Blind ambition ruled your divided heart,
Betrayal in the dark of night.
You led this farce with swords and staves,
To protect your twisted plight,
Selfish and dishonorable, Caiaphas,
You held your head so high
Leading the Sanhedrin court,
In a wave of evil lies.
Jesus was the innocent,
But the one who took your blame.
He threatened your self righteous kingdom,
Woven in ideologies man had made.
You had no real authority,
So to Pilate you made your plea.
Persuading all the crowd gathered there,
For your jealousy Pilate could see.
Released into your cruelty,
Jesus endured hates angry hand.
When physical torture could not sooth your rage,
Mocking scorn stepped onto the grandstand.
You were leading your own purpose,
Your heart far from righteousness instilled.
Yet, your evil played in to the hands of good,
Paving the way for scripture fulfilled.
Self sustaining evil, practicing,
Under cover of the darkness of night.
Created the perfect environment,
For true righteousness to shine bright.
The eerie screech of evil,
Man’s own message making its case.
Was tuning up redemption power,
Bringing forth the sweet sound of Amazing Grace.
Wendi Maddox
Author’s Look~
Caiaphas, the high priest of Israel, served in the temple of Jerusalem and felt justified in all that he did. He was so deep into the religious culture, that he had long left God in the review mirror of navigating his motives. He enjoyed his position and didn’t want to see “his kingdom” crumble. Jesus came on to the scene and became just that very threat to all Caiaphas enjoyed living. As Jews began seeing Jesus as the possible true Messiah, they were captivated by him. This would not do; Caiaphas could not stand the attention he was getting and knew an uproar would soon take place. He had to stop this Man and the fame He was gaining. Soon, the plan was made to falsely accuse Jesus and have him killed.
Under Cover
Caiaphas and the religious leaders of that day knew that whatever they did had to be done slyly (subtly was how he referred to it) to keep control of the situation. Evil loves to hide, shrouded in darkness to cover its intentions. The take down of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was done with a lot of unnecessary drama. They did not need to come with an army to “capture” him, nor with Judas to “identify” Him. Jesus called them out on it.
Matthew 26: 55 (KJV). . . Are you come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
They felt strong and justified coming with their army in the night but lacked the courage to take him outright, daily in the temple. Caiaphas knew there would be a backlash if the people saw them doing that; something he couldn’t afford to happen. He was a religious leader who was only interested in protecting his own position and keeping the “religion” which man had made. He would do this “his” way.
Fulfilling Scripture
Jesus wasn’t done and added insult to injury when he continued. . .
Matthew 26:56 (KJV). . .But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
At that word, things became clear and real to His disciples and for fear they fled. Caiaphas had just received a message that he was playing into the hands of the Grand Plan. What Caiaphas didn’t know, was his selfish motives were activating God’s mission to redeem all of mankind. Jesus was basically saying. . . go ahead, I get it. . . You are fulfilling scripture. He was always trying to impart that He was participating in the New Testament, not trying to destroy the Law of Moses, the prophets and Psalms, but to fulfill them!
Matthew 26:28 (KJV) . . . For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Getting His Way
Caiaphas went ahead with his dirty plan to destroy Jesus and go on with his pious life. He knew he had no real authority to have Jesus crucified, as he would need the Romans to do that, so off to Pontious Pilate he went to plead his case. Pilate saw no fault with Jesus and could sense this was related to jealousy of one man feeling threatened by another. He really didn’t want to play this game, but he too was entangled in a political push and could not risk displeasing this crowd of people. He released Jesus to them to be crucified, but even that wasn’t enough.
There was so much beating, abusing of Jesus, with a crown of thorns pushed into his head, being flogged, stripped, bleeding, weak, staggering while trying to carry that heavy cross, and then being nailed on to it. You would think that was enough for Caiaphas, but it wasn’t. Physical abuse was not enough to sooth his rage, mental abuse continued the torture as he and the people began to mock and scorn Jesus as he hung there in agony, dying. How could Caiaphas justify this as the work of God? Even if he thought he was right and protecting what he had been taught about God, this was just plain cruel. His religion had become one of his own making and God was not in it at all. He was “leading” for his own purpose, and not of God’s.
Amazing Grace
Man thought they were in control in the garden that night, not knowing they were following God’s plan. Their evil in the darkness of night, paved the way for true righteousness to shine bright. Evil played into the hands of good, and darkness created the perfect environment for the brightest light to shine. The eerie screech of evil brought forth the sweetest sound of AMAZING GRACE!
God’s grace has the power to rule over every action man can take. You no longer have to walk in darkness. Step into the light and experience the power of God’s love and grace as you walk in relationship with Him. True religion is walking in obedience with God and trusting Him on that journey to lead with authority, love and covering.
THAT is what Caiaphas really didn’t know.
Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound!