Saturday 04 April 2009
- Bible Book:
- John
"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 our holy place and our nation.'" (v.47-48)
Background
The first of the two weeks of Passiontide is coming to an end,but our contemplation of Jesus' suffering will intensify throughoutHoly Week, which begins tomorrow.
In today's passage the author of John's Gospel focuses upon thecouncil (or 'Sanhedrin') of the chief priests and the Pharisees, atwhich the sole agenda item appears to be: What are we going to doabout Jesus?
The judgement of the Sanhedrin is that Jesus should be put todeath, but the passage suggests that the reasons for them arrivingat this point of condemnation are far from simple.
The meeting appears to have been prompted by the fact that a goodnumber of his fellow Jews now believed in Jesus. They believedbecause they had witnessed him perform many signs, such as when herestored life to his dead friend Lazarus (verses 38-44). TheSanhedrin are fearful that if they do nothing to stop Jesus doingsuch things then "everyone will believe" inhim.
This, it transpires, is not just a religious fear but also apolitical one. At the time of Jesus' earthly ministry the imperialauthorities in Rome were not imposing direct rule upon Jerusalem,and the native Jewish authorities were permitted to retain a degreeof power so long as they remained subject to Rome and were able tomaintain law and order.
The Sanhedrin had good reasons for keeping this status quo. As thenation's religious leaders, their influence upon the political lifeof the nation would last only as long as a Jewish kingdom remainedin place. Furthermore, if a messianic figure caused the Jews torise up against the Romans, then the full military might of theRoman Empire would surely fall upon Jerusalem, its Temple, and thenation. This fear would soon become a reality with the destructionof Jerusalem in AD70 by the Emperor Titus.
All that being said, the author of John's Gospel is keen for us tounderstand that God was somehow working through all these veryhuman motives in order "to gather into one the dispersed childrenof God" (verse 52).
To Ponder
Today's passage suggests that the Sanhedrinperhaps felt constrained to seek the death of Jesus by some ratherstark human realities. When we are faced with important decisions,how can we honestly discern our own complex motives?
Do you believe that God's good purposes can befulfilled through the religion and politics of our own day? And, ifso, how?