Showing their hypocrisy

“Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.” John 18:28
The Pharisees had been criticised by Jesus many times for their hypocrisy, but this one takes the cake. Here was the Sanhedrin (the Jewish leadership, which is what John means throughout his gospel when he refers to ‘the Jews’), who had failed to acknowledge their Messiah, held an illegal trial, and were now bringing Him to Pilate, the Roman governor, to have Him executed. Yet we read, they adamantly refused to enter the palace, being Gentile territory, lest they become ceremonially unclean and therefore unable to eat the Passover. Instead, they force Pilate to come in and out as he talks to them and then goes to talk to Jesus, who was being held inside. They even treat Pilate with contempt (see John 18:29-30).
It’s easy for us to point the finger. But do we do similar things? Have we missed a central truth in God’s Word, such as His command for us to love one another? Do we claim to belong to God, but harbour all kinds of evil in our hearts? Do we major on the minors, on the ceremonial things, how we appear to others – at the expense of the more important spiritual things in life?
There is hope. Many Pharisees came to salvation after the resurrection. If there was hope for them, then there is certainly hope for us. It’s not too late to change our attitude and return to God.