WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
John 11:45-48 NKJV
45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
Have you ever heard someone say, “If they could just see a miracle, I know they would believe in Jesus?” And yet, in our passage for today, people who saw a miracle did not believe.
And these people did not just see any miracle. They saw a man they knew, Lazarus, raised from the dead. Lazarus being dead for four days and in the tomb made the miracle even more significant. Many of the people who witnessed Lazarus being raised believed in Jesus. They could not deny this outstanding miracle and believed.
But some who saw the same miracle went and told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. The irony of this situation amazes me. What were they thinking? Hey, Pharisees, we just saw Jesus raise a man from the dead. You all might want to get serious about shutting Jesus down.
The miracle was so significant that the Pharisees called a council. The subject was not if Jesus was doing miracles. They could not deny what was taking place. The subject was how do we stop Jesus? This is another mind-boggling statement. You would have hoped the Pharisees would realize that, at the very least, a great prophet had risen up among them. The question they should have been asking is how do we work with Him, not how do we stop Him. But verse 48 is the key reason they were plotting against Jesus instead of believing in Him. “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
Now we know why some chose not to believe. What were they thinking? They were thinking that if everyone believed in Jesus, then their positions of power and authority would be undermined. They were afraid of the Romans intervening and enforcing greater rule over Israel. The Romans were not nearly as involved in small Israel. To the Romans, Israel was a second-rate territory that the Romans tolerated. So, the religious leaders had more freedom to operate in conjunction with the Romans. But if Jesus rose up as the Messiah, then Rome would be compelled to squash any form of rebellion, and the Pharisees would lose their place of leadership. To the Pharisees, their position of authority was much more important than God doing something for the people.
APPLICATION
Sadly, the mentality of the Pharisees can still show up today. Some people are more interested in protecting their religious position than seeing God move in the lives of people. Opposition to the operation of the Holy Spirit has divided many believers. The goodness and grace of God that makes room for all people to come to salvation and have a place in God’s kingdom is opposed by some groups of Christians. The things that divide us are too many. So, whenever you see groups of believers opposing other believers on Biblical subjects, the first thing to look for is what they are protecting.
I still remember the opposition that Joy received when she was so sick years ago. Some people were against her trusting God for healing. That’s a bit hard to fathom. Here was a young mother of three children facing a dire situation, and people were more for her dying than getting healed. Their brand of Christianity made no room for a healing God, so they were protecting their particular doctrine. Why would someone ever oppose a person receiving healing? I don’t get it. I am grateful that the same Jesus who healed so many years ago is still healing today, and Joy is well! Thank You, Lord!
PRAYER
Lord, if You are in it, then I am for it!