2 Cents

In Luke 22:2 we read this:

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

For they feared the people.

It wasn't primarily because he upset the established order of things.  It wasn't because he claimed to be God and the Jews had strict laws about there being only one true God.  It was because they feared the people.

But what does that really mean?

It means PRIDE.  They killed Jesus because they were prideful.

When you break it down pride is basically when we care too much about what other people think about us.  In other words, the fear of man or the fear of other people.

When we pridefully refuse to admit we're wrong it is because we care too much about other people thinking we are right.

When we pridefully show off or boast it is because we care too much about people admiring us.

When we pridefully don't want to confess our sins to someone it is because we care too much about them viewing us as a righteous person.

Pride is fearing people.

And pride is the reason Jesus was murdered.

In John 7:7 we see that the reason the world hated (and still hates) Jesus is because he calls people evil. He makes people face up to their sins.  He calls people out (like the Pharisees) when they're being hypocrites.  He exposes people for who they really are.

And prideful people hate that because they care so much about others seeing them as good, righteous, and correct.

If I'm honest, there are many times where I hate it as well.

We see this in John 5 as well.

In John 5:40 we read that there were Jews who "refused" to come to Jesus for eternal life.

Not that they didn't know they were supposed to, but they refused.  They didn't want to.

Why?  John 5:44 gives us the answer:

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

In other words, the root cause of their unbelief in Jesus was their love of praise and glory from people.  They feared the people.  And it led to the murder of Jesus.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is this: have I dealt with my own pride and fear of people?  Am I working to kill it or am I simply letting it live?  Do I care more about what other people think of me than what God thinks?

Because pride a dangerous, dangerous sin.  So dangerous it led to the murder of Jesus.

But there's hope, if you're a Christian, because God has given you a new heart and Paul says in Gal. 1:10, true servants of Jesus are no longer seeking the approval of people.