Highlights from Sunday: Atonement

John 11:47-57 “Atonement"

In last week’s miracle, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

"45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus haddone." John 11:45-46

- The road to hell is paved with good intentions. (:47-48)

47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What arewe doing? For this man is performing many signs. 48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men willbelieve in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  

Have you ever heard this quote: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”? This is an English proverb. A proverb is a short, memorable phrase that presents a deeper truth. According to Grammarist, “the proverb means that trying to do something good often has consequences which make things worse. For instance, kudzu is a beautiful vine from Asia that was introduced into the southeastern United States in the 1880s as a shade plant, erosion deterrent, and as cattle fodder. Kudzu is now an invasive species that is rampant in the southern United States, choking out native species.” That’s exactly what’s going on in this conversation among the Jewish council. Jesus' miraculous, undeniable resurrection of Lazarus from the dead required decisive action by the religious leaders.

They convened a council, or more accurately “the Sanhedrin.” The Sanhedrin was a council of seventy priests and rabbinic scribes as well as the rule high priest. The office of priest and scribe had morphed into a quasi, religious/political office. These individuals had tremendous power and wealth among their Jewish brethren. They also regularly clashed with Roman authorities, who exercised harsh punishment upon anyone who rebelled against their authority. They had the power to appoint the Jewish high priest and when one disobeyed them, he was removed from office. Caiaphas, the high priest at that time, was politically savvy and held his office for 19 years.

The purpose for calling the Council together was to address Jesus’ spiritual movement. They were worried that Jesus’ movement would continue to grow if left unchecked. They were worried that the Romans would see Jesus as a threat and remove them from power and even destroy the temple. The Council’s intentions seemed good to them and to the crowds during Jesus’ trial. Their actions seemed to be good. After all, they were protecting the Jews from Roman action because of Jesus’ revolutionary actions. That’s what they thought anyway. This was the beginning of the end for them and everyone who rejected Jesus’ offer of salvation. Their road to hell was paved with their own good intentions, which turned out to be the worst intentions because they were self-serving and unbiblical.

• Application:

Do we act upon good intentions or God’s intentions? There’s a difference! Good intentions are our best efforts to do what is right. God’s intentions are doing what’s right according to His standard, not ours. 

Isaiah 64:6 "6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." 

Don’t follow your heart! Follow the Holy Spirit! Follow the Word! 

Gal 5:25 "25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." 

Ps 119:105 "105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." 

Oftentimes, God uses the most unlikely people to communicate His truth. In this case, He uses the high priest, Caiaphas, to share an essential part of Jesus’ future sacrifice.

- Truth from an unlikely source. (:49-52)

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing atall, 50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people,and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but beinghigh priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for thenation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who arescattered abroad.

Caiaphas was not a follower of Jesus, nor did he believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He was a part of the band of religious leaders who desperately planned to kill Jesus.’ Caiaphas’ statement is ironic. He intended it to have one meaning, but God inspired him to say it and for it to mean something entirely different. Caiaphas said, “it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish,” to persuade the Sanhedrin that they should kill Jesus or surrender Him to the Roman authorities before Jesus’ ministry causes the Roman authorities to punish all of the Jews. Remember, the religious leaders’ primary worry was that the Roman authorities would remove them from power, so Caiaphas’ intentions were two-fold: Primary - kill Jesus to preserve their religious and political power. Secondary - kill Jesus to ensure that the Romans do not further persecute the Jewish people. 

In :51-52, John reports that God inspired Caiaphas to say, “it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish,” for an entirely different reason. God inspired Caiaphas to say that because: :51-52 “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.” What does that mean? How did Jesus fulfill that prophecy? The key to understanding Caiaphas’ prophetic statement lies in the word “for,” as John uses it in the phrase: “one man die for the people.” The Greek word “ὑπέρ“, - hyper, informs the substitutionary view of atonement. That’s several big theological words in a row…Let me define them: Substitution is easy: it’s using one thing in the place of another (substitute teacher). Atonement is not so easy.

Webster Dictionary defines it as: Satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury. The Bible employs “atonement” in a similar way, but with a deeper, spiritual meaning. Atonement in the Old Testament: When God established the old covenant with the Jewish people, He created a way for their sins to be forgiven or atoned for through repentance and the sacrifice of animals. In the OT book of Leviticus, Moses describes God’s process for the forgiveness or atonement of sins. On a special day called: “The Day of Atonement,” the priest entered into the presence of God and did the following: Read Lev. 16:5-30 Thus, in the old covenant process for atonement, the Israelites repented of sin and sacrificed animals to God for the forgiveness of their sins. The shedding of the animals’ blood provided atonement for their sins against God, who forgave them of their sins, and restored their relationship with Him. Listen again to Caiaphas’ prophetic statement about Jesus: “it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” This describes Jesus’ future death, during which He will offer Himself as an atonement for our sins. 

Jesus established a new covenant between man and God based on His death on the cross. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins. His blood was shed as He hung on that cross. While He was still alive and nailed on the cross, with His blood pouring out of his body, God’s wrath for the sins of the world fell upon Jesus. Shortly after this, he died. What does that sound like? - the OT sacrificial system! Jesus’ death on the cross did four things on our behalf:
1. Sacrifice

Is 53:5-6
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But theLord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

2. Propitiation - Jesus received the wrath of God on our behalf.

Romans 5:8–9 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yetsinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, weshall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

3. Substitution

2 Corinthians 5:21 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that wemight become the righteousness of God in Him.

4. Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:17–19 “17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the oldthings passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are fromGod, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry ofreconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, notcounting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word ofreconciliation.”

- :51-52 also tell us the global impact of Jesus’ death on the cross:

51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesiedthat Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that Hemight also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.  

- This is really good news for anyone who is not a Jew…Like you and me! God’s plan of redemption through Jesus will be applied to all people everywhere who
repent of sin and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior!

1 Timothy 2:4
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

- The fulfillment of Caiaphas’ prophecy resides in Revelation 7:9:

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one couldcount, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before thethrone and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in theirhands;

• Application:

 That’s why all people need to repent and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is the pathway to forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God. He is the only way.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father butthrough Me.”  Jn 14:6

That’s why good works, family lineage, and other people will never provide what we need. Have you taken that step of faith and received forgiveness for your sins?

- The Pharisees plan to kill the Son of God. (:53-57)

53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continuedto walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness,into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of theJews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purifythemselves. 56 So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood inthe temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priestsand the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so thatthey might seize Him.

It is a sad fact that the religious leaders’ plan to kill Jesus was a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. He would no longer minister in public among the Jews in Jerusalem. He relocated up in a place called Ephraim until the Passover week. While Jesus and His disciples resided in Ephraim, Jews from all over the world traveled into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration (we will discuss this more in coming weeks). The people traveled to Jerusalem to purify themselves, which was an observation of Jewish laws, in preparation for the celebration of the Passover. Yet, the religious leaders’ hands were already stained with blood as they plotted the execution of Jesus.