Sermon John 11:45-57 – Jesus Speaks to the Powerful

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon John 11:45-57 – Jesus Speaks to the Powerful

April 13, 2014

I am continuing today with our Lenten study drawn from the Gospel of John. We have been following Jesus as he taught individuals and groups bringing them to faith. One technique that Jesus used in his teaching was to use ordinary words and phrases, but give them extraordinary meanings. When Jesus met Nicodemus he talked about being “born again”. Nicodemus thought that this referred to going back into your mother's womb. But Jesus said that it referred to a spiritual rebirth that comes with faith. Then when Jesus met with the Samaritan woman at the well he talked about “living water”. She thought that this meant “running water” like in a stream. But Jesus said that it referred to a spiritual rebirth that leads to eternal life. When Jesus healed the man blind from birth everyone thought that this was about Jesus' power to bring someone from the darkness of blindness into the physical light. But Jesus made it clear that really what he was doing was bringing someone from the darkness of unbelief into the light of faith. Today we will continue looking at Jesus' teaching. And his student will be none other than the Roman Governor, Pilate. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

I rise, O God, awakened by your Word, to live another day. Lead me in your path. Show me the steps to take toward greater faith. Hold me in your care as I move through this Holy Week where the 

shadows deepen even in the daylight. Hosanna! Save me now, dear God! Amen”.¹

One of my favorite television shows was Law & Order. This show appeared on the NBC network for twenty years tying it with Gunsmoke as the longest running series on television. This show would begin each week with the police investigating a crime. It would end with the district attorneys office prosecuting that crime in court. Along the way there were many twists and turns. I think that the writer of the fourth gospel could have written for that show. John has given us a story of a trial with many twists and turns. Let begin today in the office of the district attorney, the High Priest of Israel, Caiaphas.

John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

So, the ruling religious council has met and at the urging of Caiaphas has issued an indictment for Jesus. He has been accused of this: “for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one”. Jesus, by publicly performing miracles, has been bringing people to faith. Not only Jews, but gentiles too have witnessed these sign and heard Jesus' teaching and have come to belief. The ruling council is concerned that this could lead to the formation of a political movement that would threaten the Roman occupiers. This could bring down upon them the wrath of Rome. And so they have decided that Jesus must be stopped. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Jesus avoided capture for a couple of weeks, but then came to Jerusalem riding a donkey over palm branches. The symbolism was obvious. Jesus was coming as a king. The authorities bribed one of his disciples and arrested him at night. They brought Jesus to Annas, the former high priest for arraignment, and was ordered to appear before Caiaphas. Caiaphas, the prosecutor, took Jesus before the judge, Pilate. Here is what happened.

John 18:28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” 30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected.

Caiaphas has refused to state specifically the charges against Jesus. He seems to prefer that Pilate determine the charges for himself. Maybe Pilate will come up with something. But Pilate knows what's going on. He has heard about Jesus, his miracles, and his coming into the city like a king. This could be a threat to Roman power so he took Jesus into his palace for questioning. Let's listen in.

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

So Jesus is doing what we have seen him do in the past. He is using an ordinary word, “king”, but he is using it in an unusual way. He admits to being king, but not in the way Pilate expects. Pilate thinks that Jesus might be organizing an army to overthrown Roman rule. But Jesus is not that kind of king. Jesus is king in the Kingdom of God. In this Kingdom all in authority on earth including Pilate and the Emperor of Rome will one day bow down to him. So what kind of king is Jesus? What is he claiming to be? The psalmist says, Psalm 10:16 “The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land”. In the Kingdom of God, God is king. So if Jesus is king over the Kingdom of God he must be … God.

Pilate decided that he has no business convicting Jesus and he wants this problem to go away. So he went outside to speak with Caiaphas and the council.

38 With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” 40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

The Sanhedrin knows full well what Jesus is claiming and they want no part of it. They want Jesus dead and will not let Pilate release him on a technicality. So the Romans flogged Jesus, put a crown of thorns on his head and clothed him in a purple robe to mock his claim of kingship. When the council saw this they were angry and shouted “Crucify Him!”

John 19:¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵ But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

And with that the High Priest of Israel, Caiaphas and the others in the Sanhedrin admitted their own guilt. They worship only one king, Caesar. There is no room in their lives for their true king, God. They have effectively excommunicated God from the temple.

And so, like Law & Order, the story ends with a twist. The prosecutors have admitted their guilt. The religious leaders have seen the signs and heard Jesus' testimony, but they failed to come to belief. Sadly, there are many people today who see what God is doing in the world around us and know what Jesus has to say about it, but they don't believe. They are excluding themselves from the promise of resurrection to eternal life. We need to continue to pray for these people, help them to see God at work in their lives, and understand what it means. We need to bring them to faith in our savior, Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, we that you for the gift of faith. Help us to bring others to Jesus so that they will receive this gift and enjoy with us the benefits of eternal life. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 124.