Thật là buồn để thấy được sự tính toán phức tạp của người Pharisêu. Chúa Giêsu đã chữa lành bao nhiêu người bệnh tật. Chúa Giêsu đã biến cải bao nhiêu người trở lại theo Chúa. Chúa Giêsu cũng đã làm cho kẻ đã chết được sống lại. Thế nhưng những người Pharisêu đang lo lắng, và tìm cách ngăn cản và sát hại Chúa Giêsu.Việc này thật là rất khó khăn cho họ. Vì cuộc sống của Ngài, lời nói của Ngài, và phép lạ của Ngài đều rất thuyết phục. Tất nhiên, những người Pharisêu có thể được thuyết phục, nếu họ chỉ tin rằng Chúa Giêsu là Đấng Thiên sai, họ sẽ không cần phải làm việc khó nhọc để tìm cách ngăn chặn những người khác tin vào Chúa.
Họ có vẻ lo lắng với việc ngăn chặn người La Mã đến và phá hủy Thành Jerusalem hơn với việc nhận ra Chúa Giêsu thực sự là Đấng Cứu Thế. Sự lo lắng của họ không phải là vô căn cứ vì bốn mươi năm sau, một Đấng Thiên sai giả đã bắt đầu một cuộc chiến chống lại quận đội La Mã, và Jerusalem đã bị phá hủy, và người Do Thái đã bị phải lưu đày. Những người Pharisiêu đã đoán đúng về những hậu quả của một Đấng Thiên Sai giả mạo, nhưng họ dường như đã mất hy vọng thực sự ở nơi Đấng Thiên sai thật sự.
Họ đã sống trong hoài nghi, trong khi người Kitô hữu cần phải được có lòng tin. Họ đã mất hy vọng, trong khi Người Kitô hữu sống bằng hy vọng. Họ yêu chính bản thân của họ và chức vụ của họ và hoàn cảch sồng của họ, trong khi đó người Kitô hữu phải yêu mến Thiên Chúa trên hết mọi sự và yêu thương người khác như chính mình. Những lời của Cai-pha, "thà một người chết thay cho dân, còn hơn là toàn dân bị tiêu diệt.” (Jn 11:51). đã nói lên với ý định quá thấp kém: Việc làm phản bội một người vô tội vì lời nói và hành động của Chúa Giêsu có thể được xem như không được thuận lợi cho họ vĩ họ sợ những người La Mã bắt bớ. Và Cai-phe đã trở thành một cộng tác viên chp giặc..
It is so sad to see the convoluted logic of the Pharisees. Jesus is healing people. Jesus is converting sinners back to following God. Jesus is raising dead people back to life. The Pharisees are worried how they can put a stop to all of it. It will be very difficult. His life, his words, and his miracles are all very convincing. Of course, the Pharisees could have just been convinced. If they had just believed that Jesus was the Messiah, they would not have had to work so hard to prevent others from believing.
They seem more worried with preventing the Romans from coming and destroying Jerusalem than with whether Jesus was actually the Messiah. Their worries are not unfounded. Forty years later, a false Messiah would start a war with the Romans, and Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the Jews forced to leave. The Pharisees were right about the consequences of a false Messiah, but they seem to have lost real hope in the coming of the actual Messiah.
They had become cynical, whereas a Christian needs to be trusting. They had lost hope, whereas a Christian lives by hope. They loved themselves and their positions and their situation, whereas a Christian must love God above all things and their neighbors as themselves. The words of Caiaphas, “it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people” are said with the lowest intention: to betray an innocent man because his words and actions might not be looked upon favorably by the persecuting Romans. Caiaphas has turned into a collaborator.
However, the words of Caiaphas are also, St. John tells us, a prophecy. Caiaphas was the high priest, and God would use him for God’s own purposes. It is better for us that an innocent man should die in our place. It is better, for us, that Jesus gave up his life to save ours. It is better, not because we should be such cowards that we gladly see someone else die for our sins, but because if we died for our own sins, we would not have risen again, but when Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, the innocent for the guilty, he had the power to lay his life down and take it up again. It is better for us that an innocent man should die instead of the whole world, but only if that innocent man can, by his death, destroy death.
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” John 11:47–48
Jesus’ public ministry had two primary effects upon the people. For many, they were coming to believe in Him and were hanging on His every word. They sought Him out and began to understand that He was the promised Messiah. This was the response of faith. But the reaction of the chief priests and the Pharisees was far more worldly. In the passage above, we see a group of religious leaders who are completely consumed with worldly concerns to the point that these concerns drown out all matters of faith.
As the Sanhedrin convened and discussed what they should do, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, spoke up and gave advice that perfectly depicts this worldly vision. He said, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” Caiaphas and many other religious leaders at the time appeared to be far more concerned with their worldly status and power than they were with matters of true faith and eternal salvation. If they were men who deeply loved God and sought only His holy will, then they would have rejoiced that Jesus’ ministry was so fruitful in the lives of the people. They would have offered thanks to God, day and night, for the privilege of seeing the prophecies of old about the Messiah come to fruition before their own eyes. They should have had joy and gratitude, and they should have allowed those spiritual blessings to grow within them and give them the courage they needed to go forth and die with our Lord if necessary. But instead, they chose their comfortable lives and worldly status above the truth, and they decided that Jesus needed to die.
One beautiful truth to reflect upon within this context is that God uses all things for His glory and for the salvation of those who believe. With this meeting of the Sanhedrin, these men began to plot the death of Jesus. Eventually they used deceit, manipulation, intimidation and fear to accomplish their goal. But even though from a worldly perspective these misguided religious leaders “won,” from a divine perspective, God used their evil to bring about the greatest good the world had ever known. Through their malice, Jesus’ passion and death gave way to the new life of the Resurrection.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that God is able to use all things for our good. Be it in the midst of corruption, persecution, discord, sin, illness or any other evil in life, when we turn to God in faith and surrender, He is able to transform all things and bring forth an abundance of good fruit through them if we only let Him and trust in faith. Prayerfully surrender over to God, today, any of the above concerns that have affected you, and allow yourself to believe the simple truth that nothing can keep you from the glorious fulfillment of the will of God. All things can help toward the salvation of your soul and end in God’s eternal glory.
My glorious Lord, You were loved by many but also hated by some. Those with power and authority could not see beyond their worldly ambitions, so they began to plot against You. Give me the grace, dear Lord, to see every act of evil inflicted upon me as an opportunity for You to bring forth good. You are glorious, dear Lord. May You be glorified in all things. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are faithful to your promises and merciful when we are unfaithful. In the past, you revealed your fidelity and mercy to Moses and your people. Today, you reveal your faithful and merciful love to me through your Son.
1. The Sanhedrin’s Response to the Raising of Lazarus: The response of the Sanhedrin to the raising of Lazarus by Jesus is not one of faith, but one of condemnation. They recognize that Jesus is performing extraordinary signs. But instead of pondering in prayer what this could mean – that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God – they prefer to remain in their blindness (John 9:39-41) and look at things from a very human point of view. If we do nothing, they argue, “the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” The theme of nationhood and land is a central theme in today’s First Reading as well as yesterday’s First Reading. Yesterday, we read how Abraham was promised both land and nationhood: “I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you ... I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:6,8). This promise to Abraham was then elevated to a covenant: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you” (Genesis 17:7).
3. Jesus as the Fulfillment of God’s Promises: Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises made throughout the Old Testament: he is the New David, the Servant of God, the one sent to the lost tribes of Israel, the one who proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God and establishes it, and the one who establishes the New Covenant. This New Covenant was established on the Cross. In the Gospel of John, the high priest Caiaphas does not realize the depth of his prophetic words. He thinks that by condemning Jesus to death, he will eliminate the problem Jesus is causing among the people and preserve the land promised to Abraham. Caiaphas says: “It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” John, however, knows that Jesus’ death will gather the dispersed children of God: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). John knows that Jesus’ death is key to the inauguration of the reign of God on earth. Jesus dies for us, removes the ancient curse of death, and bestows life on those who receive him in faith and love.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, it is so mysterious to see how people rejected you, your message of merciful love, and your mighty works. You were the innocent one who went about doing good, healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry, and yet you were condemned and crucified by your people. Help me to embrace suffering and persecution for the sake of your name.
Opening Prayer: Lord, bless me and enlighten me as I read this Gospel. I want to come to know you better, and love you more today than I did yesterday.
Encountering Christ:
Silence: Today’s Gospel does not have any spoken words by Jesus. The only action shared by John is that Jesus decided not to appear in public anymore and left for another region. Some began to ask themselves, “Will he not come to the feast?” At times in our life, Jesus seems to disappear and all we hear are the grumblings of other voices that tell us, “Jesus is not relevant. Jesus does not care anymore. Jesus has other things to think about.” When we read the Scriptures, we know that this is not true. “He is still about his Father’s business.” Faith is not merely the feeling that God is present. It is an assurance that God is with us at all times in all circumstances.
Reflection (SG)
In different ways, the Apostles accepted this universalism: Jesus sent them on mission “to the ends of the earth”. The passage which we read from St John today has the High Priest Caiaphas announce that it was better for one man to die for the sake of the people, that is, for Israel. John immediately adds the universal dimension: “not for this nation only, but to gather into one all the scattered children of God”. Jesus died for all of us.
Lord Jesus, bring forth the justice of God our Father and gather all humanity into one flock under your guidance as our Good Shepherd, that we may all live in joy and in peace as children of the one Father in Heaven.
Do you allow fear or opposition to hold you back from doing God's will? Jesus set his face like flint toward Jerusalem, knowing full well what awaited him there (Luke 9:51; Isaiah 50:7). It was Jewish belief that when the high priest asked for God's counsel for the nation, God spoke through him. What dramatic irony that Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus must die for the nation. The prophet Ezekiel announced that God would establish one people, one land, one prince, and one sanctuary forever. Luke adds to Caiphas's prophecy that Jesus would gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. Jesus came to lay down his life for the many, but not in a foolish reckless manner so as to throw it away before his work was done. He retired until the time had come when nothing would stop his coming to Jerusalem to fulfill his Father's mission. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) wrote:
"The passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience... He loved us so much that, sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. How then can he fail to give us the reward we deserve for our righteousness, for he is the source of righteousness? How can he, whose promises are true, fail to reward the saints when he bore the punishment of sinners, though without sin himself? Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory."
The way to glory and victory for us is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to take up your cross and follow Christ in his way of victory?
"Lord Jesus, may we your disciples be ever ready to lay down our lives in conformity to your will, to willingly suffer and die for you, that we may also share in your victory and glory."
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