Active Pursuit

John 11:45-57

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” ⁴⁹But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵²and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. ⁵⁴Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. ⁵⁵Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

The raising of Lazarus from the grave is the final straw for the Pharisees. This dramatic miracle brings Jesus into the limelight for real and the Pharisees now have to deal with Him for the sake of their lifestyle and power base. As with all of the miracles the response to Jesus is mixed. There are those who believe and those who report Jesus’ activities to the Pharisees. The dividing line between believers and unbelievers becomes sharper. Since Jesus is controlling the timing of all of these events, He temporarily fades into the countryside, waiting the proper time. Of special note in today’s reading are the prophetic words of Caiaphas. He speaks about the work Jesus without even knowing that He is doing so when he says, “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” That is, of course, exactly what is going to happen.

The raising of Lazarus really begins the story of Jesus’ Passion. The Passover is near and that annual celebration will also be the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The words of Caiaphas will play out for real as Jesus dies for the nation and the world. I am struck by how Jesus continues to march steadfastly toward completing His work of salvation despite the machinations of the Jewish leadership. Often I see us running around trying to make something happen while God is quietly and gently working everything out as He sees fit. That knowledge has caused me to step back over the years and watch God work rather than trying to constantly make things happen myself for that is a fool’s plan. Jesus knew full well that the raising of Lazarus was going to ignite a firestorm in the Pharisees. But He moves forward anyway because the goal was our salvation. Our movements have little impact on the plans of God. Maybe that knowledge can help us settle down and let God work.