Plotting...
A reading for Thursday, April 6, 2017: Luke 20:20-26.
The Chief Priests and their Scribes were plotting... They were hoping to snare Jesus once and for all. Flattery upon flattery would bring his guard down. Then would they ask. The question was designed to get Jesus to either commit sedition, which was a punishable offense, or to deny the authority of God, which was also a punishable offense. The plot was to eliminate this troublemaker once and for all.
However, like a bomb maker losing a finger with a misfire, or a prison guard locking themselves in their own jail cell, the builders of the trap discover that they themselves are caught.
The answer Jesus gives, if acted upon, puts them in the very position they were hoping to lead Jesus to... If they deny the power of the emperor to tax, they have committed treason. Yet, if they say that everything doesn't belong to God, then they have violated a basic tenant of the faith they lead. The trappers have become themselves trapped.
The point of the story is that Jesus will not be found guilty on charges. If the enemies of God's peace hoped to execute him for a just cause, they will not be justified. The only way to get rid of Jesus will be for they themselves to commit the very acts of sin and treason with which they hoped Jesus would commit. The guilty would punish the innocent.
The authorities continued to plot against Jesus, now in silence...
The Chief Priests and their Scribes were plotting... They were hoping to snare Jesus once and for all. Flattery upon flattery would bring his guard down. Then would they ask. The question was designed to get Jesus to either commit sedition, which was a punishable offense, or to deny the authority of God, which was also a punishable offense. The plot was to eliminate this troublemaker once and for all.
However, like a bomb maker losing a finger with a misfire, or a prison guard locking themselves in their own jail cell, the builders of the trap discover that they themselves are caught.
The answer Jesus gives, if acted upon, puts them in the very position they were hoping to lead Jesus to... If they deny the power of the emperor to tax, they have committed treason. Yet, if they say that everything doesn't belong to God, then they have violated a basic tenant of the faith they lead. The trappers have become themselves trapped.
The point of the story is that Jesus will not be found guilty on charges. If the enemies of God's peace hoped to execute him for a just cause, they will not be justified. The only way to get rid of Jesus will be for they themselves to commit the very acts of sin and treason with which they hoped Jesus would commit. The guilty would punish the innocent.
The authorities continued to plot against Jesus, now in silence...
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