July 9, 2024

Matthew 26:3-4

³ Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 

People who are enemies of the truth have absolutely no problem resorting to a tactic called “trickery” to promote their agenda. This is not a new tactic of the enemy, and it isn’t some new invention of modern politics.

The most powerful and respected political and religious leaders of Jesus’s day all resorted to trickery. They knew that their agenda would never win the support of the masses through popular opinion. They weren’t out to convince the crowd that their agenda was better for them. Rather, they were out to convince people that they stood for their best interests, when in fact they really didn’t. They were simply looking out for their own interests, which was the preservation of their own political power and influence.

The word, “trickery,” means “craft, deceit, or guile,” It is the noun form of a verb that means “to bait, or to catch by bait.” And just like a fish looking at bait on a hook, it looks very enticing, but taking a bite of that agenda comes with the hook of death camouflaged inside it.

It is said that having power tends to corrupt people. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. We see this not only in the political realm, but also in the religious realm when someone gets big and influential without having proper checks and balances to protect them.

If secret meetings and information are requisites to maintaining certain positions, it is a fair bet that the necessity for trickery already exists. It is a dangerous position to be in because trickery is an enemy of truth.

We have seen several prominent religious leaders fall recently and in past times. While the fall is almost always in the categories of money or sexual sin, the underlying cause of the fall is that there was trickery going on. They were not accountable to anyone that was holding them to the truth. They were isolated from regular people and were locked in a secretive ivory tower.

The problem is even worse in the political realm. In either party, the real agenda is not to try to improve the lives of citizens. It is to preserve power. And in the pursuit of the preservation of power, trickery becomes not only acceptable, but normal.

It is a sad state of affairs that most religious forums consider political subjects to be something unapproachable. But the truth is that nearly every political subject is first and foremost a Bible subject. But because the place where truth should be taught remains silent on these subjects, most of God’s people are ready victims of trickery. They only hear these subjects discussed through the lens of trickery. They only see the bait. The hook of death is hidden from them.

When I mention the subjects of abortion, sexuality, marriage, the economy, the 2^nd amendment, immigration, qualifications for voting and for being a political candidate, welfare, healthcare, and what is taught in our local schools, most people feel that these are political subjects.

But BEFORE they were political subjects, each of these topics is a Biblical subject. But our forum for truth on all of these subjects tends to be silent. Pulpits are afraid to discuss the Bible and what it says about these subjects. And so the majority of Christians only hear these subjects discussed through the lens of trickery. They are left defenseless because they don’t have the truth.

It is the reason why so many Christians don’t vote like a Christian. They don’t vote according to what the Bible instructs because they have no idea what the Bible instructs on these subjects. They hear the voices of trickery who have an agenda of maintaining their power.

But they are never taught about the hooks that will be the cause of their death.

The only remedy to avoid the hooks is to know the truth. The Bible is readily available for us to read in our culture. You won’t be thrown in prison for having a copy.

But the sad truth is that few actually do read it for themselves. They are waiting for pastors to show them the truth. But they are waiting in vain.

Trickery killed Jesus. It kills Christians and nations too.