Day 265: Matthew 27:1-31; Mark 15:1-20; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:16

The events of the night before Jesus' crucifixion are filled with interesting twists and turns. One of the things that intrigues me is how the "chief priests" and all the other "Jewish leaders" who were supposedly the religious authorities and spiritual guides for the people could become so corrupt. Surely these men came to these positions out of a heart for God. But now they are so corrupt and their "faith" is so warped they can't tell right from wrong. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean:

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” (Matthew 27:6)

The money they are referring to here is the money they paid Judas for his betrayal. Judas was overcome with remorse and brought the money back to them. They refused to take it so he threw it at their feet. It amazes me that they somehow figured it was ok to take the money and use it as "blood money" but then it couldn't be returned and put back in the general fund because now the money itself has become unholy. It reminds me of Jesus' teaching earlier that it's not what enters a person that makes him unclean...it's what comes out of a person. He was talking about the things we say but this seems to fit.

Another verse that illustrates how completely screwed up their religion had become is this one:

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. (John 18:28)

Conspiring to have an innocent man killed isn't a problem...but entering the palace of a Roman would mean you were unclean and couldn't partake of the Passover. They were meticulous about the rules and regulations of their tradition but they really had no relationship with a holy God and no concept of what being "clean" and "unclean" was all about.