By Billie Duty

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. (Matthew 27:1-2)

They had taken Him the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus had went to pray after eating the Passover feast with His disciples. They had been up all night trying to find fault in Him, fault deserving of death. He had no fault, He had committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. (Matthew 26; 1 Peter 2:21-25)

Why did the want to kill Him, a man who had done so much good? For he [Pilate] knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. (Matthew 27:18)

Most of these men held high positions with the Jewish people, they were looked up to, they liked having the best places and seats at feasts and in the synagogues, they loved greetings in the market place (Matthew 23:6). These men feared losing their position among the people. They wanted Jesus out of the way. They were prideful, arrogant, self-centered. And they would even kill the Son of God  to remain in their positions. The God they claimed to be following and teaching others of.

In Matthew 23:5 Jesus says: But all their works they do to be seen by men.

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:43)

They murdered the Son of God out of envy. But it was all in God's plan, Jesus knew this and He came to do the will of His Father, He came to die that we might have life.

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." (John 8:28-29)