Conspiring Against God's Anointed (II)
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said this, "Bigotry is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you pour into it, the more it contracts." Webster's Dictionary defines a bigot as a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinion and prejudices, obstinately devoted to my prejudices, my opinions, my ways, my prejudgments. I'm so devoted to it, I don't want more light. Obstinately devoted to my prejudices, my opinions, my ways, my judgments, my prejudgments. So much so, I am devoted to all of this that I don't want more light. I don't want it.
As the saying goes, don't confuse me with the facts. I don't want more truth. More truth, more facts might persuade me to change my mind. I don't want it. So bigotry closes and shrinks away from more light, shrinks away from more truth, so as to obstinately hold on to its views and not let go.
That's exactly what we see in our text with the leaders of first century Judaism. The Sanhedrin, you remember last time, believed that they had a problem. They were annoyed. We looked at the annoyance. They were annoyed with Jesus and what was taking place. So they thought they had a problem on their hands because from their vantage point, this man, this Nazarene was winning the day.
I mean His miracles, His signs that He was performing, I mean they were so powerful, so convincing. They could not be disputed. Many were believing in Him and so the fear was that the whole nation would believe in Him. And as a result, life as they knew it under Rome would be lost forever. This is what they were talking about in the council, the Sanhedrin. This is what they were discussing. What are we going to do? What are we doing? Verse 47: "For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
Well, there was a man present in their midst, in that council, the Sanhedrin, who believed that he had the answer. So we move from the annoyance to the answer. And that man was the high priest that year. His name was Caiaphas. And though he was thoroughly wicked, we're going to see today that he was unwittingly used as a mouthpiece by God to proclaim the truth of God, the truth concerning the gospel. This is really incredible.
Let's look at verse 49. Let's learn something about this man, this priest, this high priest. "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation not perish.' Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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."
Now you will notice verse 49 begins this way, one of them, “But one of them, Caiaphas”. One of them. Now that seems to be a strange way to refer to the high priest, also known as the great priest. Just one of them. I think the explanation may be that even though he was the high priest that year, there was another man. There was another man, his father-in-law, a man by the name of Annas, who was still really holding sway, still held a lot of influence in this council.
And by the way, the word high priest, that title high priest, ‘archiereus’, is a compound word. ‘Archi’, first in a series, the leader or ruler, the idea of rank, degree, and then ‘ereus’ refers to priest, refers to the priest that was chief over all the other priests in Israel. Now what is interesting is originally according to Numbers 35, you will see that it seems to be that the high priest was to serve for life. But by this time, it was not uncommon for a high priest to be removed from the office and replaced by another, another person appointed, another man.
Well, the Romans, in fact, did this very often. They used it like a political office, and if they felt that one man was becoming too powerful, a little bit too dangerous, they would remove him and they would replace him by another man, replace into that office. In fact, when you read here in the New Testament of the chief priests, these chief priests, when you come across that in reading the scripture, they were former high priests that were simply removed and replaced. Even though the Romans appointed Caiaphas, by the way, he was in this office longer than most, he was appointed in 18 AD and held the office until 36 AD. That's a long stretch, considering the circumstances.
Now we'll talk about that more in a moment. And I think it speaks to the fact that he was a cunning man. He was devious and he knew the art of survival. But it seems that Annas may have been serving as the president of the Sanhedrin, because even in John's Gospel you see that Annas seems to have a lead role at that time. Annas also was a vile high priest that preceded him, and he was still living, and actually you can really say that he was really the power behind the throne, as it were.
He appears in the Gospels. Annas had five sons who were high priests and also had a son-in-law who was a high priest, and that was this man Caiaphas. He was the son-in-law of Annas. Look over, in fact, to John chapter 18 for a moment. Look at what it says in verse 12. And this is, keep in mind, this is just after the Lord Jesus is arrested. In verse 12 we read, "So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him," – now watch this, – "and led Him to Annas first." They led Him to Annas first, for He was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.
So Jesus is led to Annas first. Now look down at verse 24. "So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest." So He's taken first to Annas, and then when you go to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 4, this is after, of course, the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 4, turn there for a moment. This is the early stages of the church, and Peter and John brought before the Sanhedrin, the council, in Acts chapter 4, look at verse 1. "Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand”.
Verse 5. "Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem." Now notice, "and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high priestly descent. And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" And on the account goes. But you will notice here, Annas is mentioned first. And that tells you something about his prominence, his influence, and his power. So again, he retains a measure of power, even though he's not the high priest that year, but nonetheless, Caiaphas is the one who held that office that year, John tells us, that year, particularly John 11:49.
When he says that year, that is the year of our Lord's passion, the year of our Lord's death. So he's in this position of leadership, he's the high priest, he was a cunning man, he was a ruthless man, and he was a hypocrite as well. Go over to Matthew 26, and you get some insight into this man, Caiaphas, insight into his character, what he was like. Matthew 26 sheds light on his character. Verse 57, "Now those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death."
Now, just stop for a second and let that sink in. Let that sink in. What are they seeking? False testimony! They're actually seeking false testimony against Jesus. They're seeking anything they can find in order that they may put Him to death. But they found none. So they're seeking false testimony.
Verse 60, "And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two of them came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the sanctuary of God and to rebuild it in three days.” And the high priest said to Him, “Do you not answer? What are these men testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his garments and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy, what do you think?" They answered and said, "He deserves death." Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, O Christ; who is the one who hit You?"
Now, realize a couple of things. First of all, the death sentence against Jesus was pronounced when? In John 11. Now keep that in mind. The council gathered together and Caiaphas, as we're going to see in a moment, and what did they say? Well, this man has to die. He has to die. And they begin to make plans to put Jesus to death. So you have these trials. These trials they go through were what? Mockery. They were a mockery. They weren't real in any way. They weren't genuine. They weren't legitimate. The verdict was already predetermined. So that's hypocrisy.
In addition to that, they're seeking false testimony against Jesus. They don't care whether or not they're true. It doesn't matter. They just want something so that they can put on Him so that they can actually justify their decision that they already made to kill Him. And so that's hypocrisy, which means they're wanting to hear something. They're wanting to hear something that would lead to the death of Jesus. And yet this man, this high priest, when he finally hears something that he thinks gives him a reason to give death to Jesus, when he finally hears it, he acts like he's troubled by it. Can you believe it? I mean, look at the hypocrisy. He tears his robes and he says, Oh, we've heard blasphemy. As if he can't stand to hear it. When what he's hearing is the exact thing he wanted to hear and seeking to hear, that's what? Hypocrisy. Ugly, sickening hypocrisy.
This man, the way that he survived with Rome as long as he did, that tells you how. He's a liar. He's a hypocrite. He's a killer. He's ruthless. And you're going to see that in just a moment in his words. So he's a wicked, wicked man.
Back to John 11. This is the man we're about to listen to, Caiaphas. Now, what does he say? Well, we read a moment ago, but let's go back to it again. First of all, after listening to the going back and forth in the council, verse 49, “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all." Now, as we're going to see in a moment, part of what he says, I need to maintain the two hand in hand. Part of what he says, he's responsible for 100%. Part of what he says, the part that is prophecy, the part that is really the proclamation of the gospel, God is responsible for.
So let's pay attention to what he's responsible for. The first thing you notice concerning his words, you notice these are proud words. They're proud words coming out of Caiaphas' mouth. "You know nothing at all." This is how he begins his speech. "You know nothing at all." Basically, he's saying, you all can just shut your mouth. "You know nothing at all, because you don't know anything. You're ignorant. You're absolutely ignorant." That's what he's saying. If you're done expressing your mind, you can all now just be quiet, because I have here what we need to clear this whole mess up. I have the answer. I have the answer.
Kent Hughes paraphrases Caiaphas this way, roughly translated, he was saying, "you fools, if you had any intelligence at all, you would see that the answer is very simple. It is better that one die rather than a whole nation. He was a cold, calculating, capable, self-sufficient, shrewd, self-satisfied, ecclesiastical climber.” Proud man.
And by the way, this isn't out of the ordinary. This is how the Sadducees dealt with one another. Josephus, a Jewish historian, talked about the behavior of the Sadducees. Now, you have to bear in mind, Josephus was a Pharisee, so maybe it colored his view a little bit, but here's what he writes in The Wars of the Jews, "the behavior of the Sadducees, one toward another, is in some degree wild, and their conduct with those who have their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. So they treat each other roughly and rudely, and you see this come out in this man's character, you know nothing at all.” Proud words.
But you know it doesn't stop with pride. They're also hypocritical words. They're hypocritical words. Verse 50, "nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." That is, he puts forward his death plan in the name of what? The greater good. He puts it forward in the name of the nation. He pretends to be a patriot. He says, in fact, you know what? It doesn't matter if a man is innocent or not. It doesn't matter if we have anything real to charge him with or not. It doesn't matter whether he's performed powerful signs or not. Don't you understand? Apparently he felt like they were being somewhat hesitant about what needs to be done. Don't you understand? It is better that one man dies, no matter how innocent he may be, than for the whole nation to perish.
So he puts forward his argument this way. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. And he doesn't present any other option. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. Now, nothing from a natural point of view could have been further from the truth. There was another option. There was another option. There was a third option. You know what that is? They could repent. They could repent. They could acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, trust God to take care of them when it came to the Romans. But that wasn't on the table. No. That wasn't about patriotism either, no matter what he says, and you know that as you understand this man's character, you get to see that this was purely selfish. This was about position. This was about position. This was a personal position which they felt was being threatened.
In fact, the discussion prior to what he says captures really what's in all of their hearts. “the Romans," – verse 48, – "will come and take away both our place and our nation." We may lose our influence. We may lose our place, our position. And so when he puts it in these terms, what he's doing is he's putting the face of nobility on what was just purely wicked. And not only does he try to make himself look better in the way he puts it, but you can see how this would be attractive to the rest who want to do the very thing that he's saying, but they also want to believe that somehow they are religious and they are God-honoring. And so they accept these words.
This puts on a good front for them too. Easy on their ears. Yeah, that's right. We're patriots. This is the point. This is the right thing to do for the nation. This is the right thing for our people, even though it's not the nation or the people in their hearts, but rather it's purely themselves.
Don't people do this today, beloved? Don't they do this today? Don't they reject Jesus with the most hypocritical lying words? They say, well, here's the reason why I'm not a Christian. Here's the reason why I reject the gospel. Here's the reason why I don't believe. And no matter what they're saying, it's not really the case. The fact is they have their little kingdom and they don't want it to be disrupted. They don't want it to be disrupted because they love their darling sin and they don't want to let it go. And they would rather hold on to their sin and lose their soul than to let go of their darling sin and have life. Things haven't changed. This is just sinful humanity. This is the wickedness of man. And this is what you see here on display. So they're proud words. They're hypocritical words.
They're also ignorant and self-destructive words. Ignorant and self-destructive words. Do you not understand? "It is better for you that one man should die for the people” not that the whole nation should perish. You see, if we get rid of Him, we won't have trouble with the Romans, with the Romans. All will be fine. If we get rid of Him, the nation won't perish.
John wrote this. God gave this to the apostle John. He wrote this after the destruction of Jerusalem. So He records this. The Holy Spirit has recorded this, and this is the height of irony. I mean, He chose the foolishness of this council that they thought that they would preserve themselves by putting Jesus, the King of Glory, to death, and yet the truth is they lost their place and they lost their nation, their freedom that they were enjoying. They lost all of that in 70 AD. The Romans seized Jerusalem. The temple was destroyed. They lost their place after they crucified the Son of God.
They were ignorant words. They weren't true from the point of view that Caiaphas spoke. He was wrong, dead wrong. How proud Caiaphas is, but how foolish. How certain he is, but how wrong. How strong he imagines himself to be, and yet he doesn'tnknow that even as he's speaking out these strong, arrogant words, "You all know nothing”. Listen to me even as he speaks like this, he doesn't know. He doesn't know it, but is being held as if by a thread in the hand of the sovereign God. As Jonathan Edwards presented the picture, “if God just lets go, he falls into hell, and yet he feels so strong and so confident.”
How influential Caiaphas is. Man, he's influential. I mean, people listen to him, but it's the blind leading the blind, and they both fall where? Into the ditch. And there are people today who reject the gospel, and how proud they are as they reject the gospel, and how certain they are that they are right, and how strong they imagine themselves to be, and how influential they are with others around them. And sometimes they're very bright people, and they have great training, and so they're intimidating if you're actually debating them or talking to them, and they are great at debating, and you would think they win the argument, they win the day, and they don't know. They don't know. But though they win an argument in their minds at least, they don't know they're going to lose their soul forever.
This is what this man is responsible for. These wicked, proud, hypocritical, ignorant, self-destructive words. But, there's a wonderful but. But in the midst of these wicked words coming from this wicked man and from his wicked heart, there was something God was doing. What a powerful God we have! They were pregnant words. Pregnant with meaning that Caiaphas himself was completely unaware of.
Do you notice how the Holy Spirit says it to us in verse 51? This is John's commentary on it under the superintending power of the Holy Spirit. "Now he did not say this from himself." See that? What does that mean, he did not say this from himself? Did he want to say what he said? Yes. Yes, he wanted to. That's not what he means. That somehow Caiaphas didn't want to utter the words that he uttered. No, no. Caiaphas is reasoning, he's thinking, speaking out of his own heart. But God guided him in such a way that the word that he chose expressed truth that he wasn't aware of. What he said had a wicked meaning from his vantage point, but what he said revealed truth from Heaven's vantage point.
Someone as well said, We not only have the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we have the gospels of Christ's enemies. Because on more than one occasion you see where the enemies of Christ expressed profound truth that they weren't aware of. They were saying what they meant, they just didn't understand the full meaning of what they were saying. And this is, this is our amazing God. And this is one of the ways that God glorifies Himself, isn't it? This is one of the ways that God shows His mightiness, His wisdom, His sovereignty, His power.
There is a throne room in Heaven. And there is a throne in Heaven. And that throne is not vacant in Heaven. There's one who is seated on that throne. And He is sovereign. And He's unfolding the circumstances and decisions and details with precision towards an end in view, His goal. This is one of the ways that God demonstrates mankind's absolute need for God, and for the Savior, and for reconciliation. Because He demonstrates how foolish we are, and how in control, how sovereign He is. God will so glorify His Son that even the enemies of Christ will be used by God to unwittingly pay tribute to His Son.
Even when they don't wish to glorify the Son, they do. They do. In Matthew 27, just give you an example of this. Matthew 27. Look with me there. Verse 41. Matthew 27:41, “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders,” – now as our Lord is hanging on the cross, this is unfolding, –”the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel. Let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him."
Did you hear what they said? He saved others! I mean they're saying it in a mocking way, but indeed He did. Indeed He had. As they mock Him, they acknowledge the truth about Him. He saved others. And even as He's hanging on Calvary's cross, what is He doing on the cross? He's saving others. He's saving others. What a glorious thing to cast in, in someone's direction. He saved others. Yes He did!
And in chapter 19, look over there for a moment of John. You see another example of His enemies unwittingly giving Him praise. John 19:16, “So He then delivered Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’, but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
And so for there for all the world to see, three languages. What did it say on the cross? The King of the Jews. Indeed He is. And Pilate was used by God to pay this tribute to Him. Back to John 11. The Bible says now, verse 51, “Now He did not say this from himself.” That is, the Lord was at work. The Lord was at work overruling in such a way that though He was expressing His wickedness, yet He was paying tribute to the gospel. What an awesome God we have.
It ought to settle your heart, even with all that is currently transpiring in the Middle East, to settle your heart, God is in control. God is sovereign. The Lord is at work. Notice what else it says. “Now he did not say this from himself”. – verse 51, – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.” That is, even though this man was unsaved, God used the office to declare His truth concerning His Son. This man is the high priest. So God used the man in that office to give forth this word of prophecy. Here's a man who doesn't know God, but is being used by God, nevertheless. He's a man who doesn't deserve to be in the office that God ordained, yet God is using the office.
What Pastor MacArthur writes here is really helpful. He explains that Caiaphas, "did not say this on his own initiative. It does not mean that he was forced to act against his will. He was no puppet. He was responsible for his own wicked words, but God providentially invested those words with a meaning that he did not intend. In his capacity as high priest, and hence technically by office, God's spokesman, God ordained an opposite meaning when Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation. He spoke cynical words of political expediency, claiming that Jesus must die to preserve the Sanhedrin's power and the nation's existence. However, Caiaphas unwittingly spoke prophetically of Christ's sacrificial death," – and I love this last part, – "God sovereignly turned his wicked blasphemous words into truth,"
Caiaphas thought he was saying, listen, we've got to sacrifice this one man, Jesus, in order that we all not go under and lose our privileges. That's what he thought, but he was unconsciously summarizing the gospel. One man should die for the people, that the whole nation should not perish. He was unconsciously telling us things that the scriptures tell us with a different sense.
You know there are people who prophesy in the name of the Lord, and who make true prophecies even though they themselves may not believe them. The Lord Jesus speaks about those who prophesy in His name. He will say to them, "I never knew you," Matthew 7, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
That raises a question at this point for us, by way of implication. How do you want to be used? How do you want to be used? Do we realize that ultimately, when it's all said and done, every human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God? Do you understand that? Let that sink in. Every single human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God. Every human being, one day, those who are in hell will be used by God to demonstrate the justice of God, the righteous wrath of God, the holiness of God. We're all going to be used to tell the truth about God. The question is, how do you want to be used?
I thought about this as a servant of Christ, and what a miserable thing it would be to be used by God, to see others come to faith in Christ, and be someone who himself did not know Christ. Wouldn't it be horrible to preach to others and to see others saved and to see others brought into the joy of knowing Christ, others brought into the family, the kingdom of Christ, and yet you yourself not know Him? What a horrible thing.
You, no doubt, have shared the gospel with someone. Those of you who claim to know Christ, you share the gospel, but the question is, have you experienced the gospel? Many years ago, I had someone who asked if they could bring their friend to meet with me so that they could share the gospel with them, and I remember sitting in that coffee shop and sharing the gospel with that individual, that friend, that day. And that friend walked away, but guess what? The person who brought the friend came to saving faith, having heard the gospel.
Have you experienced the gospel? You told someone else about Christ, but do you know Christ? How do you want to be used? I want to be used while loving Him. I want to be used while belonging to Him. I want to be used in a way where I'm willing with my whole heart to serve Him, and I hope that's what you would want, too, as well. Listen, I'd much rather not be a servant of Christ and be a Christian than to be a servant of Christ and not be a Christian. I want to declare the truth of the one whom I love, I know, I serve.
And here's a man, he's in an office, and he's being used, but he doesn't even know God. And what does he say? He tells us why Christ would die. This is the prophecy. Look at it. Verse 51: "Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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." Why was Jesus going to die? He was going to die so that others would not perish. He was going to die not only for the children of God who belong to the nation of Israel, but for the children of God who did not belong to the nation of Israel, those scattered abroad, talking about Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles.
It was fitting the call to worship portion from scripture. Back in chapter 10:16, remember the Lord Jesus said, "I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice: and they will become one flock with one shepherd." That's included too. The Lord Jesus shall die and also as a result of His death, the children of God who are scattered abroad now shall be gathered together into the family of God. So He's dying for those within Israel. He's dying for those children of God outside of Israel and He's going to die a vicarious death and that is found in this prophecy as well.
That is for the people. That little word for the people. The people. This is what Caiaphas said. Do you not understand? It's better for you that one man die for the people in their place, in their stead. It's how Jesus died. That's why Jesus died. In our place. In our stead. It was a substitutionary death.
I love what S. Lewis Johnson said at this point. He writes, "Well that one man should die for the people, the whole nation should perish not, is to summarize, Caiaphas preaches elimination, but God preaches substitution.” – I love that. He says, “we will eliminate Him in order that we may have our privileges. God says, Yes, the language is the same, but the real meaning is He dies as a substitute. Caiaphas says, Substitute Jesus in order that the nation may live. God says, Substitute Jesus as the sacrifice that men who believe in Him may justly have eternal life because the Lord Jesus pays the penalty for their sins,"
That's what we celebrate today, beloved. Jesus died so that you and I wouldn't. Not only He was going to die a vicarious death, but He was going to die a particular death, a particular death for the children of God. Did you notice how that's put? Who's He dying for? For the children of God who are scattered abroad. They are not yet children of God, and yet in the heart of God they are destined for salvation. And in that sense they are children of God. Same sense in which Jesus said, "I have other sheep, not others fold, and I must bring them also, and they're going to be one fold with one shepherd." Same meaning. Not yet a believer, not yet in the family, yet in the heart and the mind of Almighty God. It has already been planned, settled, and Christ is dying for those who will be saved.
This is particular redemption. This is definite atonement. This is actual atonement. It's not really us who have the limited atonement. It is really the Armenian who has the limited atonement, because we say all those for whom Christ died will certainly absolutely be saved. No limitation in its power, no limitation in its efficacy, no limitation in its saving ability. Those for whom Christ died will be in heaven. Period. Paragraph.
Others would have us believe that Christ died in a general sort of death just hoping that someone would take advantage of it, and so you have millions and millions of souls for whom Christ died according to them, yet they're going to be in hell one day. As Spurgeon once said,"Well they can have their atonement. I don't want any part of it. I believe that the death of Jesus secured the salvation of all those for whom He died. Period."
Isaiah 53:8. You see the scripture, plethora of scripture. Verse 8: "By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And asked for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?" In Matthew 1:21, "she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 20:28, "just as a Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” For many. John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life” – for who? – “for the sheep."
Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her." The church. Titus 2:14, "who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works." He gave His life for us, for the church, for those who know Him. He gave His life so that He might purify for Himself a people for His own possession.
And of course Hebrews 2:10: "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of On; for which reason He is not ashamed." – Now watch this. – "to call them brothers saying, I will recount Your name to My brothers in the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise. And again” – verse 13, – "I will put My trust in Him. And again" and I love this, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." Christ is declaring, "I and the children whom God has given Me." For His brothers, for the children of God, for those that He brought to glory. He brings many sons to glory and He appears before the Father and He says, "Behold I and the children whom God has given Me." He dies for them. He saves them by His own death. He redeems them. He purchases them. He sets them free.
Caiaphas didn't know what he was saying but that's what he said. “Now he did not say this from himself,” – verse 51 in John 11 – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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.”
And then God's word says, verse 53, John 11: "So from that day on they planned together to kill Him." And as we read further, we see that the word was put out: If you know where He is, you gotta let us know. We're gonna arrest Him. You gotta tell us. And Jesus retreated until He would make His entry into Jerusalem.
And He retreats because He would give Himself voluntarily at the time appointed by the Father, which leads us now to the aftermath. Back to John 11. The aftermath. Verses 53 to 57. Now the Sanhedrin makes active plans to catch and kill Jesus. In fact, Matthew 26:4 puts it this way: "and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him." You know what I find really amazing? Think about this. A resurrected Lazarus led to a crucified Jesus. Stunning.
Jesus then made sure that He was not walking in plain sight. He takes refuge in a nearby city, Ephraim. But here's the problem. It's Passover again. It's Passover again. And by the way, this is the third Passover in the Gospel of John. Remember the first? He cleansed the temple in chapter 2. The second, He feeds 5,000, chapter 6. And this is the third Passover. This is why we know Jesus' ministry was at least three years.
Passover requires men to come up to Jerusalem, you remember. So what's Jesus going to do? And you got all this speculation. Speculation is rife and is He going to come up? Will He avoid it? He has to come to obey the law of Moses. But if He does come, He's walking into a trap. Verse 57 puts it plainly: "Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him."
But you know what? We've seen this before, right? You remember? It wouldn't happen a moment before God sovereignly or God's sovereignty decreed it. Not even one moment. When it was the exact moment, the right time, God used the stubborn unbelief of the Sanhedrin to put Jesus on the cross.
And that's why in Acts chapter 2, Peter looks at the people in Jerusalem who had consented to the crucifixion of Jesus and he says this to them in Acts 2 verse 22 and 23: "just as you yourselves know– this Man, delivered over” – now watch the language – “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death." Sovereignty and unbelief.
And here as we see their plot, we see that the ways that sinful nature, wicked sinful nature, tries to sustain its unbelief. The Sanhedrin have decided Jesus is a threat regardless of whether He's the Messiah. So they set up a system to eliminate Him, to make sure they get rid of Him. Stubborn unbelief finds a way to maintain its unbelief.
Maybe you're sitting here this morning and you think, well, those were terrible, terrible people, weren't they? Well, let me tell you, they were terrible people, but let me tell you something. It's not something in the past, beloved. It's not something in the past. Think about the human heart. It does the same thing today. It does.
Remember Romans 1:18? It says people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”. Now think about that. They actually actively suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That's the language of what? Censorship. Censorship. People make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy them again. Remember too much light in the eye?
So what do we do? Want to make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy us again, they think. So what do they do? We create ways of life that pretend God is not there. That we're not sinners. That Jesus really never came. Large-scale systems that include our educational systems from preschool up to university to adult education, our whole entertainment industry, our media, our journalism, much of our law today is going in this direction. Our political systems, our scientific establishments, they sustain unbelief and they eliminate God. They make sure: don't mention God, don't refer to Him, don't pray to Him, don't expect Him, don't worship Him.
Why? Because we despise, we attack, and we want to maintain our independence, our autonomy. It's that self-interest that aggravates unbelief, and we will not have this man to reign over us, and we will not let Him take our place. And if you live in that system from the earliest age, that God does seem unreal, far away, mythical, harmless, but beloved, this unbelief is not something that God is unable to deal with. It's not some separate story that God is not writing. It's part of His story. Oh, it is, it is part of His story.
Every story needs protagonists and antagonists, good and bad, and antagonists, good guys, bad guys, heroes, villains. And so if you choose to continue down that path of unbelief, you become by your own stubborn choice the official opposition. To who? How absurd for a puny, tiny creature of the dust to oppose Almighty God.
Remember Psalm 2? Turn with me there as we conclude. We'll wrap up with this. Psalm 2, the very first verse is talking about this ridiculous posture of unbelief. "Why do the nation's rage and the people's meditate on a vain thing?" It's a vain, it's a vain and empty thing. Really, it's a vain, empty thing to oppose God. It says, "The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together” – just like the Sanhedrin, right? – “Against Yahweh and against His anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" We don't want them to rule over us. We don't want them to rule us. They plot, they scheme the self-interest of men.
But here, the next, next verses in Psalm 2, here comes the sovereignty of God, the absolute sovereignty of God that accomplishes His will, no matter what. "He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord mocks them. Then He speaks to them in His anger, And terrifies them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." – I am doing what I want. And no one can stop it. God will triumph. And He says this to His son, in spite of all this plotting, He says to the Messiah, verse 8, "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter's vessel."
So with all of that ridiculous unbelief and opposition, and with that sovereignty of God on display, what does the psalmist advise us? Look at verse 10. "So now, O kings, show insight; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He becomes angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him." In other words, believe in Him while you have opportunity, before it's too late. Give Him His place. Let Him take your place.
Don't fear that when He takes His place as Lord over your life, that it will be a bad thing or a negative thing, because we read in scripture His yoke is what? It's easy. And His burden is light. It will only, listen, it will only remove from your heart that which should have never been there in the first place. A corrupt nature usurping God's place, saying we will not have Him to reign over us. Unbelievable unbelief, driven by selfish stubbornness. But there is a staggering sovereignty offering you today life and peace.
A.W. Tozer said it well when he said this, "unbelief will destroy the best of us, but faith will save the worst of us."
I want to finish this morning by asking you this, did Jesus die for you? Did He die for you? This is one of the real problems that people have with the idea of particular redemption, redemption or actual atonement. They say well we can't go to the world and proclaim Christ's death if He didn't die for everyone, but you know what's interesting is that when you see the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament, you don't find the Apostles and the disciples preaching Jesus died for you. You just find them preaching Christ died for sinners and He was raised from the dead and if you will repent of your sins and trust in Christ, you will be saved.
So here's the answer to the question of did Christ die for you? Here's the answer, do you want Him? Do you want Him? Are you willing to repent of your sins and run to Him in faith and trust in Him as your Lord and your Savior, giving Him your life? And if that is your desire, I've got news, good news for you, He died for you. He died for you. But if you don't want Him, why do you care? Why do you care? Why do you complain? If you don't want Him anyway, what, what does it matter? You don't have any great interest in His death anyway.
Anyone who wants Christ genuinely, wants the Lord Jesus, know this, you will not be refused. That's the good news of the gospel. That's the gospel that we proclaim. Whosoever will may come. And once you've come, you will realize He loved you before you were ever born and He gave Himself to save you from your sins. That's good news. So come to Him. Delay no more. This is the day of opportunity. His arms are wide open. Resist no more. Postpone no more. Rationalize no more. Give yourself to Him. Repent and turn to Him and be saved. And He will receive you. And He will forgive your sins. And He will embrace you as one of His own. And He will make you part of His family.
As the saying goes, don't confuse me with the facts. I don't want more truth. More truth, more facts might persuade me to change my mind. I don't want it. So bigotry closes and shrinks away from more light, shrinks away from more truth, so as to obstinately hold on to its views and not let go.
That's exactly what we see in our text with the leaders of first century Judaism. The Sanhedrin, you remember last time, believed that they had a problem. They were annoyed. We looked at the annoyance. They were annoyed with Jesus and what was taking place. So they thought they had a problem on their hands because from their vantage point, this man, this Nazarene was winning the day.
I mean His miracles, His signs that He was performing, I mean they were so powerful, so convincing. They could not be disputed. Many were believing in Him and so the fear was that the whole nation would believe in Him. And as a result, life as they knew it under Rome would be lost forever. This is what they were talking about in the council, the Sanhedrin. This is what they were discussing. What are we going to do? What are we doing? Verse 47: "For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
Well, there was a man present in their midst, in that council, the Sanhedrin, who believed that he had the answer. So we move from the annoyance to the answer. And that man was the high priest that year. His name was Caiaphas. And though he was thoroughly wicked, we're going to see today that he was unwittingly used as a mouthpiece by God to proclaim the truth of God, the truth concerning the gospel. This is really incredible.
Let's look at verse 49. Let's learn something about this man, this priest, this high priest. "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation not perish.' Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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."
Now you will notice verse 49 begins this way, one of them, “But one of them, Caiaphas”. One of them. Now that seems to be a strange way to refer to the high priest, also known as the great priest. Just one of them. I think the explanation may be that even though he was the high priest that year, there was another man. There was another man, his father-in-law, a man by the name of Annas, who was still really holding sway, still held a lot of influence in this council.
And by the way, the word high priest, that title high priest, ‘archiereus’, is a compound word. ‘Archi’, first in a series, the leader or ruler, the idea of rank, degree, and then ‘ereus’ refers to priest, refers to the priest that was chief over all the other priests in Israel. Now what is interesting is originally according to Numbers 35, you will see that it seems to be that the high priest was to serve for life. But by this time, it was not uncommon for a high priest to be removed from the office and replaced by another, another person appointed, another man.
Well, the Romans, in fact, did this very often. They used it like a political office, and if they felt that one man was becoming too powerful, a little bit too dangerous, they would remove him and they would replace him by another man, replace into that office. In fact, when you read here in the New Testament of the chief priests, these chief priests, when you come across that in reading the scripture, they were former high priests that were simply removed and replaced. Even though the Romans appointed Caiaphas, by the way, he was in this office longer than most, he was appointed in 18 AD and held the office until 36 AD. That's a long stretch, considering the circumstances.
Now we'll talk about that more in a moment. And I think it speaks to the fact that he was a cunning man. He was devious and he knew the art of survival. But it seems that Annas may have been serving as the president of the Sanhedrin, because even in John's Gospel you see that Annas seems to have a lead role at that time. Annas also was a vile high priest that preceded him, and he was still living, and actually you can really say that he was really the power behind the throne, as it were.
He appears in the Gospels. Annas had five sons who were high priests and also had a son-in-law who was a high priest, and that was this man Caiaphas. He was the son-in-law of Annas. Look over, in fact, to John chapter 18 for a moment. Look at what it says in verse 12. And this is, keep in mind, this is just after the Lord Jesus is arrested. In verse 12 we read, "So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him," – now watch this, – "and led Him to Annas first." They led Him to Annas first, for He was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.
So Jesus is led to Annas first. Now look down at verse 24. "So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest." So He's taken first to Annas, and then when you go to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 4, this is after, of course, the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 4, turn there for a moment. This is the early stages of the church, and Peter and John brought before the Sanhedrin, the council, in Acts chapter 4, look at verse 1. "Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand”.
Verse 5. "Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem." Now notice, "and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high priestly descent. And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" And on the account goes. But you will notice here, Annas is mentioned first. And that tells you something about his prominence, his influence, and his power. So again, he retains a measure of power, even though he's not the high priest that year, but nonetheless, Caiaphas is the one who held that office that year, John tells us, that year, particularly John 11:49.
When he says that year, that is the year of our Lord's passion, the year of our Lord's death. So he's in this position of leadership, he's the high priest, he was a cunning man, he was a ruthless man, and he was a hypocrite as well. Go over to Matthew 26, and you get some insight into this man, Caiaphas, insight into his character, what he was like. Matthew 26 sheds light on his character. Verse 57, "Now those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death."
Now, just stop for a second and let that sink in. Let that sink in. What are they seeking? False testimony! They're actually seeking false testimony against Jesus. They're seeking anything they can find in order that they may put Him to death. But they found none. So they're seeking false testimony.
Verse 60, "And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two of them came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the sanctuary of God and to rebuild it in three days.” And the high priest said to Him, “Do you not answer? What are these men testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his garments and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy, what do you think?" They answered and said, "He deserves death." Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, O Christ; who is the one who hit You?"
Now, realize a couple of things. First of all, the death sentence against Jesus was pronounced when? In John 11. Now keep that in mind. The council gathered together and Caiaphas, as we're going to see in a moment, and what did they say? Well, this man has to die. He has to die. And they begin to make plans to put Jesus to death. So you have these trials. These trials they go through were what? Mockery. They were a mockery. They weren't real in any way. They weren't genuine. They weren't legitimate. The verdict was already predetermined. So that's hypocrisy.
In addition to that, they're seeking false testimony against Jesus. They don't care whether or not they're true. It doesn't matter. They just want something so that they can put on Him so that they can actually justify their decision that they already made to kill Him. And so that's hypocrisy, which means they're wanting to hear something. They're wanting to hear something that would lead to the death of Jesus. And yet this man, this high priest, when he finally hears something that he thinks gives him a reason to give death to Jesus, when he finally hears it, he acts like he's troubled by it. Can you believe it? I mean, look at the hypocrisy. He tears his robes and he says, Oh, we've heard blasphemy. As if he can't stand to hear it. When what he's hearing is the exact thing he wanted to hear and seeking to hear, that's what? Hypocrisy. Ugly, sickening hypocrisy.
This man, the way that he survived with Rome as long as he did, that tells you how. He's a liar. He's a hypocrite. He's a killer. He's ruthless. And you're going to see that in just a moment in his words. So he's a wicked, wicked man.
Back to John 11. This is the man we're about to listen to, Caiaphas. Now, what does he say? Well, we read a moment ago, but let's go back to it again. First of all, after listening to the going back and forth in the council, verse 49, “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all." Now, as we're going to see in a moment, part of what he says, I need to maintain the two hand in hand. Part of what he says, he's responsible for 100%. Part of what he says, the part that is prophecy, the part that is really the proclamation of the gospel, God is responsible for.
So let's pay attention to what he's responsible for. The first thing you notice concerning his words, you notice these are proud words. They're proud words coming out of Caiaphas' mouth. "You know nothing at all." This is how he begins his speech. "You know nothing at all." Basically, he's saying, you all can just shut your mouth. "You know nothing at all, because you don't know anything. You're ignorant. You're absolutely ignorant." That's what he's saying. If you're done expressing your mind, you can all now just be quiet, because I have here what we need to clear this whole mess up. I have the answer. I have the answer.
Kent Hughes paraphrases Caiaphas this way, roughly translated, he was saying, "you fools, if you had any intelligence at all, you would see that the answer is very simple. It is better that one die rather than a whole nation. He was a cold, calculating, capable, self-sufficient, shrewd, self-satisfied, ecclesiastical climber.” Proud man.
And by the way, this isn't out of the ordinary. This is how the Sadducees dealt with one another. Josephus, a Jewish historian, talked about the behavior of the Sadducees. Now, you have to bear in mind, Josephus was a Pharisee, so maybe it colored his view a little bit, but here's what he writes in The Wars of the Jews, "the behavior of the Sadducees, one toward another, is in some degree wild, and their conduct with those who have their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. So they treat each other roughly and rudely, and you see this come out in this man's character, you know nothing at all.” Proud words.
But you know it doesn't stop with pride. They're also hypocritical words. They're hypocritical words. Verse 50, "nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." That is, he puts forward his death plan in the name of what? The greater good. He puts it forward in the name of the nation. He pretends to be a patriot. He says, in fact, you know what? It doesn't matter if a man is innocent or not. It doesn't matter if we have anything real to charge him with or not. It doesn't matter whether he's performed powerful signs or not. Don't you understand? Apparently he felt like they were being somewhat hesitant about what needs to be done. Don't you understand? It is better that one man dies, no matter how innocent he may be, than for the whole nation to perish.
So he puts forward his argument this way. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. And he doesn't present any other option. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. Now, nothing from a natural point of view could have been further from the truth. There was another option. There was another option. There was a third option. You know what that is? They could repent. They could repent. They could acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, trust God to take care of them when it came to the Romans. But that wasn't on the table. No. That wasn't about patriotism either, no matter what he says, and you know that as you understand this man's character, you get to see that this was purely selfish. This was about position. This was about position. This was a personal position which they felt was being threatened.
In fact, the discussion prior to what he says captures really what's in all of their hearts. “the Romans," – verse 48, – "will come and take away both our place and our nation." We may lose our influence. We may lose our place, our position. And so when he puts it in these terms, what he's doing is he's putting the face of nobility on what was just purely wicked. And not only does he try to make himself look better in the way he puts it, but you can see how this would be attractive to the rest who want to do the very thing that he's saying, but they also want to believe that somehow they are religious and they are God-honoring. And so they accept these words.
This puts on a good front for them too. Easy on their ears. Yeah, that's right. We're patriots. This is the point. This is the right thing to do for the nation. This is the right thing for our people, even though it's not the nation or the people in their hearts, but rather it's purely themselves.
Don't people do this today, beloved? Don't they do this today? Don't they reject Jesus with the most hypocritical lying words? They say, well, here's the reason why I'm not a Christian. Here's the reason why I reject the gospel. Here's the reason why I don't believe. And no matter what they're saying, it's not really the case. The fact is they have their little kingdom and they don't want it to be disrupted. They don't want it to be disrupted because they love their darling sin and they don't want to let it go. And they would rather hold on to their sin and lose their soul than to let go of their darling sin and have life. Things haven't changed. This is just sinful humanity. This is the wickedness of man. And this is what you see here on display. So they're proud words. They're hypocritical words.
They're also ignorant and self-destructive words. Ignorant and self-destructive words. Do you not understand? "It is better for you that one man should die for the people” not that the whole nation should perish. You see, if we get rid of Him, we won't have trouble with the Romans, with the Romans. All will be fine. If we get rid of Him, the nation won't perish.
John wrote this. God gave this to the apostle John. He wrote this after the destruction of Jerusalem. So He records this. The Holy Spirit has recorded this, and this is the height of irony. I mean, He chose the foolishness of this council that they thought that they would preserve themselves by putting Jesus, the King of Glory, to death, and yet the truth is they lost their place and they lost their nation, their freedom that they were enjoying. They lost all of that in 70 AD. The Romans seized Jerusalem. The temple was destroyed. They lost their place after they crucified the Son of God.
They were ignorant words. They weren't true from the point of view that Caiaphas spoke. He was wrong, dead wrong. How proud Caiaphas is, but how foolish. How certain he is, but how wrong. How strong he imagines himself to be, and yet he doesn'tnknow that even as he's speaking out these strong, arrogant words, "You all know nothing”. Listen to me even as he speaks like this, he doesn't know. He doesn't know it, but is being held as if by a thread in the hand of the sovereign God. As Jonathan Edwards presented the picture, “if God just lets go, he falls into hell, and yet he feels so strong and so confident.”
How influential Caiaphas is. Man, he's influential. I mean, people listen to him, but it's the blind leading the blind, and they both fall where? Into the ditch. And there are people today who reject the gospel, and how proud they are as they reject the gospel, and how certain they are that they are right, and how strong they imagine themselves to be, and how influential they are with others around them. And sometimes they're very bright people, and they have great training, and so they're intimidating if you're actually debating them or talking to them, and they are great at debating, and you would think they win the argument, they win the day, and they don't know. They don't know. But though they win an argument in their minds at least, they don't know they're going to lose their soul forever.
This is what this man is responsible for. These wicked, proud, hypocritical, ignorant, self-destructive words. But, there's a wonderful but. But in the midst of these wicked words coming from this wicked man and from his wicked heart, there was something God was doing. What a powerful God we have! They were pregnant words. Pregnant with meaning that Caiaphas himself was completely unaware of.
Do you notice how the Holy Spirit says it to us in verse 51? This is John's commentary on it under the superintending power of the Holy Spirit. "Now he did not say this from himself." See that? What does that mean, he did not say this from himself? Did he want to say what he said? Yes. Yes, he wanted to. That's not what he means. That somehow Caiaphas didn't want to utter the words that he uttered. No, no. Caiaphas is reasoning, he's thinking, speaking out of his own heart. But God guided him in such a way that the word that he chose expressed truth that he wasn't aware of. What he said had a wicked meaning from his vantage point, but what he said revealed truth from Heaven's vantage point.
Someone as well said, We not only have the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we have the gospels of Christ's enemies. Because on more than one occasion you see where the enemies of Christ expressed profound truth that they weren't aware of. They were saying what they meant, they just didn't understand the full meaning of what they were saying. And this is, this is our amazing God. And this is one of the ways that God glorifies Himself, isn't it? This is one of the ways that God shows His mightiness, His wisdom, His sovereignty, His power.
There is a throne room in Heaven. And there is a throne in Heaven. And that throne is not vacant in Heaven. There's one who is seated on that throne. And He is sovereign. And He's unfolding the circumstances and decisions and details with precision towards an end in view, His goal. This is one of the ways that God demonstrates mankind's absolute need for God, and for the Savior, and for reconciliation. Because He demonstrates how foolish we are, and how in control, how sovereign He is. God will so glorify His Son that even the enemies of Christ will be used by God to unwittingly pay tribute to His Son.
Even when they don't wish to glorify the Son, they do. They do. In Matthew 27, just give you an example of this. Matthew 27. Look with me there. Verse 41. Matthew 27:41, “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders,” – now as our Lord is hanging on the cross, this is unfolding, –”the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel. Let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him."
Did you hear what they said? He saved others! I mean they're saying it in a mocking way, but indeed He did. Indeed He had. As they mock Him, they acknowledge the truth about Him. He saved others. And even as He's hanging on Calvary's cross, what is He doing on the cross? He's saving others. He's saving others. What a glorious thing to cast in, in someone's direction. He saved others. Yes He did!
And in chapter 19, look over there for a moment of John. You see another example of His enemies unwittingly giving Him praise. John 19:16, “So He then delivered Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’, but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
And so for there for all the world to see, three languages. What did it say on the cross? The King of the Jews. Indeed He is. And Pilate was used by God to pay this tribute to Him. Back to John 11. The Bible says now, verse 51, “Now He did not say this from himself.” That is, the Lord was at work. The Lord was at work overruling in such a way that though He was expressing His wickedness, yet He was paying tribute to the gospel. What an awesome God we have.
It ought to settle your heart, even with all that is currently transpiring in the Middle East, to settle your heart, God is in control. God is sovereign. The Lord is at work. Notice what else it says. “Now he did not say this from himself”. – verse 51, – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.” That is, even though this man was unsaved, God used the office to declare His truth concerning His Son. This man is the high priest. So God used the man in that office to give forth this word of prophecy. Here's a man who doesn't know God, but is being used by God, nevertheless. He's a man who doesn't deserve to be in the office that God ordained, yet God is using the office.
What Pastor MacArthur writes here is really helpful. He explains that Caiaphas, "did not say this on his own initiative. It does not mean that he was forced to act against his will. He was no puppet. He was responsible for his own wicked words, but God providentially invested those words with a meaning that he did not intend. In his capacity as high priest, and hence technically by office, God's spokesman, God ordained an opposite meaning when Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation. He spoke cynical words of political expediency, claiming that Jesus must die to preserve the Sanhedrin's power and the nation's existence. However, Caiaphas unwittingly spoke prophetically of Christ's sacrificial death," – and I love this last part, – "God sovereignly turned his wicked blasphemous words into truth,"
Caiaphas thought he was saying, listen, we've got to sacrifice this one man, Jesus, in order that we all not go under and lose our privileges. That's what he thought, but he was unconsciously summarizing the gospel. One man should die for the people, that the whole nation should not perish. He was unconsciously telling us things that the scriptures tell us with a different sense.
You know there are people who prophesy in the name of the Lord, and who make true prophecies even though they themselves may not believe them. The Lord Jesus speaks about those who prophesy in His name. He will say to them, "I never knew you," Matthew 7, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
That raises a question at this point for us, by way of implication. How do you want to be used? How do you want to be used? Do we realize that ultimately, when it's all said and done, every human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God? Do you understand that? Let that sink in. Every single human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God. Every human being, one day, those who are in hell will be used by God to demonstrate the justice of God, the righteous wrath of God, the holiness of God. We're all going to be used to tell the truth about God. The question is, how do you want to be used?
I thought about this as a servant of Christ, and what a miserable thing it would be to be used by God, to see others come to faith in Christ, and be someone who himself did not know Christ. Wouldn't it be horrible to preach to others and to see others saved and to see others brought into the joy of knowing Christ, others brought into the family, the kingdom of Christ, and yet you yourself not know Him? What a horrible thing.
You, no doubt, have shared the gospel with someone. Those of you who claim to know Christ, you share the gospel, but the question is, have you experienced the gospel? Many years ago, I had someone who asked if they could bring their friend to meet with me so that they could share the gospel with them, and I remember sitting in that coffee shop and sharing the gospel with that individual, that friend, that day. And that friend walked away, but guess what? The person who brought the friend came to saving faith, having heard the gospel.
Have you experienced the gospel? You told someone else about Christ, but do you know Christ? How do you want to be used? I want to be used while loving Him. I want to be used while belonging to Him. I want to be used in a way where I'm willing with my whole heart to serve Him, and I hope that's what you would want, too, as well. Listen, I'd much rather not be a servant of Christ and be a Christian than to be a servant of Christ and not be a Christian. I want to declare the truth of the one whom I love, I know, I serve.
And here's a man, he's in an office, and he's being used, but he doesn't even know God. And what does he say? He tells us why Christ would die. This is the prophecy. Look at it. Verse 51: "Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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." Why was Jesus going to die? He was going to die so that others would not perish. He was going to die not only for the children of God who belong to the nation of Israel, but for the children of God who did not belong to the nation of Israel, those scattered abroad, talking about Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles.
It was fitting the call to worship portion from scripture. Back in chapter 10:16, remember the Lord Jesus said, "I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice: and they will become one flock with one shepherd." That's included too. The Lord Jesus shall die and also as a result of His death, the children of God who are scattered abroad now shall be gathered together into the family of God. So He's dying for those within Israel. He's dying for those children of God outside of Israel and He's going to die a vicarious death and that is found in this prophecy as well.
That is for the people. That little word for the people. The people. This is what Caiaphas said. Do you not understand? It's better for you that one man die for the people in their place, in their stead. It's how Jesus died. That's why Jesus died. In our place. In our stead. It was a substitutionary death.
I love what S. Lewis Johnson said at this point. He writes, "Well that one man should die for the people, the whole nation should perish not, is to summarize, Caiaphas preaches elimination, but God preaches substitution.” – I love that. He says, “we will eliminate Him in order that we may have our privileges. God says, Yes, the language is the same, but the real meaning is He dies as a substitute. Caiaphas says, Substitute Jesus in order that the nation may live. God says, Substitute Jesus as the sacrifice that men who believe in Him may justly have eternal life because the Lord Jesus pays the penalty for their sins,"
That's what we celebrate today, beloved. Jesus died so that you and I wouldn't. Not only He was going to die a vicarious death, but He was going to die a particular death, a particular death for the children of God. Did you notice how that's put? Who's He dying for? For the children of God who are scattered abroad. They are not yet children of God, and yet in the heart of God they are destined for salvation. And in that sense they are children of God. Same sense in which Jesus said, "I have other sheep, not others fold, and I must bring them also, and they're going to be one fold with one shepherd." Same meaning. Not yet a believer, not yet in the family, yet in the heart and the mind of Almighty God. It has already been planned, settled, and Christ is dying for those who will be saved.
This is particular redemption. This is definite atonement. This is actual atonement. It's not really us who have the limited atonement. It is really the Armenian who has the limited atonement, because we say all those for whom Christ died will certainly absolutely be saved. No limitation in its power, no limitation in its efficacy, no limitation in its saving ability. Those for whom Christ died will be in heaven. Period. Paragraph.
Others would have us believe that Christ died in a general sort of death just hoping that someone would take advantage of it, and so you have millions and millions of souls for whom Christ died according to them, yet they're going to be in hell one day. As Spurgeon once said,"Well they can have their atonement. I don't want any part of it. I believe that the death of Jesus secured the salvation of all those for whom He died. Period."
Isaiah 53:8. You see the scripture, plethora of scripture. Verse 8: "By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And asked for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?" In Matthew 1:21, "she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 20:28, "just as a Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” For many. John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life” – for who? – “for the sheep."
Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her." The church. Titus 2:14, "who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works." He gave His life for us, for the church, for those who know Him. He gave His life so that He might purify for Himself a people for His own possession.
And of course Hebrews 2:10: "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of On; for which reason He is not ashamed." – Now watch this. – "to call them brothers saying, I will recount Your name to My brothers in the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise. And again” – verse 13, – "I will put My trust in Him. And again" and I love this, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." Christ is declaring, "I and the children whom God has given Me." For His brothers, for the children of God, for those that He brought to glory. He brings many sons to glory and He appears before the Father and He says, "Behold I and the children whom God has given Me." He dies for them. He saves them by His own death. He redeems them. He purchases them. He sets them free.
Caiaphas didn't know what he was saying but that's what he said. “Now he did not say this from himself,” – verse 51 in John 11 – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 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.”
And then God's word says, verse 53, John 11: "So from that day on they planned together to kill Him." And as we read further, we see that the word was put out: If you know where He is, you gotta let us know. We're gonna arrest Him. You gotta tell us. And Jesus retreated until He would make His entry into Jerusalem.
And He retreats because He would give Himself voluntarily at the time appointed by the Father, which leads us now to the aftermath. Back to John 11. The aftermath. Verses 53 to 57. Now the Sanhedrin makes active plans to catch and kill Jesus. In fact, Matthew 26:4 puts it this way: "and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him." You know what I find really amazing? Think about this. A resurrected Lazarus led to a crucified Jesus. Stunning.
Jesus then made sure that He was not walking in plain sight. He takes refuge in a nearby city, Ephraim. But here's the problem. It's Passover again. It's Passover again. And by the way, this is the third Passover in the Gospel of John. Remember the first? He cleansed the temple in chapter 2. The second, He feeds 5,000, chapter 6. And this is the third Passover. This is why we know Jesus' ministry was at least three years.
Passover requires men to come up to Jerusalem, you remember. So what's Jesus going to do? And you got all this speculation. Speculation is rife and is He going to come up? Will He avoid it? He has to come to obey the law of Moses. But if He does come, He's walking into a trap. Verse 57 puts it plainly: "Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him."
But you know what? We've seen this before, right? You remember? It wouldn't happen a moment before God sovereignly or God's sovereignty decreed it. Not even one moment. When it was the exact moment, the right time, God used the stubborn unbelief of the Sanhedrin to put Jesus on the cross.
And that's why in Acts chapter 2, Peter looks at the people in Jerusalem who had consented to the crucifixion of Jesus and he says this to them in Acts 2 verse 22 and 23: "just as you yourselves know– this Man, delivered over” – now watch the language – “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death." Sovereignty and unbelief.
And here as we see their plot, we see that the ways that sinful nature, wicked sinful nature, tries to sustain its unbelief. The Sanhedrin have decided Jesus is a threat regardless of whether He's the Messiah. So they set up a system to eliminate Him, to make sure they get rid of Him. Stubborn unbelief finds a way to maintain its unbelief.
Maybe you're sitting here this morning and you think, well, those were terrible, terrible people, weren't they? Well, let me tell you, they were terrible people, but let me tell you something. It's not something in the past, beloved. It's not something in the past. Think about the human heart. It does the same thing today. It does.
Remember Romans 1:18? It says people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”. Now think about that. They actually actively suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That's the language of what? Censorship. Censorship. People make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy them again. Remember too much light in the eye?
So what do we do? Want to make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy us again, they think. So what do they do? We create ways of life that pretend God is not there. That we're not sinners. That Jesus really never came. Large-scale systems that include our educational systems from preschool up to university to adult education, our whole entertainment industry, our media, our journalism, much of our law today is going in this direction. Our political systems, our scientific establishments, they sustain unbelief and they eliminate God. They make sure: don't mention God, don't refer to Him, don't pray to Him, don't expect Him, don't worship Him.
Why? Because we despise, we attack, and we want to maintain our independence, our autonomy. It's that self-interest that aggravates unbelief, and we will not have this man to reign over us, and we will not let Him take our place. And if you live in that system from the earliest age, that God does seem unreal, far away, mythical, harmless, but beloved, this unbelief is not something that God is unable to deal with. It's not some separate story that God is not writing. It's part of His story. Oh, it is, it is part of His story.
Every story needs protagonists and antagonists, good and bad, and antagonists, good guys, bad guys, heroes, villains. And so if you choose to continue down that path of unbelief, you become by your own stubborn choice the official opposition. To who? How absurd for a puny, tiny creature of the dust to oppose Almighty God.
Remember Psalm 2? Turn with me there as we conclude. We'll wrap up with this. Psalm 2, the very first verse is talking about this ridiculous posture of unbelief. "Why do the nation's rage and the people's meditate on a vain thing?" It's a vain, it's a vain and empty thing. Really, it's a vain, empty thing to oppose God. It says, "The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together” – just like the Sanhedrin, right? – “Against Yahweh and against His anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" We don't want them to rule over us. We don't want them to rule us. They plot, they scheme the self-interest of men.
But here, the next, next verses in Psalm 2, here comes the sovereignty of God, the absolute sovereignty of God that accomplishes His will, no matter what. "He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord mocks them. Then He speaks to them in His anger, And terrifies them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." – I am doing what I want. And no one can stop it. God will triumph. And He says this to His son, in spite of all this plotting, He says to the Messiah, verse 8, "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter's vessel."
So with all of that ridiculous unbelief and opposition, and with that sovereignty of God on display, what does the psalmist advise us? Look at verse 10. "So now, O kings, show insight; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He becomes angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him." In other words, believe in Him while you have opportunity, before it's too late. Give Him His place. Let Him take your place.
Don't fear that when He takes His place as Lord over your life, that it will be a bad thing or a negative thing, because we read in scripture His yoke is what? It's easy. And His burden is light. It will only, listen, it will only remove from your heart that which should have never been there in the first place. A corrupt nature usurping God's place, saying we will not have Him to reign over us. Unbelievable unbelief, driven by selfish stubbornness. But there is a staggering sovereignty offering you today life and peace.
A.W. Tozer said it well when he said this, "unbelief will destroy the best of us, but faith will save the worst of us."
I want to finish this morning by asking you this, did Jesus die for you? Did He die for you? This is one of the real problems that people have with the idea of particular redemption, redemption or actual atonement. They say well we can't go to the world and proclaim Christ's death if He didn't die for everyone, but you know what's interesting is that when you see the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament, you don't find the Apostles and the disciples preaching Jesus died for you. You just find them preaching Christ died for sinners and He was raised from the dead and if you will repent of your sins and trust in Christ, you will be saved.
So here's the answer to the question of did Christ die for you? Here's the answer, do you want Him? Do you want Him? Are you willing to repent of your sins and run to Him in faith and trust in Him as your Lord and your Savior, giving Him your life? And if that is your desire, I've got news, good news for you, He died for you. He died for you. But if you don't want Him, why do you care? Why do you care? Why do you complain? If you don't want Him anyway, what, what does it matter? You don't have any great interest in His death anyway.
Anyone who wants Christ genuinely, wants the Lord Jesus, know this, you will not be refused. That's the good news of the gospel. That's the gospel that we proclaim. Whosoever will may come. And once you've come, you will realize He loved you before you were ever born and He gave Himself to save you from your sins. That's good news. So come to Him. Delay no more. This is the day of opportunity. His arms are wide open. Resist no more. Postpone no more. Rationalize no more. Give yourself to Him. Repent and turn to Him and be saved. And He will receive you. And He will forgive your sins. And He will embrace you as one of His own. And He will make you part of His family.
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