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Priests and Rulers Continue Plotting
This chapter is based on John 11:47-54.
News of the raising of Lazarus soon arrived at Jerusalem. Spies
quickly supplied the Jewish rulers with the facts. They called a
meeting of the Sanhedrin at once to decide what to do. This mighty
miracle was the crowning evidence God offered that He had sent
His Son into the world for their salvation. It was a demonstration of
divine power sufficient to convince every mind that was under the
control of reason and an enlightened conscience.
But the priests were only enraged by this new miracle. Jesus
had raised the dead in the full light of day and before a crowd of
witnesses. No trick could explain away such evidence. For this
reason the priests were more determined than ever to put a stop to
Christ’s work.
The Sadducees had not been so full of hatred toward Christ as
the Pharisees were, but now they were thoroughly alarmed. They did
not believe in a resurrection of the dead, reasoning that it would be
impossible for a dead body to be brought to life. But by a few words
from Christ, they were shown to be ignorant of both the Scriptures
and the power of God. How could they turn people away from One
who had successfully robbed the grave of its dead? They could not
deny the miracle, and they did not know how to counteract its effect.
After the resurrection of Lazarus, the Sadducees decided that only
Jesus’ death could stop His fearless denunciations against them.
The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, and they could not
avoid seeing that this miracle was evidence that the Messiah was
among them. But from the beginning, they had hated Him because
He had torn aside the cloak hiding their moral deformity. The pure
religion that He taught had condemned their hollow claims to piety.
They thirsted for revenge for His pointed rebukes. Several times
they had tried to stone Him, but He had quietly slipped away.
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