Tag Archives: Annas

Hidden in Plain Sight

April 2, 2026 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’
Luke 13:31-32 (NIV)

Star Wars Episode IV was the first of the Star Wars movies made in the 1970s, and the movie that took the world by storm. Those of us who are old enough to have experienced that first taste of the Star Wars universe, watching it in retrospect is an adventure.

We had no idea Luke & Leia were twins. (We thought they were lovers!)
We had no idea Darth Vader was their father. (Are you kidding me?)
We had no idea Obi-Wan was Darth Vader’s Jedi Master.

Once I know the whole story, I see little things I never saw before.

Today’s chapter is a good example, and perfect for this Maundy Thursday post.

When Jesus began His ministry back in chapter 4, the Prince of this World tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He shows Jesus all the Kingdoms of this World, reminds Jesus that they are his to give, and offers to give them to Jesus if Jesus will only bow down to him. Jesus refuses.

On Good Friday, Jesus will be executed by an unholy trinity of the Kingdoms of this world.

Pilate representing Rome and the Kingdom of Human Empire.
Annas representing the Kingdom of Religion.
Herod representing the Kingdom of Self-Interest—politics, image, and the machinery of wealth.

In today’s chapter, Jesus is resolutely headed toward Jerusalem. He knows His mission. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows who is going to have Him executed.

The chapter begins with a reference to Pilate, who was notorious for using the power of Rome to suppress enemies and showcase his power.
Jesus says, “Repent You just might be next. I know I am.”

Then the scene shifts to the religious establishment who are so busy with their laws etched in stone that they can’t hear the Living Word when it is speaking to them directly.
Jesus “humiliates” them, increasing their desire to kill Him.

The chapter ends with Jesus being warned to avoid Jerusalem, because Rome’s local puppet king, Herod, wants to kill Him.
Jesus replies with veiled insult and prophetically doubles down on His mission.

“Three days to reach my goal.”

One day do die.
One day to winnow hell.
One day to rise again.

In the quiet this morning, I find today’s chapter to whisper to me about mission and urgency. Hidden in plain sight, Luke foreshadows this trinity of kingdoms of this world under the dominion of the Prince of this World. They desperately hate one another – but they will form an unholy alliance to put the Son of God to death.

And in so doing, they are unaware that they will ensure Death’s defeat.

Once and for all.

And Jesus’ message through the chapter weaves together into a single, urgent call:
Repent before it’s too late.
Bear fruit while there is still time.
Stop hiding behind rules and start showing mercy.
Trust—even a mustard-seed worth.
The door is narrow… but it is open.
And proximity to Him is not the same as knowing Him.

Good reminders as I join the rest of the world in making an annual pilgrimage with Jesus on His mission to the cross, and beyond.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Promotional graphic for Tom Vander Well's Wayfarer blog and podcast, featuring icons of various podcast platforms with a photo of Tom Vander Well. — These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

Compelled

March 25, 2024 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20 (NIV)

I gave a message yesterday to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. As I got up to deliver the message I realized that the page with the message I had prepared and all my notes was still back in my home office sitting on my desk. Believe it or not, I didn’t freak out. The truth is that I have forgotten my message at home before. I just started speaking. The words just came to me. It’s always been this way.

In today’s chapter, Peter and John are arrested and thrown into the Temple jail overnight. The next morning they are brought before the Temple rulers. Luke is careful to document the names of the leaders who were there because for his contemporary readers, it was a who’s who of the Jewish authorities.

Annas was like the godfather of the Temple and its lucrative financial operations. The Temple wasn’t just a religious system. It was a business, which is why Jesus got righteously angry, turned over the tables of the moneychangers, and declared that Annas and his mob had turned the Temple “into a den of thieves.” Annas had been the high priest, but the Romans deposed him. So, Annas did what the head of all mob families do. He made sure a string of his sons and sons-in-law held the office of high priest, but everyone knew that it was Annas pulling the strings. On the night Jesus was arrested, the first place they took Him was Annas’ house.

Luke also takes care to note that the Temple leaders who arrested Peter and John were from a religious Jewish sect known as Sadducees. The Sadducees didn’t believe in resurrection or an afterlife, and it was Peter and John’s claims that Jesus was resurrected and they had witnessed it that made the Temple leaders want to shut them up, and fast.

The following day, when Peter and John are brought before the same men who conspired to have Jesus crucified, the two former fishermen from Galilee boldly and articulately repeat their message. Jesus, whom they had killed a few weeks before, had been risen from the dead. The religious leaders were in a bind. Peter and John had clearly performed a miracle, healing a well-known, local man that everyone knew had been lame his whole life. Peter and John were unschooled blue-collar deplorables from Galilee, but when they opened their mouths, they spoke with boldness and authority, reciting scriptures like they’d been to the finest rabbinical schools. So, they did the only thing they could do. They tried to bully Peter and John with threats and commanded them to keep their mouths shut.

Peter and John respond by making it clear that they can’t shut up. What they heard, saw, and experienced with Jesus compels them to speak. That’s just what they’re going to do.

As I read Peter and John’s message in the previous chapter, and their defense in today’s chapter, I could not help but remember Jesus’ words to them: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

In the quiet this morning, I think back to when I was a young teenager and I surrendered my life to Jesus. In an experience I can’t ever forget, God told me I would proclaim His Word. From that moment on, I found that I could just start talking about Jesus, and the words would come. I have multiple people have asked me how I write these posts every weekday. It’s the same way. Some mornings I stare at a blank screen with no earthly idea what to write. I start typing, and the words come. And, what Peter and John said to the bullies who tried to shut them up in today’s chapter resonates with me. I can’t stop. I’m compelled by what I have seen, heard, and experienced following Jesus.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day John 18

April 11, 2012 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

Pendulum clock conceived by Galileo Galilei ar... — Pendulum clock conceived by Galileo Galilei around 1637. The earliest known pendulum clock design, it was never completed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time. John 18:12-13 (NLT)

Along the journey I’ve become increasingly aware of how systems work in families, in businesses, in communities, organizations and even churches. Within each system there is a power source that may, or may not, be clearly identified. Most systems have a labeled decision maker or decision makers, but those decision makers may often be influenced in one way or another by individuals who are power brokers within the system.

In today’s chapter I found it interesting to get a peek at the religious system of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. The high priest, Caiaphas, was obviously the designated leader. So why was Jesus first taken to the house of Annas for questioning and roughing up? There are a couple of answers to this question.

Annas had been the high priest before Caiaphas and he was Caiaphas’ father-in-law. I can only imagine the political and familial machinations in that family system. The mantel had been passed, but that doesn’t mean that Annas had given up the power behind it. In The Godfather: Part II, Frank Pentangeli may have run his own family and may have been living in the Corleone’s old house, but he still took orders from and answered to Michael. I think Jesus was taken to Annas first because Annas was the power broker and puppet master in the system.

The other reason was that Caiaphas was on a crucial errand while Annas conducted his own personal trial and dished out his own personal punishment with the young upstart Rabbi who had caused the system so much trouble and threatened their lucrative corner of the religious marketplace. Caiaphas was quickly trying to assemble a quorum of the system’s ruling body, the Sanhedrin. He wanted and needed their rubber stamp on the decision to send Jesus to Pilate for execution, and doing so in the middle of the night ensured that the quorum could be handpicked to avoid anyone sympathetic to Jesus’ teaching like Joseph of Arimathea. Of course, holding a trial in the middle of the night was itself against their own law, but power brokers within a system often believe that they are justified in breaking the system rules if they are sure they are protecting the system’s interests. Caiaphas himself said that it would be better to kill Jesus to protect the nation. Of course, killing Jesus and protecting the nation also meant protecting his money, power, and prestige. But, protecting the nation sounds much more altruistic.

As an actor, I often read a story or watch a film and wonder what part I would play. Alternatively, I look at the archetype and ask myself who am I in this scene? Am I the suffering servant or the self-protecting power broker? Am I the betrayer? The denier? The slave? The soldier just doing his job? Today, I’m doing a little soul searching and meditating on the part I play in the various systems in which I am a cog.