The Gospel of John | Sin That Plots to Kill – John 11:45-57
It is better for one man to die for the sake of the many, but Jesus went willingly for His people.
The Pharisees demonstrate a puzzling response to the resurrection of Lazarus. Their first instinct is to look to kill Jesus. Lazarus was not a silent or quiet event that no one saw. Many Jews, merely observing the rituals of mourning for the time, witnessing Jesus call out for Lazarus to come out from the tomb. Word of the miracle quickly spread throughout the region. After all, Lazarus had been past the point of death when the Jew considered a person to be fully dead and the decay process beginning. Now, the people spoke openly and began to question the teachings of the Pharisees, whom Jesus openly criticized as having missed the point and rejected the true God who stood before them. The Pharisees understood that Jesus would be a problem for their way of life and their system of rule and sought openly to kill Him.
The Pharisees, enraptured by their own power and entangled by their own sin, sought to kill Jesus Christ for the sake of maintaining the status quo of their system. They believed that it would be better for Jesus to die for the sake of everyone else. The Pharisees’ grasp of the things of God remained partial at best. For Jesus to die would provide the salvation of mankind through the shedding of innocent blood. The sins of man would be cleansed by the blood of Christ. While the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus and take advantage of His supposed righteousness for their advantage, knowing He would need to continue in the ways of the faith by participating in the passover. Little did they know that Jesus would become the fulfillment of the passover as the paschal lamb, sacrificed for the sins of the people. Even more, He would go willingly to the cross out of love for His people that He came to save.
Looking To Kill Jesus
From the moment the story of Lazarus came to spread around the area, the Pharisees knew that their only option to maintain their religious system would be for Jesus to die. The message that Jesus taught gained traction and momentum quickly as one who taught with an authority that had not yet been seen. Now, rumor circulated far and wide of Lazarus, a man who had been dead, now fully alive. The Pharisees understood that Jesus must be killed for their own well being, knowing that it would be better for the world if one person died rather than more be led astray. For all their misunderstanding of God and salvation through faith, they stumbled into a correct thought. They sought to control Jesus by killing Him, but it would be the death of Jesus that would save mankind. The sin of the Pharisees would lead to the death of Jesus Christ just as all sin who
The sins of mankind leave us guilty and unrighteous as we stand before the throne of God. We cannot, through our own self righteousness, produce any form of salvation. Our sin and wickedness separated us from God and from His glory. Yet, for us, it is better that Jesus Christ die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins than for every single person to face the consequences of our death. Our sin lead to blood needing to be spilt. But, it was the willingness of Jesus Christ to approach the cross to save His people. We must wrestle deeply with our sin and the wickedness that once resided in our hearts, but then we must sacrifice the old self and the old ways as we bow before Jesus Christ. For our sake, He is crucified and draws us closer to Himself for His glory and our pleasure. He is the God above all things and in all things who reigns victorious over sin and death, drawing us closer to Himself. Therefore, we can put to death the sin that Christ came to die for, knowing that we have been saved by Jesus Christ and Him alone.
- The Pharisees, though rebellious, still worked in accordance of the plan of God. What does this tell us about the sovereignty of God over all creation?
A Future Persecution
Jesus, who brought life, would be persecuted and crucified. The catalyst for this event came in the form of bringing someone back from the dead to life. Now, Jesus could no longer walk openly among the people with the plot of the Pharisees becoming clear. Yet, they understood that during the time of Passover, Jesus, to be obedient, would need to make an appearance. Furthermore, the Pharisees were not necessarily wrong either. Throughout the course of Jesus’ life, He understood the effects of His actions and the consequences for doing what He did. It would have been much easier to ignore the requirements of the law or simply leave mankind to themselves. Yet, Jesus remained true and righteous, never failing in the requirements of the law. The world stood against Christ and against God in the rebellion of their sin. Jesus understood that He walked into persecution and that His death on the cross loomed over Him. Yet, the fear of persecution did not deter Him as the love for His people drove Him closer to the cross.
The reality that everyone who puts their faith and hope in Jesus Christ must face is that there will be consequences for anyone who chooses to put their faith and hope in Him. The world, the status quo, and the powers that rule over the darkness find the message of life in Jesus Christ as so fundamentally repulsive that they would persecute any who willingly follow after the leader. Yet, for those of us who follow after Jesus Christ, we cannot back down from following God and doing what we have been called to do. The reward for putting our full faith and trust in Jesus Christ will always outweigh the cost we pay along the way. When we find everything in Jesus Christ and nothing apart from Him, it becomes our joy to follow Him, even if it means being persecuted along the path. The world will persecute those who faithfully follow Jesus simply because Jesus threatens the status quo of our previous lives. Yet, the status quo of our previous lives lead the world into the hands of death. Jesus saves the world from the grasp of death by bearing the weight of our consequences on Himself. Now, having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and the works of Jesus Christ as the propitiation of our sins, we can share the Gospel with the world and live our lives in faith in Jesus Christ, despite whatever persecution we will certainly face.
- The Pharisees sought to keep their own way of life and sought death to maintain it. How does this relate to and demonstrate sin?
Discussion Questions
- Where do you struggle with looking towards your own ways and your own self interest?
- What is the consequences of sin? Where do you see this in John 11:45-57?
- Jesus came to die for the sins of the people. Describe what it means to submit to Jesus Christ as King and Lord over all things.
- Do you fear being persecuted for following your faith? Why does this scare you? How does God overcome our fears?
- Why should the Christian expect to be persecuted for the faith?
