Devotion for March 15, 2016

Tuesday: The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people (Luke 20:19; NIV).

            In the last week of Jesus’ life, His parables finally started to sink in. The chief priests finally understood that Jesus was not harmless nor could He be safely ignored. He raised a fundamental challenge to their way of understanding what it meant to be Israel. So, they looked to arrest Him—but secretly. They were willing to bide their time.

            Sounds like Satan… After Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, we read that Satan waited until a more opportune time to attack Jesus.

            Here’s a disturbing and important lesson: the devil and the powers of the fallen world are in league against God’s purposes. Here’s an even more disturbing and important lesson: our own sinful natures are often in that same league. Jesus faces opposition from all sides.

            How amazing, then, to consider that while we were God’s enemies, when we are at our most oppositional moment, that’s exactly when Jesus’ death counts for us. In the face of cosmic and personal opposition, Jesus mercifully gives His life.