Matthew 26:1-5

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1 When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, 2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.'' 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. 5 But they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise, a riot might occur among the people.''

Once again, Jesus reveals His upcoming death to His disciples. It seems they didn't really get the full impact of what He was telling them, because they still had in their minds a hope of Messianic victory over the Roman occupation.

This is an interesting snapshot of how a negative response is usually painted by the leadership. It's always the leadership that paves the way-either negatively or positively. Jesus was loved by the masses. It was the leadership that was threatened by His teachings and His presence. It was the leadership that rejected the Messiahship of Jesus. This is why Jesus was very hard on the religious leaders of His day.

FIRST--He called them snakes.

SECOND--He called them white-washed tombs, pretty on the outside, but totally dead inside.

THIRD--He warned them that if they were to lead any "little ones" astray, there would be the harshest judgment from God upon them.

Two things come to mind here: 1. Be careful of the leadership you follow-listen to, hang out with, those who influence you the most. Even the news media becomes a major influence on spiritual things and world-wide perspective.

2. Your relationship with Jesus doesn't have to depend upon the leaders in your life. Note that Jesus spent most of His time hanging out with the non-leadership kind of people, the little people, the laity. It was easier for them to relate to this most attractive one. They had nothing positionally to lose!

The special thing about following Jesus is that he trumps everything else-all leaders and organizations. So, be careful to draw close to Jesus today. Thank Him for walking with you throughout your day, for caring what happens to you and your family today! Do the toughest thing you can do-do your best to walk with Him. See what He does and listen to what He says, then DO IT!