18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
It Takes Little to Cause Envy
The real reason Jesus was crucified? It was because He was intended, by God’s plan, to be the redemption of the world. The earthly “catalyst” God used? He used the envy of the religious leaders of the day to stir their pride, which brought about the evil motives in their heart to destroy Jesus. Jesus will give a parable about this very fact a few verse later in this section. Jesus talks about, in the beginning of chapter 12, a rich man who puts in the infrastructure and design for a wine vineyard. After some time the rich man would like to enjoy some of the fruit of those vines and sends a worker to retrieve what was his. Those in charge, however, (who represent the above religious leaders) didn’t want to share this wine. So, they killed the worker (who represents the prophets before Jesus). The rich man (a picture of God in this story), sends wore workers (prophets) and they are equally killed. Findlay the rich man sends his son (picture of Jesus). But, because they wanted the wine (picture of power and control) they kill the son also. This is what is happening in the above passage. The religious leaders were envious of Christ’s power, that was increasing with the people. This was the catalyst God used to bring about the crucifixion. We must always realize that it takes very little for envy to swell into our hearts. It is a sin that Satan uses for certain destruction of the human spirit. We want something we are not supposed to have and we fight and devour to get it;
James 4:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
Warning Against Worldliness
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
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