This episode takes place on the Wednesday of the first Holy Week.  The cross is just two days away, and the religious conspirators still have no plan despite their intense hatred of Jesus and their ambition to kill Him.  Like all worldlings, they are people-pleasers ... more concerned with how others will respond to their fantasies than with what is true.  They even admitted between themselves that the arrest and death of Jesus would have to be a sly trick.

The Feast of Passover recalled how the Israelites, as slaves in Egypt, were told to take the blood of a slaughtered lamb and daub it all around the doors of their houses so that they would be protected from the angel of death.  Although the religious leaders did not know how Jesus would die, they decided it must not be over the Passover.  But Father God did have a plan; Jesus would die at Passover (Acts 2:23).  He was to be the Passover Lamb, dying for the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Ordinary people assume that religious authorities have right on their side, and that integrity is their hallmark.  Alas, history has not shown that to be true, especially when the real Jesus gets in the way of political or personal ambitions.  A tell-tale sign of fleshly scheming is trying to appease the popular vote.  Small church congregational governments and large church synods are equally at risk; and even more so when spiritual sounding arguments become part of the justification for decision-making. "Not during the feast", showed no deference to the Lord - it was not about the dignity of worship, but rather the risk to their power if the Romans had to control a religious riot.

This is a reminder that although sinful human beings, and even religious ones, may scheme in secret to achieve their selfish goals, God always achieves His purposes, and on time (Ephesians 1:11).  He may use evil against itself, block evil plans, change timing, or simply proceed with what He had planned - and nothing can get in the way (Luke 4:28-30).  It is also a reminder of the need for integrity, without any scheming.  The Lord knows our hearts’ desires.  It is also a reminder of our responsibility to pray for church leaders and officials ... that their decisions may be truly in the Spirit and not in the flesh ... and that the real Jesus will be worshipped for who He truly is.  Today’s challenge is to know that the Lord is already outworking His purposes in your life; it is best to cooperate and futile to resist His will.