March 13: Saviour of all nations
John 11:45-57 TNIV from Biblegateway.com
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.
Devotional Comments:
One of the main purposes John had in writing this Gospel is that people would see Jesus. In this passage we note that some who saw Jesus raise Lazarus from death put their faith in him, but others saw Jesus as a threat to their religious and political system. Their council leader, Caiaphas, was pretty blunt: “You people don’t have any sense at all!” (CEV).
Council liked the adage: “Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind is already made up.” But John points out that even Caiaphas was not the one in control of Jesus’ destiny.
The centre verses are the pivot to this passage: “As high priest that year (Caiaphas) was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. Yet Jesus would not die just for the Jewish nation. He would die to bring together all of God’s scattered people.” (CEV)
Author John started this book saying that God sent John the Baptist “who came to tell about the light and to lead all people to have faith.”
Jesus wants all people to get to know him, and Caiaphas had it right when he put down his religious team. If they had any sense at all they would have seen Jesus as the healer and Saviour of all nations.
Robert & Yvonne Huse
Pray for all nations to recognize Chrst as Saviour and Healer