"God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure."

Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire

Caiaphas

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.” John 11: 46-48

The miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead provoked the full spectrum of reactions as John continues his narrative of the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. As we noted last week, an important theme in the raising of Lazarus was the issue of whether and what Mary and Martha believed about Jesus. Here John simply reports that following the incident many people now believed.

John also records the extraordinary reaction of the Pharisees who saw the miracle as a problem. They clearly saw Jesus as a threat to their position and their traditional beliefs.

As the narrative continues we come to the remarkable prophetic words of the high priest. Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” John 11:49-50

John then adds his own gloss “He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation”. John 11:51. This is followed by a statement that from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.

Caiaphas’ words are one of those situations that we find in scripture where words have a deeper meaning than the speaker realizes. Caiaphas was probably just offering a pragmatic solution to a practical problem. But the Holy Spirit uses his words to convey a deep spiritual truth that Jesus death, for the whole world, would bring salvation. Questions to reflect on

1. Why were the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin so concerned about the popular appeal of Jesus? To what extent were their concerns justified?

2. In what sense were Caiaphas’ words both ironic and prophetic?

3. v.53 “The Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death”. How do you react to this direct, stark, dramatic statement”?

4. What effect does this story have on you?

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