behind the apparent routine lurks a boiling controversy that will shortly boil over. This calls for discernment and helps us realize that there will often be more going on in our lives than meets the eye. We’re all engaged in spiritual warfare with the forces of evil and urgently need to seek divine protection as we put on “the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11, 13).

Pastoral Implications

The authorities’ resolve to kill Jesus, the Messiah, is chilling, as it shows that their hearts are hardened and their minds made up. Nothing Jesus says or does will change their verdict, which is based not so much on the evidence for or against Jesus’ messianic identity as it is a matter of self-interest and political expediency. Similarly, there have always been, and likely always will be, leaders who, while professing to be for the people, abuse their positions of leadership to advance their agenda. Such people are duplicitous, and their professed beliefs and aspirations don’t accurately reflect their true inner motivation. Jesus called this “hypocrisy,” similar to actors who wear masks that cover up their true inner selves. There is a disconnect between who those leaders claim to be and who they truly are inside. Like Jesus, we should try to expose these frauds and imposters wherever possible, but in any case, we must not allow them to fool us.

So, Wednesday, we see that the question of whether the authorities will try to kill Jesus is not a matter of if but when. Only the timing of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion is still to be determined. While Jesus is faithful until the end, ministering to the needy populace, the leaders’ hearts’ intent is purely evil, driven ultimately by Satan, “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 12:9). As pastors, we should make every effort to open people’s eyes as to the spiritual warfare that is still raging today for the hearts and souls of people. This intense battle involves even believers in a cosmic struggle that is very real, though it is fought primarily in the unseen realm. In Christ, we have the victory (1 John 5:4), but we must still engage in battle, defensively and offensively, as we seek God’s protection and advance into enemy territory.

©2024 Andreas Köstenberger. Used with permission.

Related

Passion Week Devo: Palm Sunday

Passion Week Devo, Day 2: The Cursing of the Fig Tree and the Cleansing of the Temple

Passion Week Devo, Day 3: All You Can Do is Share the Gospel

Passion Week Devo, Day 5: Remembering the Lord’s Supper

Passion Week Devo, Day 6: What Jesus Accomplished on the Cross

Passion Week Devo, Day 7: Reflect on the Crucifixion

Passion Week Devo, Day 8: Christ’s Resurrection