‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death’ (Matthew 20:18)
It did not seem likely that Jesus would have to suffer and die. Large numbers of people followed Him on His way (Matthew 19:1,2). So many followers that could have defended Him!
The chief priests led the services and sacrifices in the temple. Scribes provided religious instruction. Both groups had extensive knowledge of the words of God and were meant to be examples to the people. It is quite shocking to read that it was through the hands of these religious leaders that Jesus was rejected and crushed (Isaiah 53:4-6). Not by foreign enemies, but fellow countrymen who tried to live a religious and dedicated life… They should have been able to recognise Jesus in the words that the prophets had spoken about Him.
Because Israel was under Roman occupation, only the Romans were allowed to carry out death sentences. It was possible to sentence someone to death, but only the Roman government had the final say in carrying out the sentence. Jesus’ own people and the religious leaders would hand Him over to the enemy of Israel in order to satisfy their own wish: death for Jesus. For the third time, Jesus speaks about this to His disciples. He was bound for Jerusalem.Food for thought: ‘delivered over to the chief priests and scribes’’ What comes to your mind when you read these words? Express your feelings in prayer to Jesus.