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Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor 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." Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
- John 11:45-54
We began reading the story of Lazarus (chapter 11 of John) in Wednesday's reading (If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him), and continued in Thursday's reading (I am the resurrection and the life). Yesterday, we began at a point where Jesus had not yet come into he town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of the said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor 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." Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, in its extraordinary substance and also as witnessed by mourners from the ruling parties in the temple, having come from Jerusalem ("the Jews who had come to Mary"), sets the plot in motion to destroy Jesus. My study bible says, "Caiaphas, being high priest, is given the authority to speak prophetically. The failings and even wickedness of the officeholder do not diminish the grace of the office itself. Here, Caiaphas means only that the death of Christ will spare the Jews from Roman intervention. God's meaning, however, is that all people will be saved through the death of the Son."
Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. At this point, the threat is so palpable to Jesus' life that He must remain in the country, far away from the center of religious life in Jerusalem.
The greatest and final miracle in John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus, becomes the final act that seals the decision of the authorities to put Jesus to death. Ironic to consider that this Giver of life is now sentenced to death becomes of His power and authority of life itself. How wrongheaded can these authorities be? we might think. They speak of fear: the fear of the Romans and what they will do if the people follow someone as powerful as Jesus obviously is. But this fear doesn't really make much sense at all! This is particularly true in light of the holiness of Jesus' power; He's no ordinary powerful man. He's not an "ordinary" prophet, either, nor an "ordinary" holy person. This, in the context of the present place in John's Gospel, is plainly obvious to everybody. The real fear here is also voiced by the leadership, that the Romans will "take away our place." But there is more to think about, because there's a great lesson in the response of fear to Christ. There's plainly no trust of Jesus, what He will do, how His leadership would guide the people of God. There are other incidents in the Gospels of those who simply respond to Jesus with fear. One that comes to mind is the herdsmen who beg Jesus to leave their region after the destruction of their swine -- via the demons Jesus has cast out (see Matthew 8:34, Mark 5:17; also Luke 8:37). When we read positively about the "fear of God," this is a different type of fear than we're discussing in today's reading. An appropriate "fear of God" has to do with the respect of the holiness, power, and mystery of God that transcend our comprehension. But this type of fear that rejects all trust of God is something inappropriate, misguided, with roots in a completely wrong-headed impulse: that which acts against God. This type of fear is a rejection of God's love. When we need to whittle God down to what suits our stations, our small-mindedness, our limitations on life, then we are in trouble. We are making wrong-headed decisions, and we are rejecting God altogether. It is a failure to trust. And that is a very serious thing, indeed. The transcendent reality of God that is on display here in today's reading, however, comes with the understanding of John: that Caiaphas has "inadvertently" honored his office as High Priest by making what is, in fact, a true prophecy about Jesus, His death on the Cross, and Resurrection to follow. In this sense, we truly see from today's reading that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). When we fear what God might bring, let us remember this moment we read about today.
