Jesus Withdraws

[Read John 11:45-54]

The church puts itself in a poor position when it begins to make decisions based on politics or pragmatism. If you don't know what pragmatism means, don't feel bad. It's defined in a bunch of different ways. Basically, pragmatism is when we focus more on doing "what works" rather than doing "what's right." This is why I combined the ideas of politics and pragmatism together. Often when churches are making decisions based on politics, they are more focused on "what works" rather than "what's right." Another way of saying that is that when churches begin to make decisions based on politics and pragmatism, they focus more on doing what "work" than on doing what God has called them to--what's right.

Here's an example of how this sort of situation goes wrong. I've heard numerous churches say something like this, "We need to have a children's ministry because that will help us attract young families." That exact statement has been made in almost every church across the United States. But, pay attention to the logic of the statement. Is it focused more on "what's right" or on "what works"? It clearly focused on what works--it's a decision being made based on pragmatics and it will not work out well for the church in the end.

Let me explain why this doesn't work well. It doesn't work because the foundation is wrong. The foundation is based on "what works." So, the moment that doesn't "work" the way we think it should or it stops "working" completely everything begins to change. We start reshaping our children's ministries in order that they "work"--or in order that they attract young families. And the moment we start doing that, we stop asking the question, "How does God want us to do this?" and we become focused on the single question: "How do we attract young families?" That's a bad situation that results in churches throughout the country with ministries that seem to be "working" on the outside, but are completely dishonoring God (I realize that's a strong statement, but I believe it is true).

To make this point further, and a little stronger, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor in Germany during Hitler's reign. Bonhoeffer watched as churches began to make political and pragmatic decisions. He watched as churches calculated the impact of speaking out against Hitler. Some of the churches during the Nazi rule in Germany rationalized their approval of Hitler, or their silence toward Hitler, as a way of being able to continue reaching the lost. They were worried that if they spoke up against Hitler their churches would be shut down and their ability to reach the lost shut down as well. So, they rationalized that staying silent was better in the long run because it "worked." In response to that, this was said about Bonhoeffer: "He knew that if these questions were not addressed properly, one would be reduced to merely 'political answers' or 'pragmatic' answers. One could begin to veer away from the true gospel, toward worshiping a god made in one's own image, rather than God himself..." (Bonhoeffer, Kindle Location: 3217). Whenever the church begins to make its decisions based on politics or pragmatism, it has put itself on the path of dishonoring God and eventual destruction of the church. Neither of these things actually "work" in the long run. We're gonna see that in our passage this morning.

Remember where we left off last week. Jesus had been out in the wilderness doing fruitful ministry. He gets called back to Bethany because of Lazarus' sickness and eventual death. The disciples don't want him to go back to Bethany because they are experiencing fruitful ministry in the wilderness and Jesus was continually threatened while around Jerusalem. Yet, Jesus returns to Bethany, and reveals that he is the resurrection and the life by raising Lazarus from the dead for all to see. And, don't forget, we were told that there were many people there to see this. We read, “and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.” (John 11:19, ESV). Mary and Martha and Lazarus were pretty well-connected people and popular, which meant that many people were there to support and console them, which also meant that many people were there to see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. And the response is what we would expect: “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,” (John 11:45, ESV). So, there were a lot of people that saw the miracle and believed in Jesus as a result.

But not everyone responded this way. We also read, “but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.” (John 11:46, ESV). This wasn't just an innocent passing on of information. The way this is written and positioned in the story is to show that there is malicious intent here. This is what the disciples were worried about. These people went to the Pharisees because they wanted the Pharisees to do something about this.

And the Pharisees do something. We read, “So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”” (John 11:47–48, ESV). They gather the council together--also known as the Sanhedrin. This was the highest judicial body for them. The Pharisees didn't actually have the authority and power to do something about this. That's why they gathered the highest body together--the ones who have the power and the authority. We don't know the exact makeup of this body, but we know that it included religious leaders and the chief priest. As they gather together, they are at their wits end. That's why they say, "What are we to do?" They feel like they've tried everything to squash this guy named Jesus and get rid of him and neutralize this influence on the Jewish people. They've run out of ideas.

Yet, notice the way they word their fears and worries: “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”” (John 11:48, ESV). Does that sound familiar to what I was talking about earlier? Why are they making this decision? It's all politics and pragmatics. If Jesus keeps on doing the things he's doing, and people keep on believing in him and following him, the Romans are going to come in and take away our place and our nation. To make this all more interesting, guess how many of them had gotten into their position in the Sanhedrin? The Romans had put them there. So, you could almost say they were bought and paid for by the Romans. Of course they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them. Of course they don't want to get the Romans angry. If that happened, they would lose their positions of power and authority. What good would that do? It's all politics and pragmatics.

Then the high priest speaks up--Caiaphas. Caiaphas had been around for quite a while by this point. He had been the high priest for around fifteen years at this point. That means he knew what works in politics and he knew how to get things done. So, he stood up and criticized the entire group saying, “You know nothing at all.” (John 11:49, ESV). He's frustrated that they are wringing their hands, trying to figure out what to do. They don't know anything. The answer to this whole problem is very simple, he says: “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.” (John 11:50, ESV). That's the obvious solution to this problem. Jesus needs to die. That's the only thing that's going to work.

But notice how he words everything. He begins by appealing to their selfish nature of the Sanhedrin by saying, "...it is better for you..."(John 11:50, ESV). He's basically saying, unless you want to lose your positions of power and influence in this body, it's better for you that this man dies. But also notice that he appeals to the safety of the nation by saying: “...it is better...that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” (John 11:50, ESV). Again, doesn't that sound familiar? It's better that one man die, rather than a whole nation die. If this keeps on going on, the entire nation will be wiped out by the Romans. So, if we're going to be good rulers, we must focus more on what works than on what is right. So, we need to kill this man because that is what is better for the nation. Doesn't that sound a lot like the German Church? It's better that we stay silent for the good of the people. It's better that we support this man for the good for the good of the people. It's all about politics and pragmatics. They fear the Romans much more than they fear God.

Guess what? All of their plans and schemes accomplished nothing. Eventually the entire nation was destroyed anyway. D.A. Carson says, "And so [Jesus] died—but the nation perished anyway, not because of Jesus’ activity but because of the constant mad search for political solutions where there was little spiritual renewal. Justice is sacrificed to expediency." (Carson, 422). This is very reminiscent of the Psalm: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:1–2, ESV). It doesn't matter how much political and pragmatic calculation you do, if the Lord is not part of your plans and efforts, they will completely fail. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how political you are, how strong and determined you are, or how many hours you work in a week toward your goals and purposes. If the Lord is not part of it--if you're only focused on "what works" rather than God's will--it will fail.

After this John uses some of his beautiful and typical irony. He says, “He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” (John 11:51–52, ESV). I find that to be one of the most beautiful statements in the Bible. John is telling us that Caiaphas spoke words from God, even though they were not the words that Caiaphas meant to speak. This is almost better than God speaking from the mouth of a donkey--he's speaking from the mouth of a corrupt religious leader.

And what John is showing us is that Caiaphas was right in the words that he said. It actually WAS better for Jesus to die for the nation--and not only for the nation, but for all of God's children who had been scattered throughout the world. John's point is that Jesus' death would actually save the nation of Israel--the true nation of Israel that includes all of the children of God. But, Jesus wasn't saving them from the Romans. Jesus didn't come for some temporary salvation that would come and go in the blink of an eye. Jesus came to save the nation from their sins--to bring about a true salvation that would last for eternity. That's the only way a nation can truly be saved is through believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. That's it.

This is why D.A. Carson has this beautiful quote that I shared with you quite a while ago. He says, “If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.” (DA Carson, unsure of the source). We should be extremely grateful that God didn't send us a politician to save the nation of Israel--or even our nation. Rather, he sent us a Savior to save the nation.

The question for us at the end of this sermon is: Do we believe that? Do we actually believe that it was better for God to send us a Savior rather than a politician? I mean, as we're in the middle of election races and political advertisements and campaigns, it sure seems like it would have been nicer for God to send us a politician, right? Someone to deliver our nation out of the mess that we're in. Someone to help restore our economy. Someone to help care for the poor and needy. Someone to restore justice and order. Doesn't that sound nice? Yet, in the midst of those questions, do you still believe that it is better that God sent us a Savior to deliver us from our sins? Your answer to that question will change everything.

Because if you don't actually believe it is better that God sent us a Savior, then you will begin to put your hope in all of the wrong places. You will start putting your hope in presidential candidates. Your well-being will be controlled by who wins the next election and/or what policies they put in place. You'll begin to place your hope in your own abilities to bring about change in your neighborhood and community. You'll work really hard. You'll spend hours and hours strategizing. You'll invest all of your time and energy into figuring out what works. And all of your time and energy will be completely wasted. And all of your hopes and dreams will end up dashed against the rocks. Because you've placed your hope in someone or something other than God. And because you placed your hope in someone or something other than God, you became focused on what "works" rather than what God wants. And whenever you put yourself in that position, nothing actually "works" and all of your labors are in vain, because unless the Lord builds the house, or the church, or the nation, the laborers labor in vain.

I know I've had a lot of quotes in this sermon already, but I have to end with one final one from John Calvin because I think it's a beautiful reminder of what it looks like when we focus more on what God wants, than on what works. He said, "But the only way to deliberate in a proper and holy manner is this. First, we ought to inquire what is the will of God. Next, we ought to follow boldly whatever he enjoins, and not to be discouraged by any fear, though we were besieged by a thousand deaths; for our actions must not be moved by any gust of wind, but must be constantly regulated by the will of God alone. He who boldly despises dangers, or, at least, rising above the fear of them, sincerely obeys God, will at length have a prosperous result; for, contrary to the expectation of all, God blesses that firmness which is founded on obedience to his word." (Calvin, 451). That's what it looks like to focus more on what God wants, than on what "works." That's what it looks like to truly put our hope in the Savior--the only one who can truly save our church, our community, and our nation.