What next?

When Jesus had finished teaching all these things he said to his disciples, ‘In two days, as you know it will be the Passover Festival, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’

Then the chief priests and the elders met together in the palace of Caiaphas the High Priest, and made plans to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.
(verses 1-4)

Read Matthew 26:1-16

‘Congratulations, what a marvellous achievement. So what’s next? Where are you hoping to go from here?’ This has to be one of the most overused lines in sports commentating. But it highlights the fact that one moment of success is not the end. Athletes know they must have a goal that they are working towards, otherwise all their training is quite literally for nothing.

Jesus has just finished another chapter in his life. He turns the page and sets his sights towards his ultimate goal: to die for you and me. None of his friends believe that he will die in the next two days. Little do they know of the conspiracy that is brewing in the palace of Caiaphas. It seems as if Jesus has barely uttered the words and events are already being set in motion so that he will succeed.

There are times in your life too when it seems as if a chapter must come to an end and you have the chance to set your sights on a new goal. Where would you like to be in five or ten years? You don’t have to know how or when you’re going to get there. Just choose your goal and let God guide your path.

Lord, my loving Father. Help me choose a worthy goal that you can be proud of, and lead me in my quest. Amen.

by Jörg Ernst, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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