Matthew26::the people Jesus died for

Everyone is being sifted.  There is no longer any room for middle ground.  Jesus has no mere acquaintances, no casual friends.  Everyone is either an intimate or an enemy, and sometimes both.

• The chief priests and elders, who finally conclude they must kill Jesus.
• The woman at Bethany, who abandons herself and worships Jesus by pouring perfume on his head as he reclines at the table.  What a shockingly intimate and extravagant act.
• Judas, who sells Jesus out.  He could see the inevitable clash that was about to happen, and determined he was standing on the wrong side.  It was his last chance to change teams--and line his pockets in the process--and he took it.  History has made Judas the poster boy for evil incarnate, but I see him as more of a tragic figure.  He came so close, and in the moment of truth he made a horrible choice. "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it."
• The disciples, who share their last moments with Jesus before his arrest and crucifixion. One of the great things about the gospels is that the disciples, who had the ability to control the narrative, made no attempt to make themselves look better when they retold these stories.  I can see them saying, "we were so stupid!  We fell asleep.  We all got scared and said we didn't even know him."
• Caiaphas the high priest, who runs the circus used to convict Jesus.  "I charge you under oath by the Living God."  What horribly ironic words, uttered to God himself in a human court.  God publicly announces his identity while on trial, is charged with the crime of claiming to be God, and sentenced to death.

"You see, just at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:6-8