John 11:47-57

Before we get into tonights lesson we are going to spend a couple minutes reminding ourselves of the context leading up to this.

We have covered a lot so far leading up to John 11 that we can cover but lets focus primarily on what has happened so far in chapter 11. If you remember back to what Pastor Mike covered a couple weeks ago, thin about what the main point was.

Who was the story about?

Lazarus

Let’s review the people, place and things or events

People: Lazarus, Mary, her sister Martha, Jesus, disciples, (Thomas), Jews

Place: Judea, tomb, Bethany near Jerusalem, Mary & Martha’s house,

Things/events: Lazarus is sick, Mary & Martha send for Jesus to help, Jesus delays, Jesus returns to Judea against the pleas of the disciples, Martha meets Jesus outside of town—she is upset he didn’t come to save him

John 11:21 ESV

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Jesus declares to be the resurrection.

John 11:25–26 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha believes

She calls for Mary and Mary comes to meet Jesus, and is followed by the Jews.

Jesus visits the tomb, Jesus weeps, Jesus calls for the stone to be removed.

How does Martha respond?

John 11:39 ESV

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus rejoices in a prayer to his father.

John 11:43 ESV

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

Lazarus comes out.

Jesus concludes his public ministry with the greatest of miracles. He has done lots of things and healed people and gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and now he raises the dead.

After this Jesus goes into private ministry with his close circle of friends—it is just days from his death. But first he provides his greatest miracle yet, he brings Lazarus from the dead.

Turn to John 11 and verse 45.

John 11:45 ESV

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

First of all we see this amazing event brought people to Christ—I mean of all the things to draw someone to Christ, this would certainly be it.

A side note here, who would consider some of the top spiritual leaders of the last 500 years? What would your reaction be if they showed up here tonight? Well here is the greatest ever, Jesus, who just did the most amazing thing ever, raised someone from the dead, and what do they do? Go and tattle on him. Lets continue in the text.

John 11:46–48 ESV

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 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.”

Others went and tattled on Jesus, told the Pharisees what was being done and what Jesus had done. They bring the council together and ask—what shall we do? He has been doing all these things, we can’t just let him keep going—pretty soon everyone will believe in him. It’s interesting the council, the Sanhedrin reveals their hearts here. Their concern wasn’t that Jesus was doing all these things—healing people, saving people, having people believe in him. What was their concern? (v.48) That they would lose control—that they would be taken away.

Jesus threatened their position and influence.

And so Jesus was a problem—he was a threat to them and their life as they know it.

John 11:49–52 ESV

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.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

It’s interesting here it appears that Caiaphas is saying good things—someone would represent a whole nation and die on their account.

But actually what he is saying is Jesus needs to be executed so that he doesn’t bring down their empire. They were willing to kill someone to maintain their power—this has happened throughout history but none greater than this.

And so at this moment the story shifts—the entire focus of the remaining chapters of John is the cross, the centrality of the gospel.

Jesus focus was no longer on proving he was God, or that he was the promised one, but it was not on fulfilling what God had planned for him.

John 11:53–57 ESV

53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and 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 should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

From that day on implies this plan was set, it wasn’t up for discussion, this is what would happen. They made a plan to kill Jesus. This plan included asking anyone and everyone to be on the lookout for Jesus.

Jesus had to travel in secret now, staying away from the crowds, the temple, the Pharisees. He fled to Ephraim, far enough away to be safe from the Pharisees.