I have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks. Here’s the latest:
John 11:45-48 (NIV)
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Of course, when the people gathered around Lazarus’ tomb listened as Jesus called him out and then watched as he emerged from the darkness still wrapped in his burial cloths, many of them believed in Jesus. And why not? He had not only raised someone from the dead, He had done so after the widely-accepted limit for resurrection of three days had passed. If this man was not the Messiah Himself, He was at least a mighty prophet!
But in that same crowd were some who were more concerned for the welfare of the status quo than they were about who or what Jesus was. No sooner was Lazarus unwrapped and hustled into the house for a hot meal than they were running to Jerusalem to inform the Pharisees about all that had happened.
The word spread quickly, and an emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin was convened. What should have been amazing and awe-inspiring news confirming God’s promises to His people was to them a disaster. They had been trying to take Jesus down for a couple of years now. He didn’t respect their authority and position, which made Him annoying. He effortlessly swayed people with His teaching, which made Him dangerous. And, finally, He had a degree of spiritual power that shone a bright light on their own powerlessness every time He moved, which made Him essential to get rid of.
And the impressiveness of His miracles kept on increasing as well. They didn’t mind when He healed a few people; there were many faith healers around. When he began to cast out demons wholesale, they accused Him of being in cahoots with the prince of demons, figuring that the accusation alone would throw cold water on His reputation. But how could they counter things like healing a man who had been an invalid for years (John 5:1-15), giving sight to a middle-aged man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1-41), and now, raising a man who had been dead and buried for four days?
Of course, the most rational choice in all of this would be for them to simply admit that Jesus must be the Messiah and enlist as His disicples. But these men had worked long and hard to get to where they were. They had learned the politics of power and how to use it and were good at it. To admit that Jesus was the Messiah would be to give all of that up, and they were unwilling. Even though they would never have stated it that way, if they had to choose between their power and prestige and serving God’s Messiah, they would easily choose the power and prestige. And they would cling to that choice even if it meant destroying the Messiah Himself. In that moment, they revealed that they had actually become the spiritual heirs, not of Moses and Aaron, but of evil King Herod the Great, who had tried to destroy Jesus at His birth, because he felt that his power was in jeopardy! (Matthew 2:16-18)
Father, this trap ensnared those who were called to administer Your temple, arguably the most pious and devout men of Jesus’ day. So, we, too, need to be on our guard, lest we develop power, position, and political influence on our own that could insulate us from Your word, and even turn us against Your agenda when it conflicts with our comfort and privilege. Keep our eyes open, Lord, and our hearts soft and always able to be led. Amen.