Solving the Jesus Problem, Part 1 | The Lord’s Love of Fellowship

        Luke 22:1-6

Turn to Luke 22 in your Bibles. Luke 22 and 23 is where it’s at; this is the passion narrative, and it refers to the suffering of Jesus Christ for our sins. Passion comes from a Latin word that means to suffer. It’s talking about his suffering, the suffering aspect of his incarnation mission. He’s the Lamb of God, the atoning sacrifice, who takes away the sins of the world and then after he takes away the sins of the world, after he is put to death on the cross, he dies, he’s buried in the tomb, and after three days he’s raised out of the tomb. And that’s Luke 24, the resurrection chapter.

We see in that great chapter his victory over sin and death, as he was raised for our justification. And you might think, Oh no, we’ve gone all this way through the, through lead up to the culmination, the climactic chapters in 22 and 23. So much time spent in his suffering, in his passion, and only one chapter on his resurrection glory. Ah guess what, Luke wrote a Part 2, It’s called the book of Acts, which if God tarries and God allows us, we’ll go through that, too, together. But let’s stick with where we are, shall we? Let me not get ahead of myself.

These are the climactic chapters in the Gospels, and really the climactic point in the Gospel itself, the message of salvation. This is the watershed moment of history. It’s the hinge point that propels all humanity forward into the last days, all by God’s divine plan, with everything happening perfectly, right on schedule, all according to the divine timetable. The next events that we’re going to see or the world is going to see will surround Christ’s return, as we have just studied in Luke 21.

First though, we have the privilege of studying together the Passion of Christ, culminating in the crucifixion, which sealed his obedience, that secured our salvation. In Luke 22, the chapter is mostly about preparation. As Jesus’ enemies, here at the beginning, prepare to kill him, as Jesus then prepares his disciples for that eventuality and prepares them for what lies ahead. And then finally, as Jesus prepares himself by praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is yet another wilderness like temptation from the devil coming to visit him and discourage him.

 In Luke 22, this is mostly about preparation and Luke begins the chapter really by preparing us, by preparing the readers of his Gospel to see what, what’s really going on behind the scenes. So that we understand the motivations of the various players at work in the conspiracy to murder Jesus. So that we can understand, as readers of the Gospel, what is otherwise utterly unexplainable. So that we can, you know, unscrew the inscrutable. I mean, how is it that Jesus Christ, the most perfect, sinless, glorious man, who ever lived, would be hanging on a cross to be shamed before the entire world, scorned, spit at, mocked, cruelly treated? How does this happen? What gave rise to this?

This is the greatest crime ever committed. It’s the most heinous miscarriage of justice that’s ever been perpetuated on anyone, since Jesus is alone, the only sinless man, who ever lived; so he, of all people, of all of us, did not deserve to die and yet he died. What’s going on? Let’s read the opening 6 verses, this first narrative in chapter 22. “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is called the Passover was drawing near. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put him to death; for they were afraid of the people. And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, who belonged to the number of the Twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. And so he consented and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.”

We’re going to divide those 6 verses into just two points for this morning. First, the conspirators’ dilemma in verses 1 and 2 and second, the betrayer’s solution in verses 3 to 6 or if you prefer the, the problem and the solution. Problem/solution, that’s how this is constructed. How it’s, how it’s, how it’s really broken down by Luke. It’s a simple outline and though it’s simple, it’s going to give us some basic structure as we, that allow us to meet the key players in the passion narrative, those who are on the side of the bad guys, those who are the, the, really the proximate cause, if I could use that language, proximate causes in killing Christ. These are the ones who bear the real guilt in the death of Jesus Christ, in his murder. So we’re going to consider their motivations. And along the way, we’ll sprinkle in some comments of reflection for ourselves because we wouldn’t want to simply look at them without considering ourselves.

So here’s a first point. We’ll jump right in number one: the conspirator’s dilemma or if you prefer, the conspirator’s problem. Luke has actually started to prepare us, as readers, for this chapter in how he ended the last chapter in verses 37 to 38. Those two verses at the end of the Olivet Discourse are not merely transitional in nature, but they are really a setup to understand, to help us understand what it is that’s troubling the leaders.

After giving the great Olivet Discourse, after teaching his disciples, encouraging their hearts about the second coming, he, Luke, wants us to see this; get us a, get us a snapshot again. “Now during the day,” verse, chapter 21, verse 37, “Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but during the night He would go out and spend,” the night, “on the Mount,” of Olives, the Mount, “called ‘of Olives’. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to him.”

 These are eager listeners of sermons, but they love to get up early to listen to Jesus teach. Who wouldn’t? They recognize something in him that was powerful, strong, convicted, well informed, theologically accurate, doctrinally sound, thoroughly saturated with Scripture. They loved listening to him because even though he was that well informed, seemingly a PhD in something, and yet he had never gone to seminary. But here’s a man who could speak in the colloquial wisdoms of the common day. He could speak in the idioms of the people. He used metaphor and story. He really was able, like no one else, to grab attention and hold attention and convey the most profound truths in the most plain common language. He’s incredible, incredible. I wish I could hear that. One day I will. One day I will. I wish I could have been there. If I had a time machine, that’s where I’d go right here.

 All the people listening to him, refers to not only the residents of Jerusalem, Judea, the surrounding areas, but there were also hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims who were visiting at this very moment to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Luke 22:1, called the Passover, which Luke tells us was approaching, just a couple days away. This is going to commence and verse 2 says, that “the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put him to death.” They were seeking, imperfect tense, so it’s a continual past, you know, past, look at the past, and kind of, this continual seeking on their part.

They’re always trying to find a way, evidently being frustrated in their attempts, but always trying to find a way, how they might put him to death. And then what looks like an explanation of this, “for they were afraid of the people,” that doesn’t explain their motivations in trying to kill him, it explains their reasons for not getting the job done. They were afraid of the people. Now, at this point in the story, we’re not really surprised, are we, as Luke’s, the readers of Luke’s Gospel. We’re not surprised by the murderous plot. Murderous plot was hatched long ago. Jewish leaders have been dogging Jesus steps for a long time. They have been after him. They have been hovering in the background all the time, watching him, trying to get him to, trying to see if he’ll trip up in his words, if he’ll do something inappropriate, something that violates the law of Moses, because they want to discredit him.

They want to malign him and tell all the people that he really is aligned with the devil. That’s where they come to. He does the miracles that he does. We can’t deny the miracles themselves. I mean, this guy who was not walking, we all know him; he’s now walking. This one who was blind now can see, this one who was dead, Lazarus is now raised from the dead and walking around. Everybody knows it. Can’t deny that.

So how do we explain it? Oh, he’s actually aligned with Satan, Beelzebul, the chief of the demons. So that’s what they’ve come to. That’s the only option they’re left with. They can’t take him down for his teaching because he’s teaching according to the truth. Can’t find any holes in his doctrine because, well, he’s the one who the doctrine is about. They can’t find any errors in his theology because in the mind of the Son of God, everything is consistent. There aren’t, you know, four views of everything, he understands the only view of all things. They can’t trip him up there.

They can’t trip him up in his character, he’s righteous, perfect, he speaks the truth, he, he does so in love. He’s filled with mercy and compassion. And they can’t criticize him for any of that because he uses all of his power to heal the sick, to cast out demons. Who is this guy? And since they cannot, will not bow the knee to him, which would cause them to sacrifice their entire life, which is what Jesus demands of every disciple. “If you would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” They say, no. And so they’re left with a dilemma: How am I going to justify myself in the face of this decision to reject him? Well, he’s devilish.

So the plot to murder Jesus; they had to do away with him. They had to do away with this problem, the Jesus problem and this plot to murder Jesus came to a vote well before he ever showed up in the city. As he made his way into Jerusalem for Galilee, he was travelling through Samaria and Perea, and we’ve followed him along all this journey. He visited the home of Lazarus, his friend, along with Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, and that was in Bethany.

In fact, I’d like you to turn over into John Chapter 11, which is, you’ll remember, this is the resurrection chapter, but this is where we see Jesus at the home of Lazarus with Martha and Mary. I want to read a bit from the account in John 11. This, what I’m about to read starting in verse 25. This is before Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Remember he’s having this conversation with Martha, the sister of Lazarus.

And in John 11:25, he assures Martha of this truth to comfort her in the death of her brother. He said, Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Then Jesus asked Martha this most important question, knowing what she’s going to say, to evoke from her a response, a believing response, that’s true and confessed by every single Christian ever since. He asked Martha, “do you believe this?” Martha answered with a good confession. She spoke the same language Peter used in his own good confession in Matthew 16. “Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even he who comes into the world.” That’s a confession that we could confess as a church together, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the one who comes into the world.

It was after Martha’s confession, then that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. An amazing miracle, but also an object lesson just to confirm her faith. And in John 11:45, it says that many of the Jews, because of this, believed in Jesus. But verse 46, “some went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.” Look at verse 47, “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and they were saying, ‘What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. If we let him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’”

There you have it right there. That is the motivation of the chief priests and the scribes. It’s a motivation of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It’s the motivation of all those religious leaders who were in power at that time. Jesus is a threat. He’s doing many wonderful signs, including this raising of Lazarus from the dead. By the way, just a footnote, later in the chapter we find out that they wanted to kill Lazarus too, to get rid of the evidence of his revival, his restoration, his resuscitation, unbelievable hardness of heart. If we let him go on like this, what’s going to happen? The Romans are going to come, they’re going to take away our place, our nation. We have national interests; we have political interests. We got a future. I got a family to feed. I got a boat payment.

Can’t let that happen. “One of them,” verse 49, Caiaphas. “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.’” Now a little post, a little footnote from John, “Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation and not for the nation only, but in order that He might,” he might, “also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Wow. “So from that day on,” they agreed with Caiaphas plan, “they planned together to kill Him.” There you have it. There is an official decision of the gathered body of the Sanhedrin, presided over by Caiaphas, the high priest on this day and their decision, official decision, kill Jesus.

Now we’re going to see the results of this decision kind of worked out through the passion narrative, as they, kind of, cobbled together their really lame case. They’re trying to stitch together, like a patchwork quilt, a fabric, a tapestry of accusations against him that don’t match, all over the next two chapters in Luke’s Gospel. Absolute travesty of justice, a violation of all and any jurisprudence.

But listen, here’s what we know so far just from our own study and observation in Luke’s Gospel. We know that Caiaphas ascended into his position by nepotism. He married the daughter of the previous high priest, Annas. And like other chief priests, most of them Sadducees, they were old money with many, many political connections and Nexus of relationships, old relationships going back generations in Jerusalem. Caiaphas then is perched at the top of the food chain of power and authority, presiding over the Sanhedrin, but also running the issues of the temple and the temple complex.

 Caiaphas made his money and traded on the temples’ credibility. He used the authority of his position to take financial advantage of everyone’s religious devotion, as they came to the temple and follow the Law of Moses. He took advantage of their devotion to enrich himself. A cynical man, he turned the temple into a den of robbers by creating and executing and, and enforcing franchise contracts for the opportunity to take up a booth in the temple. He got a percentage of the profit. He got, probably, a payment for the contract itself, but then a percentage of profits as he contracted with those who sold approved sacrifices for the worshippers of the temple; as he provided currency exchange services for all those who are travelling in from different parts of the empire.

So when Jesus, as we have seen after his triumphal entry, when Jesus comes barging into his own temple, driving out his clients, overturning money tables and disrupting everybody, getting all the merchandise out of the temple environment. And by the way, he did that twice in his ministry, once at the beginning, once at the end. Well, this Caiaphas, he sees his, this is an existential threat, he sees his business model threatened, he sees this disruption, all the trade has slowed down and, and right before Feast of Unleavened bread, right before Passover. Has this man no sense of propriety. This Jesus has to go.

You say, wait a minute; back up. Did you just say that God allowed a true prophecy to be spoken by this murderous hypocrite, Caiaphas? Does seem hard to fathom, and we wonder sometimes at how God does what he does. But we remember that God prophesied through Balaam, a false prophet, didn’t he? And he also spoke by his more righteous donkey, by the way, so animal, human alike; God spoke through Saul, spoke through the witch of Endor. We, we see that all creatures are God’s creatures, and they’re tools in his hands. And there are times when he does remarkable things that really are outside the norm. They are not what we expect because God does set a pattern of speaking through prophets and righteous men. This is strange and it does jar us and call us to focus.

Skip down a couple of verses, if you’re still in John 11 to verse 55, and notice there that, “the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. And so they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?’ That the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it so they might seize Him.”

 Word has gone out through Jerusalem; as the pilgrims come through the gates, they’re handed little leaflets saying, if you see this guy, if you see this guy, they’re wondering, is Jesus going to show? I’ve heard tell about him. I want to see him. I want to hear him for myself. I’m wondering, is he going to show up? All this attention. I don’t believe that they knew the murderous intention, at that time, of the leaders in Jerusalem, because that’s exactly what the leaders are scared of, that the people who love Jesus, who see him, he’s the popular teacher. They don’t want to make their intentions fully known.

 This is as much as a, a month before Jesus entered Jerusalem at the triumphal entry. There’s a contract on Jesus’ life. Word on the street; report him. The chief priests, the Sadducees, the temple guards want to have a word with this man. There’s intrigue afoot. Now go back to Luke. Let’s just track this from what we’ve seen. We know that during this time, the city is bursting at the seams. It’s swollen with pilgrims and numbers of pilgrims coming to the, for the feast.

And he, as we’ve already seen in Luke 19, he entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, just as Solomon, King Solomon had done, which ushered in the golden age of Israel’s dynasty. Luke 19:37 tells us that all these people who were thronging Jerusalem praise God, rejoicing. They were saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, glory in the highest. Oh, the people love him. The people want more of this man.

Jesus’ first stop after he came into the city of Jerusalem. He had no interest in visiting the Sanhedrin. He didn’t want to go see the ruling political body. He didn’t want to confer with any of the religious authorities. He didn’t want to talk about his political platform. He didn’t want to discuss his plan for renewal, religious social reform. He didn’t want to outline his agenda. He didn’t say, go sign up on my website. He didn’t start, as we’ve been peppering people with text messages continually telling us who to vote for.

 So his first stop after entering into Jerusalem, he goes to his father’s house. He goes to the temple to take back the temple from the robbers who had been wrongly occupying it, to reclaim the temple for God’s purposes, “That it might be a House of prayer for all the nations,” a place of preaching and teaching, a place of mercy and compassion, which is so fitting with offerings of sacrifice and worship and prayer. Luke tells us in Luke 19:47 he was teaching daily in the temple.

Matthew adds in Matthew 21:14, that the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. It’s a beautiful scene. Did the chief priests, as they’re overseeing the temple in the complex and seeing all this happen, did they rejoice in this? Did they rejoice over the teaching? Were their hearts warmed to the sermons that Jesus was preaching to them? Did they love the doctrine? Did, did the theology just cause their hearts to burn with passion and flame? Did they love the, the healing, the consistency of good doctrine, and mercy, and compassion, and love, seeing that all together in this man’s ministry? Luke says Luke 19:47, “The chief priests and the scribes, the leading men among the people were trying to destroy him and they couldn’t find anything that they might do for all the people were hanging upon his words.”

Chief priests, scribes, elders, these are members of the Jewish Sanhedrin and in Luke 20 they all approached Jesus. Luke 20 verse 1 and following, all of them in turn, they try to attack his authority. In the chapter, Luke chapter 20 catalogues their failed attempts to make Jesus look foolish, to diminish his, his credibility and his standing with the people. And the harder they try to undermine him, the more foolish they look. They only succeed in increasing his standing in the eyes of the people and diminishing their own. The people love it. People love this, don’t they? Where they love it, when the people who are in authority are look, are made to look like fools. This is like the gossip column lived out before them.

 So we read in Luke chapter 20, verse 19, that the scribes and the chief priests, they tried to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they’re handcuffed, they feared the people. They failed to trap him in public. They couldn’t embarrass him before the people, verse 26. And so, “marveling at his answers, they became silent.” Oh, this is frustrating. Oh, this is enraging them inside, but it wouldn’t look good for them to throw a tantrum and might get the robes wrinkled. So they wait. They’re seething inside. They’re biding their time.

After all their failed challenges to his authority and trying to call him to account for cleansing the temple, Jesus now turns their guns back on them. Look at Luke 20:46, he says, this to his disciples, but he says it while all the people are listening in. “Beware of the scribes.” Your theologians, those guys, you so highly esteem. Those guys with all the letters after their name. They love to walk around in long robes. Oh, they love respectful greetings in the marketplace. Oh doctor so and so. They love the chief seats in the synagogues. Oh sit over here, don’t sit down there, sit over here. They love the places that are honored at banquets, the best portions, and yet they devour widows’ houses. And really, they’re hypocrites because for appearance’s sake they offer long prayers that they don’t mean. These will receive the greater condemnation.

That’s just a summary of his indictment, for if you want the whole thing, 110 proof, go to Matthew 23. Man, he lets them have it, woe to you, woe to you, woe to you. It’s again, we come to the time after Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse, come through chapter 21, that likely happened on the Tuesday evening of the, his final week and he’s back the next morning after delivering the Olivet Discourse.

According to Luke 21:37, he’s back teaching in the temple all throughout the day and the people, verse 38, they get up early to go to the temple. They’re listening intently to his teaching. They’re hanging on every word. So it was Jesus popularity with the people, it was his boldness, it was the biblical confidence with which he issued his condemnations and judgements against them. It was the fact that this man could not be bought. It was the fact that he was inflexible in his righteous resolve, at the same time, he wasn’t hard; he was soft, meek. It was his graciousness as he served the people with teaching and with mercy.

     All the while in their failure to undermine and by any other means, man this is a problem we’ve never encountered. This is a man who must die, that’s what they came to. They’re in a bind. Time is ticking away. They’ve got this order from the Sanhedrin. It’s like an open action item from their board minutes which says: Kill Jesus, time; ASAP, getter done. And though the chief priests and the scribes are seeking how they might put him to death, verse 2; they have thus far been frustrated in their efforts or they were afraid of the people.

 What are they afraid of? The parallel in Matthew 26:3 to 5, makes this really clear by giving us a little more detail. If you just want to write that down, I’ll read it to you. Matthew 26:3 to 5 says, “The chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered in the court of the high priest Caiaphas; and they were plotting together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, ‘Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people.’” Okay, there’s their issue.

Arresting this popular teacher, this messianic figure, this beloved of the people, arresting him in the presence of the crowds with this level of popularity, no way; a riots going to ensue. That’s going to get the attention of the Roman governor, that’s going to jeopardize their power, their position, their nation, their standing, their, their livelihood. Can’t afford that. After all, that was the whole point in trying to get rid of Jesus in the first place, because he’s a threat to their place and their position, their power over the people. A riot in Jerusalem would have the same effect. It would do the same damage to their standing, to their position. So it’s out of the question.

They can’t grab him in the temple that’s packed with people. They can’t snatch him off the street, throw him in the back of a van with a hood on. He’s always in the, in the company of his disciples. There’s an entourage of people following him all the time. Too many witnesses just can’t happen. Whenever he retreats to Mount Olivet, they know he’s going down into the Kidron Valley and up the other side. They, but they can’t find him in the dark. They don’t have night vision goggles. They have to go out looking in the dark with lit torches. I mean not that’s not the British term for flashlight. He they have lit fire going through. Everybody can see them coming. Hey, what’s going on over there?

That’s the dilemma facing these conspiring murderers. The Passover is drawing near just a couple days away. The week-long feast of unleavened bread that follows it from Nissan 15 to 21, that’s just about to begin. Everybody’s there, everybody’s watching, and they are running out of time. And so they’re thinking, we got to postpone. So while the chief priests and the scribes are wringing their hands in the House of Caiaphas, as they’re unable to get themselves past this dilemma, they can’t get what they seek. That is, how to kill Jesus away from the people. Suddenly, in walks Judas Iscariot.