PROFILES —-
CAIAPHAS
Caiaphas was a Sadducee. The Sadducees were an educated, rich, and politically powerful group of religious leaders among the Jewish people. And they did not like Jesus. In fact, they hated Him, because He was disrupting their lifestyle and challenging their beliefs. As a leader of the Sadducees, Caiaphas had to make sure that Jesus—and His threat to the Sadducees’ power—was removed. To him, this meant that Jesus must die. But even in all his ugliness, Caiaphas was used in God’s beautiful plan to save us. It was his selfish political agenda to crucify Jesus that made way for the Resurrection to happen.
BLINDED BY POWER
Is Jesus a threat to you? Does He threaten what you’ve built and what you’ve made for yourself? Would He disrupt the name you’ve made for yourself, the success you’ve worked hard for, or the relationships and recognition you’ve been able to get?
Yes! Jesus should disrupt all those things—because what He offers is better. He has love for you worth more than the approval you can get from your friends. His power and success is greater than anyone else’s because He has conquered death and the grave. And what He wants to give you is eternal, safe, and protected from everything you may encounter in this temporary life.
When all was said and done, when Jesus rose again with all power in His possession, Caiaphas still refused to believe in Him, and he even went as far to silence and persecute those who did. Caiaphas represents the people who refuse to believe because they think accepting Jesus as Lord will cost them too much. They choose the fleeting power, celebrity, or pleasures of this life instead of the eternal life God offers those who receive His Son.
What’s your choice? Is Jesus worth it? Is He that valuable? Is it worth giving up everything to possess what He has? Or is He so much of a threat that He must be removed from your life at all costs? As it was for Caiaphas and the Sadducees he led, the choice is yours.
WHAT IS THREATENED BY JESUS IN YOUR LIFE?
THINK & PRAY