Jesus Christ made it clear from the beginning of His ministry that He would not do away with the law, and He therefore went about removing the tarnish of man-made tradition in order to let the light of truth shine through. The legalistic Pharisees branded such truth as heresy. So they plotted to kill Him.

The Pharisees were basically defenders of the faith who devoted themselves to the honor of the one true God of Israel and maintenance of the law as they saw it. But in their fervor, they became self-righteous rejectors of the law of God. They imposed their own overbearing standards while they looked down on the general populace as uneducated and easily-led riff-raff.

We should understand that we are all just men and ludicrously incapable of defending God or His law. The Pharisees understood no such thing, but went about in their splendid robes, spouting their high-blown rhetoric, totally incapable of seeing themselves as the pathetic figures that they really were.

Pontius Pilate looked out on the religious turmoil that was Palestine in his day and rightly concluded that it was out of envy that the priests and Pharisees persecuted this popular preacher, Jesus of Nazareth.

An odd thing about people is that they have a tendency to make their own laws, even as they ignore the laws of God (or in their self-righteousness, multiply laws in His name). The Pharisees were very good at that. Careful physical observance of the 613 commandments by their own rules was the essence of their religion. These decrees became revered traditions, kept alive by lawyers of great learning. They were proud of them.

We must be careful not to become like the Pharisees. One thing they hated so much about Jesus was that He was a man for all people. He had painted a picture of the future when men from every quarter of the globe would be invited to sit together in the Kingdom of God, while those who considered themselves worthy were barred from entry for all their “good works” (Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 13:28, 29). They were impressed with themselves, but Jesus Christ was not, which is why they decided that He had to go. And these vain men would use whatever means necessary to get rid of Him.

Jesus’ Kingdom Is Not of This World

Had Jesus stood up for Himself, the people might well have come to His aid. But He did not. His Kingdom was not of this world. It wasn’t then and isn’t now, but soon will be! Few people throughout time have really understood that. When people back then did try to make Him king, He slipped away and soon after that made some remarks that turned many against Him (John 6:15, 50-66). There was a sort of last-ditch revival four days before Passover when the crowds greeted Him with loud Hosannas on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:4-11), but Jesus disappointed them and didn’t follow through. He was not the mighty man they had hoped for.

The people back then were no more ready for a gospel of peace or a Kingdom that demanded adherence to the law, self-sacrifice, and the love of enemies than we are today.
Jesus might be called the greatest hero of all time, and so He is, but it’s difficult to understand just what His sacrifice means. He gave up His equality with God to become a human being, with a finite life span. He gave up His role as the Creator of the universe to die on a stake. And He did it to become the One through whom we might receive eternal life. Passover thus became the beginning of God’s plan of salvation.

This is why Jesus had to die; that we might be released from the fear of death and have the chance to be transformed into everlasting children of our Father in Heaven. And when all has been accomplished according to the plan that God put in place before beginning, He will make new heavens and a new Earth. And the days of pain and sorrow and fear of death will be no more. This wonderful vision and His Father’s Spirit carried Jesus Christ forward and sustained Him throughout His ministry as a man, including that final dreadful day of crucifixion.
As we approach Passover again this year we have opportunity to refresh our commitment to God. We should remember the gravity of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made. And we must grow closer to the great God of loving kindness and mercy whose self-sacrifice gives us hope of eternal joy at His side.