“But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 26:5 Mean?
The chief priests and elders plot to kill Jesus but decide: "Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." Their concern isn't whether killing Jesus is right or wrong. It's whether the timing will cause a public relations problem. The morality of the act is already settled in their minds. Only the optics remain.
The phrase "lest there be an uproar among the people" reveals that Jesus still had significant popular support. The leaders couldn't act openly because the crowd would riot. Their plot required stealth, timing, and a betrayer who could give them private access. The people's support for Jesus was a real political obstacle that the leaders had to navigate.
The irony is that despite their careful scheduling—"not on the feast day"—Jesus was in fact crucified during the feast of Passover. Their planning was overruled by God's timing. The leaders thought they were controlling the calendar. God was controlling it. The Lamb of God was killed at Passover—not because the leaders planned it that way, but because God did.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When you're making wrong decisions, is your concern about what's right or about what people will think?
- 2.Have you ever replaced the moral question ('should I?') with the strategic question ('when should I?')? What happened?
- 3.The leaders' careful plans were overruled by God's timing. When has your planning served God's purposes without you realizing it?
- 4.If the most religious people in the nation became the most morally vacant, what does that warn you about the relationship between religious position and actual righteousness?
Devotional
"Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar." The religious leaders are planning a murder—and their main concern is scheduling. Not conscience. Not justice. Not whether killing an innocent man is wrong. Just: when is the best time to do it without getting caught?
The moral bankruptcy is total. They've already decided to kill Him. The ethics are settled. All that remains is logistics. And the logistical concern is public perception—what will the crowd think? Not what will God think. Not what will history say. What will the immediate crowd do?
This is what corruption looks like at its most advanced: the moral question has been completely replaced by the strategic question. Right and wrong have been eliminated from the calculation. The only remaining variables are timing, optics, and crowd management. The leaders who should have been the moral guardians of the nation have become the most morally vacant people in it.
The irony—that Jesus was crucified on Passover despite their plans to avoid the feast—reveals who's actually running the calendar. The leaders thought they were in control. God was in control. The Lamb was sacrificed on the day God chose, not the day the Sanhedrin preferred. Their careful plans served God's purposes. Their strategic murder became the cosmic sacrifice. They thought they were killing a prophet. They were fulfilling a prophecy.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And they said, not on the feast day,.... Upon mature deliberation, it was an agreed point with them, at least it was…
on the feast day Better, during the feast, including the Passover and the seven days of unleavened bread.
lest there be…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture