The Plot Thickens

You can watch the service and message here.

Last week, Pastor Mark told us that Jesus arrived in Bethany and was met by Martha. There was sorrow, grief, and weeping and when Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus lay, He wept too. There’s some talk about Jesus; second guessing. If He can open the eyes of a blind man, surely, He could have saved Lazarus. As Jesus stands in front of the stone closing the tomb where Lazarus was, He tells them to remove the stone. Martha protests by saying Lazarus would stink since it has been four days. When the stone is removed, Jesus commands Lazarus to come forth and he did. As one of Jesus’ greatest miracles ever unfolded before their very eyes, “Many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.” This morning, we’ll see the Pharisees formulate a plan to stop Jesus.

Grab your Bible and look at John 11:47-57.

Everyone knows you need to meet together to hatch out a plan. “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.” The major players of the day get together to formulate a plan. The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council. The members of this council make up what is known as the Sanhedrin. Although we have seen allusions to this body in John, this is the first time they are mentioned by name. These are the ruling leaders in Jerusalem and we’ve seen them before. In general, the Sanhedrin was made up of seventy leading priests of the day who were mostly Sadducees. Also in the group were the rabbinic scribes who were mostly Pharisees. The ruling high priest of the year made member 71. In general, this body exercised authority over the religious life of the Jews. They were under the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities and we’ll see that played out more as we move on. The Sanhedrin play a huge role in Acts. They had the decision-making power to affect change that should be for the good of the Jewish people.

A council is called together to discuss a matter of great importance. In the opening verse for today’s message, I am drawn to the phrase, “What are we doing?” It is better translated, “What should we do?” or “What are we to do?”  Your version may have it translated that way. We have a council meeting made up of the leading religious figures of the day and they get together to discuss this cataclysmic event that has everyone talking. You would think that having one of their people die and subsequently raised from the dead would be big news and bring great joy to the people. Verse 47 has the council already meeting together and this is the first thing that is said. “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.” Of the 71 members of the council, we know of only one man that seems open to hearing about the true Jesus. We saw him first back in Chapter 3 and his name is Nicodemus. Later we’ll be introduced to Joseph of Arimathea (Jo. 19:38) and Gamaliel (Acts 5) who also looked favorably on Jesus. Jesus is performing many signs. Back in Jo. 2:11 we saw the beginning of His many signs when He turned water into wine. You would think the Sanhedrin would be happy about this. People are turning to Jesus and following the way. This is the way of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the way spoken of in the Old Testament. These signs are pointing to the truth of who Jesus really is: the long-awaited Messiah which the Sanhedrin were supposed to be looking forward to.

The reason for their concern is found in the chilling reason they admit with their own mouths: “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” This is a power struggle. Jesus has arrived on the scene and has upset the status quo. He is doing things the Sanhedrin say He should not do. He is saying things the Sanhedrin say He cannot say. The Sanhedrin cannot counter what Jesus says so they do what people do when they have no regard for truth: they seek to censor. Back in the day, we learned how to handle disagreements. We could disagree and maintain a respectful and courteous demeanor. We knew how to listen. We were willing to hear differing viewpoints and come to a well thought out, educated conclusions based on fact. What we are experiencing today is an attack on the very fabric of God’s design for humanity. Whether it’s global warming, animal rights, green energy, abortion, or plastic straws, divisions have been created – either real or perceived – because of a position someone takes. Why do these divisions exist? It is the source of everything that is contrary to God and truth. It is the root of every single sin and that is pride. Pride says my way is better. My way is right. My truth is what matters.

The real reason the Sanhedrin are so concerned about Jesus is they don’t want to see people follow Him because it would mean less power for them. Remember, these are the religious experts of the day. The reason they are so strongly opposed to Jesus is He did not come as they expected the Messiah to come. Even though He spoke as One who is in intimate fellowship with God and even claimed to be God, they could not see past their own misguided view of truth. The Sanhedrin reasoned if they let Jesus continue on this path unchecked, they would lose everything they had: position, power, prestige, and authority. This council was not as much a religious authority as they were a political authority. You’ve seen this same thing in today’s political arena. Elected officials that are supposed to represent the will of the people often ignore those that elected them. They’re unwilling to go against others even if it’s the will of the people. What’s funny is that in our system, if elected officials don’t do the will of the people, they’re supposed to be voted out.

The Sanhedrin had the same fear today’s political leaders have: loss of position, power, prestige, and authority. What we fail to realize is the reason for this. It comes down to the responsibility of the church and those that make up the church. The church’s primary mission is found in Matt. 28:19-20 that commands us to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is a two-step process. Baptize: this refers to presenting the Gospel message to people we come in contact with. Once people make the decision to accept the free gift of salvation, you teach them all that Jesus has commanded. This is where we have dropped the ball and this is one of the reasons society is where it is. The church is supposed to shape society, not the other way around. But when the people who profess a relationship with God through the door that is Jesus Christ look, act, and think no differently than the world, we have a big problem. Church leadership has a role to play in that, but at best, we have you with us about 5.5 hours in the week if you participate in Sunday School, corporate worship, CG on Monday and CG on Wednesday. There are 168 hours in the week. That’s just over 3% of your time. To put this in perspective, American spends an average of five hours 16 minutes on leisure activities including watching TV, exercising, and shopping – 21 % of our time. Included in that as an average of 11 minutes per day reading.

If the church would function as the church should, we would see the world around us change. We must make Jesus the focus and not the building. We must challenge people with the truth of Jesus and allow Him to be the force for change. We must carefully and intentionally move people from a salvation experience to an intentional daily walk with Christ. We do this in every other facet of life. We start with simple concepts and build on those. You cannot master complex concepts or tasks until you’ve mastered the fundamentals. We want to know the mysteries of God, but haven’t taken the time to know who Jesus is. We want to have some platform where people listen to us, but aren’t willing to take the time to listen to what God is telling us. The church needs to lead the way in helping people grow into who Christ wants them to be. Sometimes we can be like the Sanhedrin. We get jealous. That church has more people than we do. That youth group is stealing our kids. We lose sight of the big picture. the Sanhedrin were jealous and threatened by Jesus. Remember, they did not recognize Jesus as Messiah, didn’t acknowledge His teaching as from God, and thought Him to be at best a magician leading people astray, or at worst, the devil incarnate. In their zeal to maintain their position, they missed the Messiah.

As the Sanhedrin discussed this matter, Caiaphas the high priest says, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Caiaphas served as high priest from A.D. 18-36. He reasoned that Jesus had to die if Israel was to remain in Rome’s favor. The Sanhedrin just concluded that if Jesus continued on and gained more favor, the Romans would take away their nation. How would that happen? How did the Roman Empire expand? By force. John provides some clarification by saying, “Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.” Caiaphas was right, Jesus had to die for the nation and die for all. This is an example of God using what He will to accomplish His will. John is saying that Caiaphas’ words were not from him. He didn’t come up with them on his own, but had to be directed by the power of God to say what he said. What Caiaphas seems oblivious to is that his words foreshadow what is to come regarding Jesus. It is true that Jesus must die for an entire nation and to gather all the children of God. But not in the manner Caiaphas means. Caiaphas thinks Jesus has to die to maintain the status quo of power the Sanhedrin have and to preserve the nation in which they are ruling. John means something far more eternal in referencing Jesus’ death.

The last part of Caiaphas’s prophesy says, “and not the for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Not all of God’s children are in Jerusalem. They’re all over the earth. Remember the other sheep that are not in the sheepfold that Jesus spoke of in Jo. 10:16. Ps. 106:47 says, “Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise.” Is. 43:5-6 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!” And to the south, “Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” Jer. 23:3 says, “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of al the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.” Jesus will gather His children together. “So from that day on they planned to kill Him.” We knew where this was going. How are they going to do this? What’s the plan? Matt. 26:4 says, “They plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.”

Now what? The loose plan has been established. Secretly seize Jesus and then kill Him. The Sanhedrin’s power would be maintained, Caiaphas would continue on as high priest, and all would be as it had been with Jesus out of the picture. While the Sanhedrin work out the details of the plan, Jesus makes a decision. “Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.” Ephraim is about 12 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Jesus retreats to Ephraim, out of the reach of the Sanhedrin, at least for a time. While Jesus and His disciples spend quiet time in Ephraim, “Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.”  Things are getting busy in Jerusalem as people from all over the countryside will make the journey prior to Passover.

As Passover approached, John gives us a peek into the one tracked mind of the Pharisees and says, “So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” Will Passover give them an opportunity to seize Jesus? Will He come at all? Not leaving anything to chance, “Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.” This reminds me of what was happening at the height of the pandemic. Hotlines were set up in some areas that people could call an 800 number and report illegal gatherings. They get the word out to report any sightings of Jesus so they could continue with their diabolical plot to kill Jesus.

Concerned over the rising popularity of Jesus and the message He carried, the Sanhedrin convened a special meeting to deal with what they viewed as a huge problem. If Jesus is not shut down, the Sanhedrin could lose all their power, something that causes them great concern. Unable to contain the growing popularity of Jesus, they decide the only thing to do is kill Him. As Chapter 11 comes to a close, we look forward to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the chronological pace of this gospel picks up. There is still a long way to go and it keeps getting better and better.