Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all 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 better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this from himself, 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.
John 11:47-54
Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
Introduction
There are words our minds tend to skip past when we read scripture. They are so frequent and feel like they do nothing more than begin a new thought, and so we just ignore them as if they were not there. But many of these words are vital to a proper understanding of what is going on; and if not, then they are important to flesh out the broader context.
In this case, a little bit of both might be happening with the word “Therefore.” This word, “therefore,” serves as an indicator of consequence. Put more simply, it means this: “because of what I just said, this next thing happened.” So, to see this passage today begin with “therefore,” it would be wise to remind yourself of what was just said. Immediately before the chief priests and the Pharisees gather together, Jesus returned from where He was into Bethany next to Jerusalem, and He raised a man from the grave where he had lay for four full days.
It is this incredible miracle that caused the leaders of the people to gather together in the Sanhedrin. They did it as a response to Jesus of Nazareth raising a man from the dead.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Sanhedrin
This gathering was for the purpose of coming up with a game plan to get rid of the One walking around raising people from the dead. Their justification for this? Because they are afraid that if too many people recognize the Messiah, Rome will retaliate with force against a rebellious people.
What amazing lack of faith! Let’s take a moment to review some of the promises about the Messiah: “He will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1b), “I will give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6b), “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.” (Daniel 9:24), “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as Your possession.” (Psalm 2:8)
Clearly they either did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, or knowing He was the Messiah, they did not believe God when He promised this Messiah would bring justice to the nations, be a light to the nations, make an end to sin, and receive the nations and the earth as His inheritance. Had they truly believed this to be the case about the coming Messiah, then what possible fear could there be of Rome? What power do the Romans have that the Assyrians lacked (2 Kings 19:35) where they could thwart the plans and intentions of God almighty?
What you intended for evil, God intended for good
And so, Caiaphas the high priest makes a prophecy. He responds to the fears of his cohort, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” In this, he meant to say that it would be better for them to “bend the rules” by killing this innocent man than to let Him go around gathering a following that might catch the attention of the Romans. In classic fashion, God took this wicked and continuously evil intention (Genesis 6:5) and allowed it to run its course because of His own intention. Caiaphas meant to say, “we must save ourselves from Rome,” but God made those very words mean, “He will save mankind.”
In Genesis, we read that Joseph’s brothers intended to destroy him by selling him as a slave, but after Joseph was continually blessed by God, he conducted a large scale rationing operation which saved a multitude of people from famine from Canaan to Egypt and beyond. That is when we read this incredible statement from Joseph, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive.”
All the evil in the history of the world leads up to the very moment Jesus hung condemned on the cross. This evil which was conducted in the Sanhedrin was among the closest in proximity to that event. It was the moment the leaders in Jerusalem determined to find a way to kill Him. But what they meant for evil, God meant for good, and in the death of Jesus, our sins were paid for. Three days later, that same Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death forever. Because the chief priests and the Pharisees decided in their hearts to murder their Lord, death has been defeated, sin forgiven, and a place in eternity alongside our Lord forever and ever.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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