“The
large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for
Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the
dead. But the chief priests planned to
put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were
going away and were believing in Jesus” (John 12:9–11).
Every time I read these verses, I’m struck by the
response of the opponents of Jesus. The
Lord has just accomplished a great miracle by the power of God. A dead man was raised to life! Everyone was duly impressed -- except for the
chief priests and Pharisees. They gather
together to discuss ways to deal with Jesus and decide that he must be killed. For a time, the Savior and his followers step
back from public ministry and retreat to the wilderness. But with the approach of the Passover and the
fulfillment of his earthly calling, Jesus and the disciples must return to the
holy city. Tensions are high. Crowds and flocking to see the miracle worker
as well as Lazarus, the one raised from the dead. For that reason, the Jewish leaders now plot
to kill, not only Jesus, but also Lazarus!
It’s not enough to just kill the miracle worker. Now the results of his work must be
destroyed. Incredible!
I suppose the stubborn opposition of these men
shouldn’t surprise me. When one rejects
the light and surrenders to darkness, this is the inevitable result. Jesus confronted these men about this very
thing earlier (John 8:43–45). They are
acting just like their father, the devil.
Sons and daughters of the devil will act like their father, opposing all
that is good and right, even if it means killing someone who has been recently
raised from the dead. Like the thief
Jesus talks about in his teaching about the good shepherd, those who give
themselves over to evil will seek “...to steal and kill and destroy” (John
10:10). When eyes and ears are closed to
the truth, this is to be expected.
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