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Author: Stephen Weller
641 words, 3 minutes read time

Jesus Must Die

Scripture: John 11:45-50

With the previous lesson we finished the section on Jesus claiming to be the resurrection and the life. With this lesson we begin a new section which will cover the plot to kill Jesus because of his demonstration of power in raising Lazarus and claiming to be the resurrection and the life.

^{Jn 11:45} “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.”

The expression “the Jews” is used 60 times in the English narrative of John and usually refers to hostile Jewish opponents of Jesus among the Jewish leaders and the ordinary people who followed them, but in this verse “the Jews” is used in a positive way, to refer to those Jews who “believed in him.” Of “the Jews” that were there and witnessed the raising of Lazarus and the claim made by Jesus that he was “the resurrection and the life” there were some who did not believe and went to tell “the Jews” who were hostile opponents of Jesus.

^{Jn 11:47} ‘So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If 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.”’

Those who had seen and heard and did not believe and went to tell the Pharisees, arrived and told what had happened and how many had responded. This information prompted the chief priests and the Pharisees to gather the council (the Sanhedrin) to consider this new sign and teaching of Jesus. Specifically, the question of “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.”

This is a wonderful thing that Jesus is teaching and then validating with the power of God, but to cause these Jewish leaders to assemble and consider how to oppose him demonstrates the evil nature of sin. They know they must do something to stop Jesus because if they don’t, they believe, and rightly so, that many more will come to believe in Jesus. That should be considered a good thing, but they saw it as a threat to them and their nation. They thought that if enough believed and followed Jesus it would cause the Romans to come and take away their place of power and destroy the nation of Israel.

^{Jn 11:49} ‘But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”’

Caiaphas draws their attention and offers a solution. Caiaphas was the official high priest who presided over the Sanhedrin “for nearly 18 years (C. A.D. 18-36) – longer than anyone else in the first century.” (Footnote for John 18:24, page 2062, ESV Study Bible, Copyright 2008 by Crossway Bibles) He begins by insulting them by saying, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand” and then he provides the solution; “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” from Roman takeover.

Conclusion

The momentum is growing, through the evil planning of Jewish leaders, to kill Jesus. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV). As they make plans to kill Jesus, the Lord will establish their steps to lead them to hang Jesus on the cross to die, not for their reasons but for our salvation.