The following is a reprint from The Cast of the Crucifixion....

Annas and Caiaphas …The Holy Priesthood

I’m still not sure why they brought Jesus to me in the first place. I am an old, tired man and I am so weary of the Pharisees and their timidities. This Jesus is a crowd-pleaser, a cheap magician with pleasing tricks. If they would just ignore him, pay him no attention; he would soon be forgotten. But each day in the temple complex, they plot as to how they might bring about his demise. In my day, we knew how to deal with such rift-raft…we took them outside the city gates and stoned them to death; then left their rotting corpses for the buzzards and the Roman guard to dispose of. But, Caiaphas, my son-in-law, is still new to this game and I don’t believe he is aware of just how much power he holds as the High Priest. He is the leader of God’s chosen; though oppressed and downtrodden, we are still to claim our position of power in dealing with those that would subvert our culture…and this Jesus, he has surely done just that. Teaching them to turn the other cheek; to walk the second mile; treating women with love, dignity and compassion…over turning my money tables in the temple and driving out my people. Well, now the tables are turned….send him to Caiaphas, let see if he will do the right thing and get rid of this man …once and for all.

I had been awakened from a troubled slumber to hear the voice of the High Priest’s guard announce that they had Jesus; bound and waiting for me in the courtyard. I had already dispatched a number of the guards to call an emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin; for when Caiaphas, the High Priest calls, they drop everything and come. Surely, time was of the essence if we were to meet our objective to judge, convict and turn over Jesus to the Roman governor for his sentence of execution. I had already set aside the Mishnah and its Jewish laws…desperate times call for desperate measures….after all, we had to silence this Jesus before the people followed him in open rebellion and brought down the wrath of the entire Roman Empire. If that were to occur, we would be displaced as the rulers of our people and nothing of our way of life as God’s elect would remain. I had said it before and it was even clearer after the events of the past week, “it is to our advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”

We had been conspiring for weeks to bring Jesus to Jewish justice, but he had been elusive and the timing had never been good, especially since his triumphal entry last week; but now, if we hurried, we could have Jesus tried before Pilate, sentenced and crucified at the hands of the Romans and there would be no repercussions against us.

It was the perfect way to be rid of the Nazarene …once and for all!

I questioned him; heard the testimony of the eye-witnesses regarding him destroying our sacred temple and rebuilding it in three days…and then, I asked him, point blank, “tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?’

I still can’t believe what he said; “You have said it. But I tell you in the future, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Immediately, I cried out and began to rent my robes, to wail and to claw my flesh. I denounced his blasphemous statement and cried out to the Sanhedrin for their decision…their answer was clear and without reservation….HE MUST DIE.

So, I did what needed to be done…I sent him away to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. There he would be tried and found guilty for crimes against Rome. We would have to pressure Pilate for a speedy crucifixion for the Sabbath was approaching and the Passover crowds were large and the people were still celebrating. All this would have to be done quickly… before the throngs of those following Jesus had time to mount any type of movement against the will of the Sanhedrin. It is best that one man dies ….then a nation and its leaders can breathe easier …God Bless the will of His People.

Are you an Annas or Caiaphas in your relationship with Jesus? Do you see his teachings as a conflict or a constriction on your actions? These men were each living for themselves …though their pompous and pious attitude let them think that they were doing what was best for God’s chosen elect. In simple fact, they were sinners…blinded to the truth of God’s infinite grace and they chose to inflict their blindness on the Jewish nation. They had power, prestige and a perverted sense of God’s will….and their decisions cost a nation the opportunity to embrace their Messiah.

Don’t let someone you know, possibly someone you hold in high esteem, keep you from meeting the Savior today. There intentions may be good; but good intentions never got anyone into heaven….and they never will!

Only a personal relationship with the risen Lord Jesus will guarantee you a written invitation to attend the celestial celebration we call heaven….your invitation is from this man Jesus …He died and rose again and now sits at the right hand of the Father…and His invitation is just one word….COME!!!!!

Come to the Jesus…and be Blessed,

WPQ