St. Paul Lutheran Church
Sermon by Pastor Balogh

MAR 9, 2008 - listen to this sermon in mp3!

John 11:47-53 Then the chief priests and 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." Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who
was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do
not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people
than that the whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but
as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the
Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered
children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that
day on they plotted to take his life.

Planning is always important to do. For that matter you will find that
things generally go smoother when good planning has taken place.
Weddings go smoother when there is good planning. Vacations go better
when there is good planning. I can even say that some things go better
even if the planning isn't so good. It is just generally accepted that
planning makes things better. Of course, not all planning is good.
At first such a statement makes you pause and say, "What? What do you
mean not all planning is good?" In that regard I am really thinking
about the moral side of things. For the most part when an event or
activity is planned for, be that planning detailed or just kind of a
general thing, I believe the event is better served. But I don't mean to
address the issue of whether the planning is good or bad from a practical
viewpoint, but rather address the moral issue of planning.
Some planning is just not good. That's because sometimes people plan
what is wrong or evil. Those who plan a robbery are not doing a good
thing. Those who plan to sell illegal drugs are not serving the greater
good. We know that. That's why the accepted English word for an evil or
illicit plan is the word "to plot.' We speak of people plotting a
robbery. That's because we do recognize that evil planning does exist,
that is, we do recognize that some planning is not good.
We have just such a case before us in our text. There is planning going
on but what is most interesting is that the planning going on is both
evil and good at the same time. It is truly a text worth looking at.
Our theme will be: A PLAN FOR DEATH. 1st. Man's plan. 2nd. God's plan.
The first thing I want you to realize is that the action of our text
occurs right after the miracle that you heard about in our Gospel
reading. Yes, Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus and
his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived in Bethany just a short distance from
Jerusalem. The truth be told, Lazarus and his sisters were well known in
the area for we are told, "many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to
comfort them." So you can grasp that this miracle of Jesus was well
known by everyone.
For that matter let me share with you verses 45-46 and what they say.
"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." That's when the meeting is
called that is described in our text. The meeting is called because
Lazarus has been raised from the dead. The meeting is called because
people were putting their faith in Jesus. The meeting was called by the
religious leadership so that some planning could be done or perhaps we
should more accurately say so that some plotting could be done. Please
note that all of this is taking place some two or three months before the
coming Passover at which Jesus will be killed.
It must have been an interesting meeting. Listen to what is recorded.
"What are we accomplishing? 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."
Although we don't have the whole discussion that took place these words,
nevertheless, tell us some interesting things. First they tell us that
these men have been actively working against Jesus. These words also
tell us that clearly they didn't think they were accomplishing their
goal. Their goal was to keep people from believing in Jesus. Their goal
was that people should reject Jesus and his claims.
What else do we learn? We learn that these men were clearly aware of
all the miracles of Jesus. This is the same group of men who at the
beginning of Jesus' ministry asked Jesus, "What sign will you give us to
prove your claims? (Mtt 16:1) But here they are upset, distraught
because of all of the miracles of Jesus. Pretty strange isn't it. They
openly speak of Jesus' miracles and even openly acknowledge that these
miracles are causing the people to believe in Jesus because the people
recognize that the miracles are signs that Jesus is from God. Yet they
reject this idea. Pretty strange behavior for a group supposedly heading
a religion waiting, hoping and praying that "the Messiah" comes. They
want to stop Jesus because "everyone will believe in him."
Now you have to recognize that their thinking is just a little bit
twisted. You especially see that twist when they conclude that if people
believe in Jesus the Romans will come and...listen to what they say,
"take away our place and our nation." This statement is one of the most
fascinating things recorded. Why would the Romans come and attack
because of faith in Jesus? I'll tell you. These men believed the
Messiah was to be a world ruler, that the Messiah would rise up and
conquer all the enemies of Israel and then, with the Jewish people, rule
over the entire world forever. In other words, they were afraid Jesus
was the Messiah but that he couldn't defeat the Romans. Strange behavior
isn't it. To suspect Jesus is from God but that Jesus couldn't do what
they believed their faith said he would do? What kind of faith is this?
Well, I can tell you it is not the faith of God. If you look at that
statement, clearly their real concern was themselves. They might lose
their place of leadership, their status, and their nation of which they
were the leaders. They weren't interested in what was Godly but rather
in themselves. They were driven by selfish motives, by worldly motives
rather than by the hope of faith and the surety of God's promises.
But there is more. Consider what Caiaphas says. Caiaphas was the high
priest, a rather powerful and very influential position. The High Priest
was the religious leader. He says, "You know nothing at all! You do not
realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than
that the whole nation perish."
I believe these words are telling. I believe they show what Caiaphas
knew and understood. I believe these words show that Caiaphas knew that
Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Savior of God. I believe Caiaphas
realized that since Jesus was the Son of God, the one their whole faith
was to be centered on, then that was the end of the Jewish religion.
Since Jesus was the Messiah, the priesthood, the Temple, the rituals,
everything their religion was would end. The Jewish faith, which is what
made the Jewish people, would be fulfilled and have served its purpose.
Caiaphas says rather clearly that if they wanted to keep being Jewish, to
keep being this nation founded on the promised Messiah they needed to
reject Jesus! Actually, he point blank says, "For the sake of our
Jewishness, we need to kill Jesus."
It seems to me that when your religious leader begins to suggest murder
as the solution to keep people from believing in the guy who is doing
miracle after miracle after miracle it's time for a new religion! When
any religion encourages murder for the sake of God it's time for a
change! Clearly what is going on is not of God but of the evil and
wickedness of men.
And then the Holy Spirit reveals this: He did not say this on his own,
but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the
Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered
children of God, to bring them together and make them one.
God reveals that from the evil of Caiaphas the plan of salvation will be
carried out. God's truth is revealed. It was God's plan to provide a
Savior. It was God's plan that the Savior should indeed die for the
people of Israel, not just those of the physical descent of Jacob, but
for all of God's children found scattered in the world, for all who put
their hope and confidence in the grace and mercy of God. God's Word had
promised a deliverer from sin, death and the devil. God's Word had
promised that this Savior was for the whole world, Jew and gentile alike.
God's Word had promised that miracles would identify the Savior. In
Jesus God's Word is fulfilled.
That's the real marvel of Jesus. He did the will of God not for selfish
motive but rather for the souls of the world. He went to the cross so
that he could pay for sin. He went to the cross to confront Satan and
death, eternal death once for all. He went to the cross to pay for the
very thing that separates God and man: sin. Yes, Jesus paid for sin. By
the shedding of his blood, the Passover sacrifice was made once and for
all.
The whole Jewish faith pointed to this event. The Passover and the lamb
slain was for deliverance from slavery. The sacrifices of the Temple
were made to point to the one sacrifice to come that would end all
sacrifices. And note that those sacrifices were for the most part
burned. That was to be a reminder that the One true sacrifice would
endure hell for the sinner. I tell you, or rather God's Word clearly
tells us that everything about the Old Testament religion was pointing to
Jesus. Just read the book of Hebrews! Jesus, the promised Messiah by
his death has made us holy! "The law is only a shadow of the good things
that are coming...because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and
goats to take away sins. ...We have been made holy through the sacrifice
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...when this priest (Christ) had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of God...because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy" (Heb 10). Jesus has won the victory and by
grace through faith, gives us that victory as our own.
Men will do their plotting but God's plans are always carried out.
Satan thought he had won the day when Jesus was killed but God's victory
was the end result. When will we learn that God's will is always done
for the good of His children? Put your hope and confidence in the
promises of God. It doesn't matter if you don't get it or don't think
you deserve it or don't see how something is serving your eternal soul.
What matters is your faith in God. That He keeps his promises. That He
wins all the victories. That He promises that in Jesus is found the
forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.
In our world we will always, like the people of Jesus day, be confronted
with the ideas of man and the revelation of God. Put your trust in the
revelation of God. His Word, both Old and New Testaments reveal his plan
for us: the plan of grace and mercy. The plan where He wins the victory
and gives it to us. The plan where Jesus is the heart of it all, then,
now and always. Put your hope in the plan of God. Amen.