A curious note by the Holy Spirit regarding the trial of the Christ, our Lord. Pilate knew that for envy the Jews had delivered Christ. That shrewd politician, who had navigated the dangerous world of Roman politics to emerge as a favorite of the emperor and thus the emperor’s appointee to the land of Palestine, knew about envy. Pilate knew that envy burned deep in the human breast. He knew that envy plotted and planned all the while envy smiled at the object of its smoldering hatred. He knew that envy murdered rivals to step over their dead bodies and come out on top. And Pilate knew that those church politicians had delivered Christ because they envied him.

Envy is a form of hatred. As hatred, envy is murderous. Envy does not shrink from murder. Envy does not shrink from the murder of God. The specific elements of envy in the pantheon of hatred are jealousy and rivalry. The result of envy is strife and death. Envy will remove the hated rival!

The Jews hated Christ because they were jealous of him. They were jealous of his power, his gifts, his words, and the place that God had given to Christ in the church as head and sole Lord, savior, bishop, apostle, prophet, priest, and king. They would not be nothing besides Christ, and they would not be his servants. They would have their works and not his alone! Thus the Jews were also Christ’s rivals, for they had designs on God’s vineyard.

There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. (Matt. 21:33–39, 45)

Then what Christ had prophesied of those Jews came to pass. With their murderous envy, they delivered Jesus Christ to Pilate to be crucified because they would seize the vineyard for themselves.

So it always is in the history of the church. Christ is placed on trial because the wicked husbandmen envy him. They hate Christ’s claim that he is the only savior, that he is the light of the world, the door of the sheep, the way, the truth, and the life. They hate Christ’s dominion in his church by his Spirit and word. They hate that he alone is salvation. And they have designs on the Lord’s heritage. And for envy they deliver up Christ. Oh, yes, now, of course, they do it in many backhanded and covert ways. Often they kill Christ by killing one of his servants or casting out his truth. But the effect is the same. They crucify Christ. “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” (Prov. 27:4). They crucified Christ. They cursed him. And they buried him.

Christ rose again! He always does. When he is crucified and buried in one church, then he arises in another! And when he is risen, he draws his own unto himself!