Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had
seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then
the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (John 11:45-53)
Some people like to make it sound like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the other Jewish officials were nothing but patriarchal megalomaniacs who wanted nothing else but to increase their own personal power. Today’s passage suggests that it wasn’t that simple. It was their job to discern whether someone was telling the truth or not. The Jews were to punish the one who told lies, especially about something as important as being the Messiah. God clearly told them to kill those who tried to direct them away from God. Jesus wasn’t doing what they thought the Messiah was supposed to and seemed to them to be rejecting the Law.
But, wait, there’s more. There’s another actor in this play, by the name of Rome and he was a bully of the first magnitude. Rome destroyed nations that caused them trouble, and Israel was already a burr under Rome’s saddle. They weren’t politically correct. They didn’t worship the right gods, or the right people. The Messiah had to overthrow Rome, or Jerusalem would be destroyed (as it was in 70 AD.) And Jesus isn’t showing any indication that He would, or could, overthrow Rome.
There were two problems with doing what was religiously and politically necessary. The people who thought Jesus was cool even if He wasn’t the Messiah (But if He wasn’t, what more could the Messiah do?) and Rome, which exercised authority over everything. Jerusalem couldn’t start acting like Rome, that would make Rome nervous. So the occasional “spur of the moment” attempts to kill Jesus turned cold-blooded, premeditated, and conspiratorial. They were doing what was best for everyone.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (John 11:45-53)
Some people like to make it sound like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the other Jewish officials were nothing but patriarchal megalomaniacs who wanted nothing else but to increase their own personal power. Today’s passage suggests that it wasn’t that simple. It was their job to discern whether someone was telling the truth or not. The Jews were to punish the one who told lies, especially about something as important as being the Messiah. God clearly told them to kill those who tried to direct them away from God. Jesus wasn’t doing what they thought the Messiah was supposed to and seemed to them to be rejecting the Law.
But, wait, there’s more. There’s another actor in this play, by the name of Rome and he was a bully of the first magnitude. Rome destroyed nations that caused them trouble, and Israel was already a burr under Rome’s saddle. They weren’t politically correct. They didn’t worship the right gods, or the right people. The Messiah had to overthrow Rome, or Jerusalem would be destroyed (as it was in 70 AD.) And Jesus isn’t showing any indication that He would, or could, overthrow Rome.
There were two problems with doing what was religiously and politically necessary. The people who thought Jesus was cool even if He wasn’t the Messiah (But if He wasn’t, what more could the Messiah do?) and Rome, which exercised authority over everything. Jerusalem couldn’t start acting like Rome, that would make Rome nervous. So the occasional “spur of the moment” attempts to kill Jesus turned cold-blooded, premeditated, and conspiratorial. They were doing what was best for everyone.
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