47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 So they were seeking 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?” 57 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. John 11: 47-57 LSB
John 11: 47-57
They despised Him. They despised His origin. They despised His presence. And they despised Him at the end. He was “a man of sorrows.” Nobody gave Him honor and nobody gave Him respect. Nobody important. He had no one in His life that mattered. He hung around with a bunch of ragtag nobodies from Galilee who, seven of whom may well have been fisherman. The rest were uneducated Galileans. And the only non-Galilean in the group was Judas from the town of Carioth. He was the kind of person you just turn your face away from. That’s why we rejected Him.
You know, it got ugly from there. Do you know the Hebrew word for Jesus is Yeshua? Have you heard that? Yeshua. The Jews through history have changed it to Yeshu, Yeshu, which is an acrostic for “let his name be blotted out.” Let his name be blotted out. He is also called Tului, in Hebrew, “the hanged one.” And “cursed is anyone - ” Deuteronomy says “ - who is hanged on a tree.”
Maybe you’ve heard the story about Mary being a hairdresser. This is written in the Talmud, which is the codification of Jewish history. That His mother Mary was a hairdresser who committed adultery with a Roman mercenary named Joseph ben Pandera, produced Yeshu, who learned the magical arts in Egypt and led people astray. That’s a quote from the Jewish Talmud.
They developed early on a prayer, Jewish prayer. “May all Christians be suddenly destroyed without hope and blotted out of the book of life forever.” This is a deep-seated animosity. And it hasn’t been helped through history by what so-called fake Christians have done to the Jews. But they started out with contempt and it’s still there even today. And do you know every Jew knows the story of Jesus so he or she can reject it? I mean, you’re not really a Jew if you don’t know you can’t believe in Jesus. We didn’t esteem Him. That’s an important last line. “He was despised; we did not esteem Him.” That’s the ultimate scorn. You know what that means in Hebrew? He was non-existent. He didn’t even exist. To put it mildly as Paul said in Romans 9:32, “They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” John Macarthur from Behold The Lamb Sermon Sep 29, 2012
V.47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together - Pharisees were a sect of Jews that believed in the resurrection and had added much to the Mosaic law. They were also legalist who searched for loopholes to get out of keeping the parts of God's law that did not appeal to them. They were quick to go after others for the sins they disdained, yet they hid their own. Jesus and John the Baptist saw them as hypocrites. When a woman was brought to Jesus with the question of stoning her for adultery, the accusers did not produce the man that they would have witnessed with her. As far as the priests go, many of them were not legitimate Levitical priest, but politically motivated mobsters who bought these positions for a price. They were bullies who ran the Bazaar at the temple, where they allowed unjust weights and measures, constantly fleecing the flock for wicked gain. So now when the Sanhedrin meet this is a body of 70 men, in the tradition of Moses, the elders of the congregation. Some of these were also Sadducees, men who did not believe in the resurrection, men who were more materialist. All were considered religious leaders, the most famous of these being Nicodemus, and the most famous Pharisee of all time, the old GOAT, Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul. This is like an emergency meeting of congress. Jesus had caused a stir all the way up the chain.
…2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One: 3“Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.” 4The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.… Psalm 2: 2-4
V. 47b For this man is doing many signs - People joke today about the signs and miracles that Jesus performed, but it was never a question back then. If you look at the Talmud, extrabiblical writings, even Jesus enemies agree that there were miracles, but came up with the excuse that He did them by the power of Satan, or that He learned it in magic school. I think they watch too much Harry Potter, and people who like to pretend to be skeptics today, yet would swallow the multiverse or matter being god without proof, that's not an intellectual argument sparked by mounds of evidence. You are not a skeptic because of an earnest search for the truth, you call yourself that so you can have it reflected back to you from other people in your bubble.
…16“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. 17But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.” 18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.… Acts 4: 16-18
Signs (semeion) have the function to point to something or point the right way. Signs point to something beyond themselves. The signs were many and they were clearly pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, except to those who were too blind to see or had hearts too hardened to receive the signs! The sign of Lazarus resurrection was pointing to a deeper spiritual truth, to the truth that even as Lazarus had no power to give himself physical life, but needed the supernatural power from the Spirit of God, so too, all those who are spiritually dead need the exercise of that same supernatural power! “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits (ABSOLUTELY) nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." (Jn 6:63+), Steven Cole says that for Lazarus "It required the life-giving Word of Jesus to call him from death to life. That’s true every time a sinner is born again." The corollary is that we need to be sure to use the living Word when we are sharing the Gospel with a lost soul, and not trust on our debating skills or our intellectual prowess! Like I tell my disciples "K.I.S.S." (Keep It Simple Stupid) - PA
V. 48 All will believe in Him - That was the danger, the evidence was too strong in Christ's favor, it pointed to His origin and verified His claim. Note they say, "both our place and our nation", note the order. Their place is their positions, the governance they held, that token from Rome. These positions were more than a little profitable for them. They use the same excuse about Rome later to scare Pilate. Their disbelief is directly related to their love of money, not to facts.
…11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.” 12From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.” 13When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.… John 19: 11-13
Vs. 50-52 It is better for you that one man should die for the people - The author, John, goes on to describe this a prophetic. It is so, but in the way of Balaam, for Caiaphas is not of good intent here. He just has no problem with allowing one just man, one in the right to be treated wrongly in order to keep his power and influence. God is sovereign in all this though, and has called His Son to this very task. Caiaphas thinks he is wise and profound, but if he only knew just how profound the statement was. As far as avoiding the wrath of Rome, in A.D. 70 Rome will sack Jerusalem.
…20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter. 21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. 22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,…
…23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice. 24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.… Isaiah 5: 20-25
…45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.… Luke 24: 45-47
…19But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. 21Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.… Genesis 50: 19-21
V. 53 They planned to kill Him - They would love to be away from Roman rule, not have to worry about being taxed by outsiders, so they would accept a Messiah that would guarantee the end of Rome, or just come in and do that. Jesus has called them to repentance for their evil, and they see themselves as good, followers of the law. He has called them hypocrites and to them this is undermining their authority. There are plenty of people who even go to church today that do not want a Christ that calls them to deny themselves. There are many among them that do not want Christ to return because it will interrupt their vacation plans, their plans to open a new business, get married, have children, it interrupts "their story." Human autonomy is a devilish deception, the highest treason and the most common form of mental illness. You do not exist on your own, and like the Pharisees, when you refuse Christ, you refuse the Landowner's Son, the way the, the truth and the life.
…36Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’… Matthew 21: 36-38
V. 57 If anyone knew where He was - This will happen to His followers throughout history in various places. It puzzles me about Judas, when did he start thinking about these things, was he worried that someone else would cash in on the reward before he got what he thought should be his? It was such a small amount to sell out for though, but anything short of eternity is.
…51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”… Luke 12: 51-53
