SPIRITUAL DIAIRY FOR 9/4/2016 6:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 The Murders
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 11:46-54
Message of the verses: “46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told
them the things which Jesus had done. 47 Therefore the chief priests and the
Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing? For
this man is performing many signs. 48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men
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 take into account
that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the
whole nation not perish." 51 Now he did not say this on his own
initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going
to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He
might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered
abroad. 53 So from that
day on they planned together to kill Him. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer
continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the
country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed
with the disciples.”
We see in
verse 53 what was approved by the Sanhedrin that day and that was to have Jesus
killed. Now think about that for a
moment, and that is that the Sanhedrin were made up of the top “religious
leaders” of that day and the conclusion that they came up with was to murder
Jesus, their Messiah. I suppose that
this would not be the first time that someone would be killed because they were
doing what God wanted them to do. Listen
to what Stephen tells this same group before they go out and stone him to
death: “51 "You men who are
stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy
Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 “Which one of the prophets
did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced
the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now
become; 53 you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep
it.’”
When you
look at verse 53 one need not wonder why Jesus did not receive a fair trial.
Now we want
to look at verse 54 for a moment a verse that tells us what Jesus and His
disciples did after the raising of Lazarus back to life again. What I am about to say is just something that
I believe could have happened, but not necessarily what did happen. John who writes this gospel is said in other
places of the Bible that he had friends in the leadership of the Jews, and so
perhaps one of them who was in that meeting came and told him what was
decided. We know that Nicodemus was a
part of that group and so perhaps he got word to John or one of the other
disciples to give them a heads up. Now
on the other hand we know that Jesus knew what was going on in that meeting
because He is God, so that also could have been the reason they left. MacArthur writes “The Lord remained in
absolute control of the circumstances, and would not allow Himself to be taken
before the appointed time in God’s plan (7:8, 30, 44; 8:20; 11:9-10). ‘To those with eyes to see he was making a
theological statement: no human court could force him to the cross’ (D. A.
Carson, The Gospel According to John).”
MacArthur
concludes “The city called Ephraim to which Jesus went and stayed with the
disciples is probably to be identified with the Old Testament city of Ephron (2
Chron. 13:19). It was located about four
miles northeast of Bethel on the edge of the wilderness, and about a dozen
miles from Jerusalem. From there Jesus
would make a brief visit to Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11-19:28) before
returning to Jerusalem for the Passover at the appointed time for His passion
(John 12:23).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As
we race to the time when we believe that the Lord will come to take His church
to heaven I have to believe that even though I see unrest in many parts of the
world that I am confident that the Lord is in perfect control of all that is
going on.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Trust that the Lord will
prepare my heart for the partaking of the Lord’s Supper as I go to church
today.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Sixty-six.”
Today’s Bible question:
“How did Solomon settle the problem of two mothers and one child?”
Answer in our next SD.
9/4/2016 7:19 AM
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