The Religious Elite Hated Him (Lent 14, 2025)

These two Jewish men on the Road to Emmaus were headed home after the Passover.  Thinking that Jesus was just a fellow traveler, they open their discussion to include Him.  They state Jesus’ credentials as a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and men.  Then, not knowing Jesus’ religious or political affiliation (because to them, He was just a stranger traveling the same road), they state what to Him what was obvious to them: “The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death” (Luke 24:20).

They knew who was to blame in the recent events. 
They knew who hated Jesus, but they didn’t take it far enough.
What they failed to realize was there was a wider blame
rooted in Jesus’ relationship to God the Father.

Toward the end of His three-year-ministry, Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both Me and My Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.'” (John 15:22-25)

Principle: The whole world is to blame for crucifying Jesus, not just the Jews.  Sin is a universal human problem and is the sole reason for the death of Christ. It’s not WHO crucified Jesus, but WHY.

Questions for further thought:

All the people involved in this discussion were Jewish: the two men, Jesus, as well as the chief priests mentioned in the discussion.  What about “our rulers”?  If our rulers were the Sanhedrin, a judicial council like the Supreme Court, then they too were Jewish.  In Luke 23:13-16, Scripture says, “13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”  Yes, among those rulers were Jewish ones, too.

Why cannot Jesus’ death be attributed to Jews only? Why does holding such a belief today constitute antisemitism by failing to see how the entire world killed Jesus?   

Consider that only the Romans had the authority to crucify.  Pilate tried to reason for letting Him go, but “The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” (John 19:7)

How does an “us vs them” attitude toward the Jews display the very reason Jesus had to die (i.e. sin)? Moreover, how does the whole world stand to benefit from Jesus’ crucifixion, if only they’ll repent and follow Him? Jesus didn’t die as a Jew for the Jews alone or salvation would be limited. No, “For God so loved…the world” (John 3:16).

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help us to remember Your Jewish heritage and how sin is a universal human problem.  You needed to come from the Jewish people in order to fulfill Scripture.  You needed to die in order for salvation to apply to all men by faith in You. Remind us often the dangers of antisemitism and how they have no place in the Christian life.  We love You, Lord.  Amen.

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Lent began Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and will continue until Resurrection Sunday, Easter (April 20, 2025). I hope you’ll join me and be prepared to have your eyes opened. I know mine have been in writing this series, “The Way it Had to Be.”

The author gratefully acknowledges Grok XI for assisting with this year’s pictures.
Technology can be amazing.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2025 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

“Seeing His Love with New Eyes” was the topic for 2024 and it explored looking at God’s love beyond the superficial and trite notions of love. They are archived beginning February 14, 2024.

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.

A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 

Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 

ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.

Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.

Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.

Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.

The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Revelation in 40 devotionals for 2022 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.

“Created to Display His Image” explored what it truly means to be made in God’s Image and the profound significance of that fact. They are archived beginning February 22, 2023.