John 11:45-48 ESV
“Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 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.’”
Jesus had just raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Thus,
many Jews believed in Jesus, but some did not, and so they reported to the
Pharisees what Jesus had done. Have you ever had something like that happen to
you? I mean have you ever done a good deed, and obeyed the Lord in what he had
you say or do, but someone who didn’t like what you did or said then went and
told someone else, and so now you were in trouble with them?
Well, that is where Jesus was. He had done a good deed. He
had raised Lazarus from the dead, but some people didn’t like it and so they
told on him, for they wanted to get him in trouble. And sometimes people will
do this out of jealousy of your walk with the Lord because they know you are
doing right and they know they are not, like Cain did with his brother Abel.
And so he murdered him because his brother’s deeds were righteous and his own
deeds were evil (Genesis 4:1-16; 1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11).
Sometimes this may happen to you because you are telling the
people the truth and so those who are spreading the lies will be threatened by
you, and so they will want you silenced and/or dead. For they don’t want anyone
to tell the people the truth, for they want them to believe the lies. So, if
they find that there are people who are listening to you, and if there are enough
people listening to the truth, they may indeed plot your demise.
And they don’t have to physically put you to death. There
are other ways in which they can silence you, like lying about you and
convincing other people not to listen to you, or by cutting off other people’s
access to your website, perhaps, and by trumping up false charges against you
so that they can discredit you. And I am certain there are many other possible
ways in this technological era we live in that they can find to silence our
voices.
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees were concerned that
if Jesus continued to gain popularity among the people that it would be the end
of their positions of rule and authority and influence among the people. And
you may find yourself one day up against such rulers and people of influence
and pastors of what are called “churches” who are threatened by your walk of
faith or by your spiritual giftedness which they may believe makes them look
bad by comparison. And so they may want to silence you.
John 11:49-53 ESV
“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all. 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.’ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.”
It appears that Caiaphas, as high priest that year, came up
with a solution to the problem of Jesus, which he considered to be the logical answer
to the problem facing them. And so he chided the Pharisees and the other
priests for their anxious fears. Thus, it appears here that what he was advising
them on this occasion was that they end Jesus’ life and then their problem
would be solved. And it seemed, in his mind, to come down to either the nation
perishing or Jesus dying, so they chose to kill Jesus.
Now, if we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in surrender
to his will, and if we are indeed becoming Christlike, by God’s grace, and via
God-given faith in Christ, via our obedience to Christ, Jesus warned us ahead
of time that we would also be treated like he was treated. So it should not
come as any surprise that there could be people who hate us who are plotting
our demise, as well, for the Scriptures predict that this will take place.
But just like it was God’s will that Jesus should suffer and
die on that cross to save us out of our slavery to sin so we could now serve
God with our lives, it is God’s will that we should suffer for the sake of the
gospel of our salvation, and for the sake of righteousness, and that we should
be persecuted and even killed for our walks of faith and for our testimonies
for Jesus and for his gospel.
But, according to the Scriptures, we are to consider
ourselves blessed to suffer for the sake of the name of Christ and for his
gospel and for the salvation of human souls/lives. And so it should not
surprise us when these things take place in our own lives. For Jesus said they
would if we are his followers, and if we are doing his will, and especially if
we are sharing the truth of the gospel and if we are exposing the lies for what
they are.
No Less
An Original Work /
March 19, 2012
I can do no less
than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve
done for me.
You died for my sins
to save me,
So I would be set
free.
I adore You! Lord, I
praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King
of kings!
You provided my
redemption.
Your grace has
pardoned me.
I can do no less
than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I
would be,
Telling others of
Your love,
And why You died on
that tree.
Tell of how You gave
of Your life,
So from sin we’d be
set free,
So we could worship
You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less
than love You,
Lord, for You have
first loved me.
You gave of Your
life so willing,
Because You cared
for me.
Turn from my sin!
Obey freely!
Live for You each
passing day.
Read Your word, and
follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly
pray.
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