“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death. . . .”

— Matthew 20:18

Every good story includes interesting characters—including heroes and villains—as well as tensions and challenges. All of these elements serve a purpose. Even villains, who are typically disliked, serve an important purpose in the story. This is the case for the chief priests and teachers in the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Jesus had set out for Jerusalem, even though he knew what would happen there. He knew there would be confrontations with the chief priests and teachers of the law, who were looking for a reason to arrest and kill him. If he stayed away from Jerusalem, he might have avoided that outcome, at least for a while. But he had come to follow his Father’s plan, and that involved going to Jerusalem, facing the religious leaders, and submitting to his eventual sentencing, torture, and death.

It may surprise us that the religious leaders opposed Jesus. In many ways, sadly, they were responsible for his death. They thought they were in the right, but they were not. The lesson for us here is to make sure we do what is right. At times when we think we are following God’s will, we are not. We might think we are close to Jesus, but we can be far off.

Discernment is a difficult task, but it is one that we are called to every day. Let’s pray for help in discerning what is right and who we are called to be.

Lord, help us discern right from wrong. Help us to truly follow you in all we do and say. Amen.