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27 October 2007
John 11 v 45-52
Many of the Jews, who had come to visit Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish council. They asked, "What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation."
One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, "You people know nothing! You don't realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed."
Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and for God's scattered children to bring them all together and make them one.
While many people were unable to deny that Jesus was the Messiah as a result of this miracle, some had hardened their hearts towards God. The Pharisees did not even deny that Jesus had performed miracles. But they show one of the reasons they did not want to repent - for fear that the Romans would come and take away their Temple and nation. The Greek word translated here as 'Temple' is usually translated as 'place', and means 'place, position, opportunity'. Their place as leaders held a lot of power, privilege, and respect. They knew that if they were to follow Jesus they might lose that.
And how often do we avoid following God for fear of the consequences? We want people to think well of us and to like us, so we keep quiet instead of standing up for what we believe, and we don't like doing anything that will make us look stupid to others, like spending time with people that others would rather ignore. Do we seek the praise of men more than we seek to make God happy? Are we willing to risk losing our 'place' for the sake of knowing Jesus more? Jesus teaches that whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for God's sake will save it.
Is there anything you're afraid of losing if you follow God? Bring those things to him, and ask him to help you see and trust that what he offers is far better than what security the world offers.
Written by Dan Cooper
John 11 v 45-52
Many of the Jews, who had come to visit Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish council. They asked, "What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation."
One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, "You people know nothing! You don't realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed."
Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and for God's scattered children to bring them all together and make them one.
While many people were unable to deny that Jesus was the Messiah as a result of this miracle, some had hardened their hearts towards God. The Pharisees did not even deny that Jesus had performed miracles. But they show one of the reasons they did not want to repent - for fear that the Romans would come and take away their Temple and nation. The Greek word translated here as 'Temple' is usually translated as 'place', and means 'place, position, opportunity'. Their place as leaders held a lot of power, privilege, and respect. They knew that if they were to follow Jesus they might lose that.
And how often do we avoid following God for fear of the consequences? We want people to think well of us and to like us, so we keep quiet instead of standing up for what we believe, and we don't like doing anything that will make us look stupid to others, like spending time with people that others would rather ignore. Do we seek the praise of men more than we seek to make God happy? Are we willing to risk losing our 'place' for the sake of knowing Jesus more? Jesus teaches that whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for God's sake will save it.
Is there anything you're afraid of losing if you follow God? Bring those things to him, and ask him to help you see and trust that what he offers is far better than what security the world offers.
Written by Dan Cooper
