Mark 14:1-2 — Not During the Feast!

 Mark 14:1-2

South Steps of the Temple Mount

v. 1-2 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”

They wanted to keep their plans to assassinate Jesus out of the news cycle to prevent an uproar from the people. Their plan included controlling the narrative...instead of operating with transparency. It amazes me that the chief priests still thought that they might capture Jesus by trickery. He had outwitted them every step of the way. But really, what do these two verses tell me about Jesus Christ, since they are about his enemies and their plans and reasoning, not his?

• He couldn't be taken by force... or they wouldn't have needed "trickery" or “stealth”
• He couldn't be caught in his words …so they had given up on that.
• He couldn't be arrested publicly… or the people would be in an uproar.
• His teaching and miracles couldn’t be refuted … or they wouldn't have had to kill him.
• He couldn't be bought off or scared off or they wouldn't have tried to put him to death.

All this was taking place two days before the Passover. God would once again provide the Lamb for the sacrifice, the blood atonement for the firstborn, the purchase price from the slavery of sin. But the priests and scribes looked at Jesus more like a goat. To think that Jesus died for those who plotted his death to save their jobs, their positions in the community, and the peace of Israel under Rome. We too, by our sins, took part in that act, and yet he loves us too! We don't deserve his grace and love any more than those corrupt priests and scribes.

Jesus was the unleavened bread as well. There was no sin in him—no puffing up of insincerity, no deception. Jesus was a real person—a solid person. He was as available to the people as their daily bread, and just as necessary. Jesus would prove to be the long-missing staple of their lives, if only they would believe. If only we would believe. 

The chief priests tried to impose their will on Jesus by stealth and trickery. Do we do the same? I hope not.