John 11:45–53
Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.
REFLECTIONS:
I think this must be the logic behind assassinations of political and religious leaders. Whatever the individual is teaching threatens the current order. It is better for them to die than risk the change to everyone’s lifestyle. At least that is the argument assassins try to make palatable. The real threat is to how we think about ourselves and who we are. Martin Luther King sought to raise Blacks to equality with Caucasians. Women’s liberation sought to raise women to equality with men in the business world and the church. The Gay movement has sought to raise homosexuals to equality with heterosexuals. The Kingdom of God dismissed the power of the current political system. Jesus’ message of God’s love for every individual threatens most of our self-concepts and way of life. Peace to you, Keith
Leave a Reply