Unmasking the Plot: Power, Prophecy, and Divine Control in John 11:45-57

The Gospel of John is John’s account of Jesus’s life, often taking us behind the scenes to reveal crucial details that explain the unfolding narrative. In the passage of John 11:45-57, the apostle John pulls back the curtain, similar to how Toto exposes the "Wizard of Oz," revealing the true motivations of Jesus's enemies. If we didn't have this specific text, we might misunderstand the Pharisees, potentially believing they were merely devout believers sticking strictly to the Old Testament and the law, and were simply misunderstood. However, John reveals that their motives were far more sinister, laying bare the foundation of the plot to kill Jesus.

This pivotal section of Scripture provides the primary text explaining why the chief priests and the Pharisees behaved as they did. The whole story revolves around this plot to kill Jesus, a plot that was driven by three essential elements: it was motivated by power, revealed by prophecy, and ultimately controlled by Jesus himself.

The Catalyst: A Miracle that Demanded a Response

The immediate background to this meeting of the council is a tremendous, undeniable miracle. Jesus had gone to the tomb of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, who had been dead for four days. Jesus called Lazarus forth, and Lazarus walked out of the tomb. This incredible demonstration of power—Jesus having power over death—was precisely what had happened in the preceding verses of John.

The reaction to the resurrection of Lazarus was split. John notes that many of the Jews who had come with Mary and seen what Jesus did believed in him. Interestingly, John does not state that everyone who saw the miracle believed, only that many did.

However, the response was not universally positive. John uses the word “but” to contrast the two groups: while some believed, some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Some scholars speculate that perhaps those who believed told the Pharisees so that the religious leaders might believe too, but the text’s contrast implies they went to “tell on Jesus”.

The Pharisees, already familiar with reports of Jesus’s miracles, were far from pleased upon hearing this news. Every previous attempt by them to slow down Jesus’s ministry had failed, leaving them frustrated and at their wits’ end.

Behind the Curtain: The Sanhedrin’s Plot Motivated by Power

In response to the resurrection of Lazarus, the chief priests and the Pharisees immediately gathered the council. This council was known as the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a powerful body, established according to directions given by Moses in the Old Testament. It was made up of 70 people plus the high priest. Functionally, the Sanhedrin was similar to combining the roles of the Supreme Court, the Senate, and a religious council.

They asked, “What are we to do, for this man performs many signs?”. They were dealing with a massive issue: Jesus had just raised someone from the dead. Their primary concern was articulated plainly in their internal discussion: "If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him".

The motivation to kill Jesus, however, was not based on sincere religious zeal but on self-preservation and political fear. The Sanhedrin’s conversation revealed their deepest anxiety: “and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation”.

John’s text serves to pull back the curtain and show that the religious leaders were not overly zealous about the law, nor were they merely concerned that Jesus was acting contrary to their religious culture. They were primarily concerned that their power and influence would be stripped from them if the Romans intervened due to the popular uprising Jesus was causing.

This focus on maintaining influence and control demonstrates a significant danger in their religious practice. Their entire premise was built on controlling the people. If they lost control, they had nothing, as they lacked other skills or jobs.

The Danger of Moralism and Legalism

The religious leaders had completely lost the true idea of what a relationship with God entailed. Their faith, at this point in the culture, was centered on moralism—doing certain behaviors—which they thought earned them favor with God. This emphasis on moralism, legalism, or behaviorism can be deadly for the church, just as it was for the Sanhedrin.

The danger lies in emphasizing behavior more than the necessary relationship with Jesus. While Christians are indeed called to be holy because God is holy, and behavior matters to God, it cannot earn us favor. Holiness cannot be attained by good works alone.

The focus on rules is sometimes used by non-believers as a critique of Christianity, viewing it as having "too many rules". However, this legalistic view, exemplified by the Pharisees, misses the point entirely; living a life based only on a set of rules is dangerous and deadly. The Sanhedrin and the High Priest had fallen into this predicament.

The Unintentional Gospel: The Plot Revealed by Prophecy

Amidst the Sanhedrin’s frustrated planning, one man spoke up: Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the High Priest that year. He harshly stated to the council, “You know nothing at all, nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish”.

This statement was rude, especially coming from a High Priest, and it ironically demonstrated that Caiaphas himself did not truly understand the depth of his own words.

John clarifies the divine significance of Caiaphas’s words. Caiaphas "did not say this of his own accord but being a high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation”. God had revealed the gospel to the High Priest, but the High Priest completely missed its meaning.

When Caiaphas suggested that it was "better for you that one man should die," he was thinking politically—that if Jesus was eliminated, they would no longer have to deal with the problem. He failed to grasp the spiritual reality. It was definitely not better for the Pharisees in the long run as their sect does not exist today. The only reason it was ultimately "better" was because Jesus's death provided the ultimate atonement for sin.

The Scope of Jesus's Atonement

Caiaphas’s prophecy extended beyond Israel. He prophesied that Jesus would die not just for the nation, "but also to gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad". This refers to the Gentiles.

In essence, Caiaphas, the High Priest who accused the others of knowing nothing, was unwittingly sharing the core of the gospel with the Sanhedrin—that one man would die to atone for sins and unite God's scattered people—yet, no one, including Caiaphas, understood the profound implication of the words concerning Jesus.

This plot to kill Jesus was thus revealed by prophecy. This was not a new concept, as the entire Old Testament sacrificial system pointed toward Jesus. Prophecies regarding the Messiah's atoning death were woven throughout Scripture, from God’s promise in Genesis 3 that one would crush Satan, to Isaiah’s suffering servant prophecy (crushed for iniquities, healed by his stripes), and Daniel 9, which spoke of the Messiah coming and dying for the people’s sins.

The striking irony is that Caiaphas, the High Priest, was unaware that these prophecies applied to Jesus. He was too busy governing the Sanhedrin, appeasing Rome, and dealing with political systems to dedicate the necessary time and energy to learning and applying the truths of God's word that he was supposed to uphold. This serves as an important lesson: we must not just know the tenets of the gospel or be used to Christian language, but we must apply it to our own lives and remain tightly coupled to the meaning and truth of God’s word.

Ultimate Control: Jesus Dictates the Timeline

From the day of Caiaphas's prophecy, the Sanhedrin made explicit plans to put Jesus to death. They had essentially given Jesus an unethical death penalty without a fair trial, deciding he deserved to die because he was "ruining it for us".

However, even though the Sanhedrin felt they were in control and had their plans, Jesus would not succumb to their timetable. The plot was ultimately controlled by Jesus.

In response to their plans, Jesus "no longer walked openly among the Jews". Instead, he went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

Jesus maintained control because he was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy, and nothing would happen outside of God's plan. If it had been up to the Pharisees, they would have killed him that very day. But Jesus had to die on Passover to fulfill the role of the ultimate Passover, the sacrificial lamb, as John the Baptist had called him: "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". Jesus controls the situation, ensuring events proceed according to divine timing.

The Irony of Passover and Purification

The setting then shifts as the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many people went up from the country to Jerusalem before the feast to purify themselves. During this time, people were actively looking for Jesus in the temple, questioning whether he would even come to the feast. The chief priests and the Pharisees had already issued orders that if anyone knew Jesus’s location, they were to let them know so that they might arrest him.

This detail highlights the staggering irony and profound spiritual distance of the religious leaders. They had just finalized a plan to murder an innocent man, which is totally against the law. Yet, as they were guilty of plotting murder, they believed that going through the motions of ritual purification was sufficient to be made "okay" with God. They were looking for Jesus, whom they deemed in need of purification, even though he was sinless.

They believed that by doing Step A, Step B, and Step C—the purification process—God would be happy with them, regardless of their murderous intentions. This shows they were so far removed from a true relationship with God that they had completely separated themselves from the ways of God.

Passover: The Ultimate Foreshadowing

Passover itself was an event of immense strategic and spiritual importance. It commemorated the time when Israel was held in slavery in Egypt. After nine plagues against the Egyptian gods, the tenth plague was the Passover event.

To be spared, each Israelite household had to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood over their doorframe. When the angel of death saw the blood, it would "pass over" that house. Those who did not participate lost their firstborn child.

This Old Testament event was a crucial foreshadowing of Jesus. Jesus was to be the ultimate Passover. The meaning is that if we are covered in Jesus’s blood, our sins are atoned for, paid for, and covered, ensuring that when we die, we will not be separated from God, and we can have a relationship with Jesus.

Despite preparing to celebrate this central event, the Pharisees had not made the connection that Jesus himself was going to be that ultimate Passover. John’s ultimate goal in presenting this text—focusing more on the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin than on Jesus directly—is to ensure the audience knows what was happening behind the scenes. It makes clear that the Pharisees were not merely misunderstood zealous believers, but individuals plotting murder, driven by political power.

The fact that one man would die for the nation, and not just for the nation but also to gather the scattered children of God into one body, is a miraculous event. Our sin can be atoned for by the work of Jesus on the cross, a truth we should never grow tired of.

Conclusion: Knowing the Truth Behind the Text

The entire account of the plot to kill Jesus, documented in John 11:45-57, serves as a vital disclosure.

1. It was Motivated by Power: The Pharisees and chief priests acted out of fear that the Romans would take their place and nation, driven by the desire to maintain political and religious influence, highlighting the danger of legalism and moralism.

2. It was Revealed by Prophecy: Caiaphas, the High Priest, unintentionally shared the core of the gospel, prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation and the scattered people of God. This emphasizes the importance of diligently studying God’s word so we do not fall into the error of knowing the words but missing the ultimate truth, as Caiaphas did.

3. It was Controlled by Jesus: Despite the Sanhedrin issuing a death sentence and making plans, Jesus maintained complete control over the timing of his execution, withdrawing temporarily to Ephraim to ensure his death fulfilled prophecy on the appointed day of Passover.

John ensures that the audience of his Gospel is fully aware of the forces aligning against Jesus, underscoring that even the bitterest opposition was subject to God’s overarching plan.