The Plot Against Jesus
Notes
Transcript
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John 11:45–54 (ESV)
45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Last Week:
Last Week:
Our God-given Privilege to Influence & How Temporal Comforts Can Impede Our Calling
Our God-given Privilege to Influence & How Temporal Comforts Can Impede Our Calling
John tells us…
John 11:45 (ESV)
45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,
Mary influenced their being at the right place at the right time to be confronted with the majesty of Christ.
And, all of it under the sovereign control & outworking of God.
We should not take it for granted what God has given us the privilege to take part…
—> In the Kingdom of God.
And, at the same time, we rest not in what God works in us to will and to do…
But, we rest in the finished work of Christ.
Now, this morning I want us to examine in greater detail the…
Conspiracy of the Blind Guides
Conspiracy of the Blind Guides
John 11:46–48 (ESV)
46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
So, now the Sanhedrin meets about this.
The Sanhedrin was made up of:
Chief Priests (ex-highpriests & members of those families)
Pharisees
Included in this meeting would be the High Priest at the time.
And, with all of these members here it would act as the judiciary, legislative, and executive bodies of Israel.
This governing body was over all Jewish affairs…
Yet, it, was under the control of the Romans.
The appointing of the High Priest.
The length of the High Priest’s service.
Supposed to be lifetime.
Was not because of the Romans basically making it for sale.
You be willing to rule like this and we will appoint you.
All of this was controlled, monitored, and approved of by the Roman government.
Well, we talked last week about how the Sanhedrin feared the potential impact of Christ…
And, how if they let Him continue…
they would lose their place and their Nation would be squashed by the Romans.
How they were choosing the form of their religion rather than the essence…
Because the actual essence of, the actual reason for Judaism —> is Christ.
—> Yet, they miss it completely.
Now, make no mistake, the Sanhedrin thought they were doing a good work.
—> But, the reality is that…
Good Works Must Be Defined By God
Good Works Must Be Defined By God
The religious leaders have convinced themselves in all of their compromises with the Romans…
All their compromises as pertains to:
political
doctrinal
religious
lifestyle
They’ve convinced themselves that they have done them… in the service of God…
—> And, hence, that they are good works.
But, the word of God clearly teaches us that Good Works are defined by God, not man.
We don’t get to define good works based on a whim.
Jesus teaches us this explicitly in…
Matthew 23:15 (ESV)
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
Listen to how the 1689 LBC states in Chapter 16 states it:
Good works are only those works that God has commanded in His holy Word.
Works that do not have this warrant are invented by people out of blind zeal or on a pretense of good intentions and are not truly good.
The reality is as Isaiah prophecies and as Jesus quotes this verse regarding the RL…
Isaiah 29:13 (ESV)
13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
This is the form wihtout the essence.
This is the external expression without the internal reality.
This is what it means to be whitewashed tombs.
Additionally, Scripture teaches, even if someone were to do a work that God has defined as good…
If the motive is not right and pure…
And, it is not done in faith, then it is sinful and heaps debt of condemnation upon them.
So, any work done outside of faith in Christ is sinful before the Lord.
We see this taught in passages such as Hebrews 11; 1 Corinthians 13, and many more.
But, this thought, that they were performing a good deed is even expressed by the…
High Priest
High Priest
John 11:49–50 (ESV)
49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
IOW, we can use Jesus in a way that:
performs a good deed for us
a good deed for the nation
and brownie points with the Romans because we will turn Him in.
We have a bad situation and we can make good out of it, if we handle it a certain way.
Before we dig deeper into this statement by Caiaphas…
I want highlight the progression here in the Sanhedrin’s disdain for Christ.
I want highlight the progression here in the Sanhedrin’s disdain for Christ.
After Caiaphas makes this statement, we read…
53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
We could go back further, and look in other gospels.
—> Up to this point, we read…
John 10:39 (ESV)
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
This attempt to arrest was to try Him.
They wanted to kill Him, but they were not sure how.
What would the accusations be?
What reason were they going to give Pilate for the execution?
They could not kill someone without Roman permission.
So, the desire to arrest Him previous to Chapter 11 was to interrogate Him to find an excuse to kill Him.
But, now the verdict has been decided behind closed doors…
And now, the arrest is to take Him captive and make known the verdict already decided.
Now, let’s dig a little into what Caiaphas’ statement…
John 11:49–52 (ESV)
49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
#1 – How can Caiaphas be sinning in his plan, and yet the Bible tells us that what he says is Prophecy?
#1 – How can Caiaphas be sinning in his plan, and yet the Bible tells us that what he says is Prophecy?
Well, first we have to think about it in the famous words of Joseph in…
Genesis 50:20 (ESV)
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
This is how God works all things…
—> the Good, bad, and the ugly…
And, He uses them for His good and righteous purposes.
Caiaphas is not saying this for the glory of God.
He’s saying it for the glory of himself and the Sanhedrin.
Caiaphas is not saying this for the eternal salvation of the Nation of Israel from the wrath of God.
He’s saying it for the temporary relief of and delay of persecution from the Romans.
Caiaphas, being the High Priest, was in a type of prophetic office.
But, John doesn’t mean that God is speaking through Caiaphas.
But, rather, that what Caiaphas was speaking for evil…
—> And, for selfish gain.
God had ordained an even greater purpose of Christ for good.
There are differences in what Caiaphas means and what God means.
For instance:
Caiphas is speaking of temporal purposes.
God the Father has purposed Christ for eternal purposes.
Caiaphas is speaking of the strict benefit of Christ for the ethnic people of God.
God the Father has purposed Christ to benefit the spiritual people of God…
Which are from among the Nations.
Caiaphas is speaking of Christ being a sacrifice to appease the wrath of the Romans.
God the Father purposed Christ to appease the wrath of God.
Both, Caiaphas and John believe in Jesus as a substitutionary atonement.
—> Either Jesus dies or God’s people die.
But, Caiaphas is thinking at a purely political level…
While John is inviting us to think of Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Yes, Jesus will die for His people.
Jesus will die for the people of God’s Nation.
But, as we work our way through the NT it is pointed out explicitly and repeatedly…
…by the Apostles in their explanation of the OT…
That the true Nation of God.
The true people of God.
Are those who put their faith upon Christ for salvation.
So, while Caiaphas prophecies, ignorant of it Himself, what He says in the ordained will of God has infinitely greater meaning than what He knows.
And, so the contrast we see in what Caiaphas says and what God will bring about is the stark difference in…
Two Gospels
Two Gospels
Are there actually two gospels? No
Galatians 1:7 (ESV)
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
So, although there is only one gospel.
At the same time, the devil and the flesh are always promoting a gospel that falls short of the true gospel.
The devil hates God and the thought of salvation, being already under condemnation.
The flesh hates God because mankind hates the thought of being unrighteous and worthy of condemnation.
Caiaphas’ intended meaning is a…
False Gospel
False Gospel
Caiaphas’ statement is the common thread of the perversion of the true gospel.
His statement is at the very core of a false gospel.
Jesus is a substitute who brings me:
temporal blessings
temporal comfort
more inherent value (self-righteousness)
temporal healing
security from persecution
And, when you have a perverted gospel…
—> It’s okay if it changes.
As long as it still feeds your sinful desires and purposes.
In stark contrast, what John states about the purposes of God in Christ is…
John 11:51–52 (ESV)
51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
This is the…
True Gospel
True Gospel
This is the promise of God fulfilled in Christ.
Christ is the Federal Head of a New & Better Covenant.
Ezekiel 36:24–27 (ESV)
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
This is the purpose of God in Christ.
To call His sheep from lots of different flocks into one flock.
And, when He calls…His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him.
The gospel is the call to Christ’s sheep to hear His voice, and follow Him.
Christ does not call us to graft us into ethnic Jewish-ness.
He calls us to graft us into Him:
The ideal and true Jew.
The ideal and true Israel.
The true Son of God.
The true vine of God.
The true & full image of God.
Christ calls all, Jew & Gentile alike…
Calls them out of Adam and into Him.
Let’s think about this...
Let’s think about this...
Which gospel do you love?
Which Substitute do you want?
Which Christ do you follow?
The Christ and false gospel of Caiaphas!
Or the Christ of God and the true gospel!
There’s only one true Christ.
There’s only one true gospel.
Choose you this day whom you will serve!
The only rest one can have is in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
