And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! – Matthew 26:63-65
The last set of authorities that require our fervent, sustained prayers and intercession are religious leaders. These people wield so much influence in our lives and they could be key to how we turn out, either well or badly.
Religious leaders exert great influence over their congregation and followers; what they say is often regarded as the counsel of God Himself, with the ability to spur the listeners to immediate action. So it is imperative they are upheld in prayer so that they are not overtaken by the spirit of deception and start to spill out falsehoods to their eager audience who could go to town with or take action based on such information.
In our reference passage, we see how Caiaphas a High Priest – the symbol of spirituality and devotion during his time – missed it big time concerning Jesus Christ. Firstly, he was ignorant of the identity of Jesus. Secondly, he led the whole nation of Israel astray by condemning Jesus, which provoked a violent reaction from the crowd and culminated in His crucifixion.
Perhaps, if he had known who Jesus truly was, things might have been different (1 Corinthians 2:8). But he was ignorant of His identity and he led the nation astray by renouncing Him and instigating them to do same. Such is the clout that our leaders have and the more reason we need to always pray for them so that they won’t lead us astray.
You will succeed in Jesus' Name!
