John 11:45-57

John 11:45-57
Theme: Good Intentions Pave the Way to Hell

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I’m really excited about this text this morning, but I really debated moving on to chapter 12 because how relevant Jesus’ statement that the poor will always be with us is to our current situation with the homeless shelter on our property. But, even though it’s Christmas not Easter, I just couldn’t pass this by.

One question someone might ask would be, “Why would Rick choose to preach this scripture during the advent season when there are so many great scriptures related to Christmas?” I suppose the short answer would be that I’ve preached those texts already but I have not preached this one yet and life is short and there is so much to be preached, why preach a text twice and leave others unpreached? Maybe a longer answer might be that every text of scripture has something to do with Christmas. All of scripture either points towards or looks back on the coming of God in human flesh for the salvation of humanity. But Christmas is empty if it has nothing to do with the theme of this text: The rejection of Christ and the plot to kill him.

In other words, Christmas is meaningless without Easter. Christmas without Easter is paganism, materialism, riotousness and debauchery. The plot to Crucify Jesus is a good reminder that the purpose of God in the manger is ultimately God on the cross.

Let me put this scripture in its context: Jesus has just raised his Lazarus from the dead. The miracle powerfully portrayed Christ’s tenderness towards his friends and his compassion for those who grieve. The miracle is there to validate Jesus’ assertion in 11:40 “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Jesus is the resurrection and the life and he who believes in him will not die! That and every other blessing in our life is the glory of God.

Contrast the scene of Christ’s resurrection to the following scene- a bunch of spiritually dead religious guys supposing to officiate over the fate and preside over the mortality of the author of life!

We humans are so presumptuous aren’t we! We assume that we can be masters over our own destiny entrench ourselves in a pit of our own making while all the time God is holding his hand out to us saying if you would only humble yourselves and follow me, I will give you abundant life!
45…many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do?

These paranoid religious men…. They are the epitome of a religious critical spirits. Of course their real motivation was jealousy. After all, they were Pharisees; they were the religious elite; they had the right pedigree and family background… the best education and the PhD’s in Talmudic studies. They married into even better families and their wives were just stepping stones to better career opportunities and even better placed wives.

In fact, their positions as religious leaders had more to do with serving their own needs and sense of entitlement than it had to do with serving God and others. They loved being in the ministry because it gained them prestige and status and recognition in the market place and invitations to all of the feasts.

Thank God social advantage to being a Christian in our society is fast disappearing- it reduces the number of false believes and hypocrites among us.

Jesus had nothing in common with those well healed religious leaders. He was a nobody from Nazareth. There were rumours that Jesus had been conceived out of wedlock and that maybe his father wasn’t his real father. He was a country hick from Galilee with a Nazarene accent and no formal education to speak of… his hands were the hands of a carpenter!

But people were following him, listening to him and believing in him. Everywhere he went, miracles followed and on more then one occasion he showed the Pharisees up by trapping them in their own words.

“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” (v.47b-48).

Because they are not the centre of the religious action these Pharisees believed that they had to take action (violent and treacherous action if necessary) to restore their status in society so they baptized their deceit in religion and nationalism accusing Jesus of heresy and treason (not against Israel, but Rome).
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” (v. 49-50).

53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death (v. 53).

Matthew Henry made this observation about the plotting of the high priest:
There can hardly be a more clear discovery of the madness that is in man’s heart, and of its desperate enmity against God, than what is here recorded. Words of prophecy in the mouth, are not clear evidence of a principle of grace in the heart. The calamity we seek to escape by sin, we take the most effectual course to bring upon our own heads; as those do who think by opposing Christ’s kingdom, to advance their own worldly interest.

What Matthew Henry found so remarkable was how prone the heart of man is to dressing up our own ambitions and goals and agendas and crouching them in terms of religiosity and nationalism or humanitarianism or some other kind of ism so that those ends can justify resorting to deceit and even apostasy in order to achieve those ends: for other examples think of the crusades, or the inquisition, or the persecution of the reformers or the witch hunts or gay bashings or church splits….

After all, who can blame those priests for wanting to avoid another humiliating invasion and captivity like what happened under the Babylonians in 586 BC when millions of Jews were taken into captivity and hundreds of thousands more were butchered or fled to Egypt. They are simply trying to save lives.

But the problem with their plan was that they had such a small view of God and his will for them that they were actually unwittingly opposing the will of God for his people. God is not only able to save the nation of Israel, he is able to save all of the nations through Christ Jesus. But their plan to kill Jesus was an attempt to prevent him from accomplishing his purpose. How ironic that their treachery is actually part of the plan to accomplish the will of God for the salvation of the nations.

The text says that Caiaphas was actually speaking prophetically when he said one man should die for the nation. But what he meant and what God meant were two totally different things. What they meant for evil, God intended for good. We see that God works this way throughout the scriptures: We see in the slavery of Joseph in order to preserve Israel; in the adultery of David that resulted in the birth of Solomon, Jesus’ ancestor; even in the betrayal of Judas that ensured Jesus crucifixion and paid the price for humanities sin.

I heard a story about a famous gopher who invited a rich oil sheik to join him in a golf tournament. Afterwards the Arab prince was so greatfull to his Golf companion that he said to him, “ask me for anything and I will give it to you.” The golf pro was a little embarrassed by the offer, since he was not really in need of anything, but after the sheik persisted, he finally relented and asked for a golf club. He explained it was because he collected them. A few weeks after they had parted the golf pro received a letter from his Sheik friend. He thought it was unusual since he had asked for a club and thought maybe his friend had broken the promise. When he opened the letter he found a deed to an actual golf course. The shiek actually bought him a golf club, but not the kind that that golfer had asked for- it was much more.

I think it’s like that with God, he has a great purpose for our lives.
• I know the plans I have for you…
• God works all things together for good…
• Jesus promised life abundantly and rest from out labours…

The problem is that we forget that God’s plans for us are better than anything we can devise. Those Jews were thinking about the salvation of their nation but God was planning the salvation of the nations.

Likewise we can take matters into our own hands in our lives and resort to the ends justifying the means. We may actually be working against God’s will for our lives. We often set ourselves into patterns and we wander the desert in circles and all the while we are only a few short miles away from the Promised Land; the land that flows with milk and honey. These Jews had been waiting for centuries for their messiah and now that he was within their sights; they could touch him and hear him and see his power- yet they were willing to hand him over to the gentiles because he was a threat to their petty little kingdoms (the way that Joseph’s brother handed him over to the Egyptians not knowing that by doing so, they were actually saving themselves and fulfilling the destiny of Joseph to one day rule over his brothers).

When we fail to trust God and take matters in our own hands without consulting God (out of our own sense of entitlement) we create a mess for ourselves and suffer the consequences.

But God is not surprised nor thwarted. Our rebellion still works according to God’s foreordained plan. The question is, do we want to be a part of it and be used by God and share in the blessings or do we want to oppose it and suffer the consequences and still never achieve our own plan (i.e. dig a pit for God that we fall into ourselves)?

So how do we know the will of God? We walk close to him. We walk in the spirit not according to the flesh. We walk in joy and newness of life. We walk in faith and not doubt. We assume that God has the best for us and not the worse. We anticipate His goodness in our lives and consult him.

Let me give you two ways that you can be sure that you are a Lazarus rather than a Caiaphas: Before you make your plans or do anything, you must begin first with prayer. Talk to God, rest in His presence, listen for His voice and follow his leading prayerfully.

The second thing you must do is read his words; look for the way He has worked in History. How does his interactions with men reflect his character and how does his character affect his will for your life?

God is a good God and He promises to work all things together for God to them that trust him. Do you trust God (whether in riches or in poverty; whether in sickness or in health) to do good in your life? He promised that He will.