A Wicked Conspiracy
Notes
Transcript
John 11:47-57
John 11:47-57
Praise and Prayer
If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of John chapter 11. The gospel of John chapter 11, and in a moment we are going to read verses 43-57 of the gospel of John chapter 11.
Do you ever feel as though there is a conspiracy to destroy Christianity in America?
Everywhere you look it seems the Christian faith is under attack. Nowhere do we see our standards of morality and faith being eroded more than in the public schools.
In the public schools and universities there are educators who try to convince our children that God made a mistake when He created them, and maybe they are not who they were born to be but something different.
This is an incredible evil, wicked plot by men and by Satan to attack Christianity at our youth.
What is interesting is studies show that conservative values are growing in the young people in this country.
Most recently Grand Canyon University, had 7000 students show up for a worship service on their campus and many of them gave their life to the Lord and were baptized.
Every year The Ohio State football team holds an invitation to Jesus every September on their campus. And in February of this year Asbury University in Kentucky had a revival that went on for a week. They couldn’t get the students to leave and go home!
Think about the death of Charlie Kirk and the explosion of Turning Point USA chapters on campuses all across this country.
What we see is God is sovereign. Men can plot and plan but they will never destroy the work of God. In fact, He uses the wicked, evil plots of man to bring Him glory.
That’s what we see in this passage. We see men scheming and plotting to destroy Jesus. Meanwhile, all they are doing is accomplishing the will of God.
The Point; God knows man and their wicked heart and he will use them for our good and His glory.
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
“If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”
Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.
So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?”
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
Back ground and context
We have come to the end of the eleventh chapter of the gospel of John. The public ministry of Jesus comes to a close. Beginning in chapter twelve John will focus on the events that take place in the final week of Jesus’ life. Building up and culminating in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
We can see from our passage that the ground work for those events is already being laid. The important point of the text is the sovereignty of and the futility of man. In other words, man can plot and scheme but God is always in control.
That is a principle you see throughout the scriptures. For example in the OT. Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”
Psalm 33:10–11 “The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.”
In the NT, James 4:13–15 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.””
Point: God knows the heart of man and He will use the wickedness of their hearts for our good and His glory.
I. The Wickedness against Jesus Vs. 47-53
The Jewish religious and political leaders gather together to try and figure out what to do about Jesus.
Notice they have a problem John 11:47-48
Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. This was miracle that could not be denied. This man was in a tomb for four days, and now he was alive.
Vs. 45-46 tell us that many people were believing in Him as the Messiah but not all of them. Some of them came and reported what happened to the Pharisees.
How amazing is that; Jesus raised a man from the dead right before their eyes and some continued in unbelief.
That teaches us that it doesn’t matter how much evidence you present their will always be people who reject the truth.
The Pharisees have a problem and they call for a council. Vs. 47 says, “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council.”
This council is known as the Sanhedrin. These are men who have been elevated to the highest religious and political positions in Israel. This is like the Senate, the congress, and the supreme court all rolled into one.
There were seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin which included Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and leaders among the people. They were presided over by the High Priest.
However, it only took a quorum, a gathering of 23 to pass a law. They had great legal power but they didn’t have the authority to execute someone, they needed the Romans to issue a death sentence.
So, this council that convened was an official meeting of the nations leaders. What’s amazing to me is these are the ones responsible for leading the people to God.
These are the ones who knew the scripture and taught the people. The Rabbis the teachers, Yet here they are trying to figure out what to do about Jesus.
Look at the end of Vs. 47, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.”
Notice how they even acknowledge the miracles He was performing. In other words, They cannot deny the signs that this is the Messiah.
In Matt. 11:1-6 there is the story of John the Baptist in prison and he begins to have doubt. He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if He is the one or if they should look for another. Jesus tells them to go and tell John the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
These are the signs Jesus was doing and He sends this message to John because this is a direct quote from Isaiah 35:4–6
“Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.”
Isaiah prophesied about the signs the Messiah would be performing and Jesus tells John not to worry this is what is taking place.
The gathering of the Sanhedrin, are the people that should have been rejoicing and receiving Jesus and pointing other toward Him but instead they are taking the lead in opposing Him.
There are two things important here.
This scene plays out everyday when someone hardens their heart and rejects Jesus. There will be people who refuse to believe in spite of the evidence. In fact, their unbelief is devoid of the evidence. Even if one rises from the dead right before their eyes they would reject the truth.
As Christians leaders we need to rejoice and help others to receive Jesus making sure we are not creating opposition with our witness. But doing everything we can to affirm Christ.
Notice what these religious leaders are concerned about in Vs. 48, “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Their biggest concern is there own selfish ambitions. “What if all men believe in Him, what will happen to us?” I can’t think of anything that would make me happier in life than for all men to believe in Jesus. (elaborate)
These people were afraid of losing their position. Losing their power and influence over the people, losing their jobs and their wealth. Notice they equated that with losing control of the entire nation!!
“The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Ironically, within 40 years of the crucifixion the Romans did exactly that. They came and destroyed the temple and Jerusalem and these men lost all their power anyway.
The thing they feared the most happened because they opposed Jesus. Imagine what might have been if they stood with Him!!
The point here is the selfishness of man is what destroys us because it causes us to cling to ourselves and our possessions.
Jesus warns us, Mark 4:19 “but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Luke 12:15 “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.””
(The Rich young ruler)
So we see the biggest concern of the religious leaders of Israel was their own selfish ambition and not what was best for the people entrusted to them by God.
Notice who is leading in the opposition to Jesus. It was the High Priest himself, the man in charge. Look at The Prophecy.
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”
John tells us in Vs. 51-53 that this is prophecy, but Caiaphas had no idea what he was saying. Even as he was rejecting Jesus he was proclaiming the truth of God that Jesus would die for the nation and not only for the nation but for all the children of God.
It is important we understand that the office of High Priest began with Aaron and his sons in Exodus 28:1. The office was hereditary, and was for life. However, when the Romans took over the made the office of the High Priest political. They choose their own man a man who would cooperate with the Roman government.
The Romans would allow a High Priest to hold the office as long as he pleased them. Typically that lasted about three years. But Caiaphas held the office for 18 years, from 18 AD to 36 AD, apparently he had mastered the art of compromise.
We can see that by the way he learned to manipulate the Jews and the Romans In Matthew 26:5 “But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.””
Caiaphas knew that so many people believed and loved Jesus if they arrested Him it could cause a riot. He Knew the Romans would hold him responsible for that and remove him from office. So, you see how shrewd of a leader he was.
I can’t help but think how tragic it is when religious positions become political. Nothing destroys a ministry faster than when church politics take over and rule. We exchange Christ for the world and eternity for power.
The words of the High Priest were astounding. He becomes the spokesperson for God and we have the doctrine of substitution. As he predicts that Jesus would die for the nation, and John adds not for the nation only but for all the children of God!!
C. Notice the Plot Vs. 53, “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
The decision was made they rejected Christ, they rejected the evidence, they rejected the testimony of the people. There could only be one solution, they had top get rid of Jesus.
This is what John is talking about in John 1:11–12 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”
So, the first thing we see in this passage is the wickedness against Jesus and we have to ask ourselves where we stand. Because it was the very religious leaders who were opposing God.
II. The Withdraw of Jesus John 11:54 “Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.”
Jesus withdrew from those who rejected Him and it is important to understand He withdraws from those who reject Him today.
It is sad but it is an important truth. He walked away from these people. He stopped pleading with them and He didn’t walk among them anymore. In other words, He gave up on them and gave them over to their own desires.
Paul describes this situation for us in;
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools,
and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
What we see here is, when Jesus is rejected the Spirit of the Lord does not always continue to strive with man. Jesus even told His disciples to turn their backs on those who rejected Him. Matthew 10:14 ““Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.”
At this point Jesus turned His focus on the disciples. And He drew closer to them and He taught them because they were the ones to carry on the work when He was gone.
So, we have seen the wickedness against Jesus by the religious leaders and their rejection and opposition to Him. And we have see the withdraw of Jesus. He moved on and left them behind in their unbelief.
III. The Watch for Jesus Vs. 55-57 Her we see the providence of God at work despite the unbelief and opposition.
Notice God was in control of the time. Vs. 55 says, “Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.”
This is important because the Passover was a symbol of the atonement for their sins.
Remember in Egypt they spread the blood of the lamb over their doorposts so the angel of death would pass them by.
Notice that while the people would be celebrating the Passover feast. the religious leaders would be seeking to commit the most heinous sin, the murder of the Son of God!!
What is interesting to me is; notice God’s people were stirred up with interest in Jesus. Look at John 11:55–56 “Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?””
The picture here is of the people buzzing and wondering if Jesus was going to show up at the festival. Would they get to see the Messiah? the one who was performing all the signs?
The point is; God took the rejection of these evil men and used it to create interest in His Son. Notice He is doing the same thing in our day. Charlie Kirk was murdered by the plot of evil men and it has created an explosion of those interested in Christ.
Throughout history some of the greatest movements of Christianity began with persecutions. The more people reject God the more God stirs other peoples hearts to faith.
Conclusion
God is in control of the wicked hearts and plots of unbelievers. He kept the people from cooperating with those who were trying to kill Jesus. (remember it was Judas that turned Him in)
The point is; no man can move against the name of Christ or the followers of Christ until God is ready. And although the world is corrupt with evil, God controls the times ad seasons of His people. And He will use every event in our life for our good and His glory!!
