Justice Served

Have you ever wished someone would get in big trouble? Maybe you wished a reckless driver would get pulled over or that your boss would walk by when your co-worker walks in late or regularly surfs the net. Has anyone gotten in bigger trouble than you even dared to wish?

My uncle did. He had supposedly cheated on my aunt for years. After their divorce and on his wedding night with his new wife, he died suddenly of a brain aneurism. Rumor was, he died in the very “act.”

Well, some of the religious leaders thought Jesus deserved to get in big trouble. In fact, they tried to trap Him over and over and even conspired to administer “justice” themselves, but Jesus got worse than they even dared hope.

Matthew 26:1-5When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ² “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ⁵ “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

What I find so interesting is that the chief priests and elders didn’t even hope to arrest Jesus during the Passover or have him killed publically, but that’s exactly what happened. It seemed far better than they could have planned, but was just as Jesus prophesied. I wonder if the religious leaders celebrated their seemingly wonderful fortune?

They had a selfish and evil plan, but God used even them to accomplish His sovereign plan in His perfect timing. He is the only one who has authority to administer complete justice. Justice was served the day Jesus died, but it wasn’t for what Jesus did. Through God’s judgment of our sin by sacrificing Jesus, He chose to offer grace and mercy to you and me! Have you submitted to Him and now live under His grace? Or, will you suffer the full penalty for your sins?

For believers, when was the last time you and I humbly thanked Jesus for taking the punishment for what we deserve? Will you do that right now?

Alice