Blood-Bought Disciples

The Death and Resurrection of a Man – Five Sermons

Part 5: “A Passover Prologue”

(John 11:45-12:12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 26, 2009)

John 11:45-12:12 See page 898 in your pew Bibles.

What did the high priest say about the death of Jesus?

A: “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” (John 11:50)

The problem and the solution (11:45-54)

It is one of the horrors of Nazism that the leader of the movement thought that his nation and the world had a Jewish problem, and that the solution to that problem was extermination. It is also a fact that many nations and groups throughout the centuries have come to the conclusion that the church is the problem and that it must be stopped at all costs. This is nothing new. Man has a nasty tendency to conclude that he has a God problem, and that God has to go. After the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus from the tomb, one of the chief priests of the chosen people of God came to the conclusion that Jesus was the problem, and that he had to be eliminated in order for there to be any peace and security in the Jewish nation.

The specific problem with Jesus was most recently connected to the amazing healing of this man named Lazarus. This friend of Jesus had died, and he was in the tomb four days when Jesus called him forth from the tomb alive. This was such an amazing miracle, one that was undeniable because of the large number of witnesses who saw this take place, people who had come to comfort the sisters of Lazarus in their time of loss. Many of the people who saw this believed in Jesus. Others were still opposed to Him, and they were deeply concerned, since this amazing miracle was undeniable. Certain leaders among the Pharisees and the Jewish ruling council expressed their concerns in terms of political stability, claiming that the Jesus movement would threaten the peace of the nation, forcing the Romans to come and establish a more severe order because of the following that Jesus was winning.

It was at this moment that Caiaphas expressed a position that was more profound than he realized. He criticized the others among the rulers who seemed to be captivated by their worries. To Caiaphas, the solution was self-evident. Jesus would have to be eliminated. He said to that group, "It is better for you that one man should die for the people." Caiaphas meant that Jesus was expendable. His assassination was a necessary unpleasantness, after which life could return to normal. John tells us that this man was operating as a prophet when he spoke these great words. John's point is that the high priest's words admitted of another meaning, one that tells the story of the Bible in one simple sentence: "It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." This one Man, the Son of God, would die as an atoning sacrifice in the place of others who deserved death. He could accomplish in his one death what none of us could ever have accomplished in ours. He could take away our sins, since he alone had no sins of his own. His sacrifice could cover an eternal penalty, and make peace for us where there had only been the frightful expectation of divine judgment.

In saying this Caiaphas had prophesied unwittingly about the good that would come from the death of this one man, not only for Jews, the nation that was Caiaphas' chief concern, but for all of the children of God scattered abroad throughout the world. What Jesus did in his death was good for all of them. Because he perished for us, we will not perish, but live. In speaking against Jesus as an enemy, he had inadvertently testified to the wonder of God's plan to save His people through the death of His Son. Not only that, all of his efforts toward bringing about the death of Christ, rather than working against the plan of God for the establishment of His kingdom, would actually serve to further the plan of God, since the death of Christ was God’s settled decree for the salvation of the elect, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles.

To Caiaphas, the problem was Jesus; His power in healing Lazarus, and the reaction of many observers who believed in Him as the Messiah King. The solution was obvious. Jesus had to be eliminated. To God, the real problem is our sin. This demands divine justice and deserves eternal destruction. The solution is the death of Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for His people. The commonality between these two views is found in this: Jesus must die.

Jesus and the Passover (11:55-57)

This one death would come at the time of God's choosing, the Jewish feast of the Passover. This feast had been part of God's Law for His people for centuries. It had always been a feast celebrating the winning of life for a people through the shedding of the blood of the Passover lamb. This ritual was first instituted when God's people were being rescued out of their slavery in Egypt. The blood of the lamb was to be put above the door of the homes of the Jews. When God came in judgment against the land of Egypt, executing His wrath by taking the firstborn of every family, He would pass over those homes that had the blood above the door. In every other home, the firstborn would die, but in the blood-protected homes, everyone would live.

The reason that Jesus would die in connection with the Passover, is because that feast was always pointing forward to His death on our behalf. He is the Passover Lamb that truly has taken away our sins. He came as the firstborn of God, His only-begotten Son from all eternity. This firstborn of God who had no sin took the weight of our sins upon Himself so that we might live as those who have been credited with His righteousness. His death for us as the Passover Lamb is the beginning of the life of the New Covenant. It is a liberation from the bondage of our sin. For all of these reasons it was fitting that the central events of all human history would take place in the final Old Covenant celebration of this feast.

The Anointed One as Passover Lamb (12:1-8)

Six days before that feast, Jesus is again in the town of Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Here is the brother who had so recently been placed in a tomb for four days, now alive and eating with all the guests around the table. Mary understands something that she displays here in a most dramatic way. She understands that Jesus is going to die, and at great expense, she prepares his body for burial by anointing him.

This causes some controversy that is very revealing. Judas Iscariot, who will soon betray the Lord, is indignant about the use of about a year’s wages on this extravagance. We are told by John that he is not really concerned about the poor, though that is his claim. John plainly reveals that Judas was a thief, and that he used to help himself to the funds that he was supposedly guarding. Jesus defends Mary, and testifies again to the fact that Mary knows well: Jesus will soon be gone. Jesus will soon die. He will die as the Lamb of God and secure our liberation.

Lazarus – An Epilogue, Jesus – A Prologue (12:9-12)

We have come to the end of the Lazarus story. There is a man around the table eating with Jesus, a man that our Lord publicly raised from the dead. The facts about Lazarus were so plain, that no one could deny them. Many people were taking another look at Jesus because what had happened to Lazarus was so obvious. That’s why the religious leaders decided that they not only had a Jesus problem; they also had a Lazarus problem, and the only solution was to eliminate both of them.

The story of Jesus will continue. This great miracle is a prologue to the most powerful death and the most stupendous resurrection in the history of mankind. Christians are those who have been led to see that the Son of God came to build His Kingdom, and that He did this at the cost of His life. We have been purchased by the blood of the Passover Lamb.

Application: Who is the problem? What is the solution?

Caiaphas was a very important man. He came to the conclusion that Jesus was the problem, and that Jesus needed to be eliminated. Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, had a different opinion. She had come to see that Jesus would die, but that his death was the solution, not the problem. The problem is in man. The problem is in us, for we insist that we will not be under God’s authority. We are easily swayed by this kind of lie: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” What is the liberty that you seek? Do you want autonomy from God?

God knows our real need. He sent His Son for us. That has to mean something to us. We need to see Jesus as the solution that owns us. That is the only good reason anyone would give up a year’s wages to testify to the coming death of a man. In fact, that is the only good reason why anyone would ever live out a Christian profession of faith involving any kind of true gospel sacrifice. The privilege of gospel living comes to those who believe that they are blood-bought. True gospel living comes to those who see Jesus as Mary saw Him. If your vision of Jesus allows you to live as an autonomous spiritualist, you need to pick up your Bible again and take another look at Jesus.

Christian living comes when we see that one Man died for the people of God, and we embrace this truth as those who can no longer live as autonomous individualists. We are not our own. We were bought with a price. The problem was in us and not in God. We’ve got to go; not God. God will not be eliminated. We see the death of the Son of God as those who know that Jesus owns us, and we want to hear His Word, to believe, and to follow.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What is the problem with Jesus? What is our problem? What is the solution?

2. Explain the feast of the Passover. Why is this relevant to us today?

3. What was Jesus’ explanation of Mary of Bethany’s unusual action?

4. What was the impact of the death and resurrection of Jesus’ friend Lazarus?