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Let Jesus Die
By peace | July 9, 2008
Lazarus Is Raised From The Dead
Jesus’ Enemies Plot To Kill Him
Everyone was talking about the man who had come back to life. Some felt certain now that Jesus really was sent by God and put full faith in him.
But others hurried off to Jerusalem to pass on the news of Jesus’ latest miracle to his enemies.
An urgent meeting of the Council was called and the members discussed with the leading priests and Pharisees what to do about Jesus.
“We must take action quickly,” they decided. “The crowds are flocking after him and he’ll soon be everyone’s hero. That will be a disaster for us all. It could cause trouble with Rome, too.”
Caiaphas, the High Priest, interrupted their chatter.
“Don’t be a pack of fools!” he said coolly. “Can’t you see the obvious solution? Get rid of Jesus! It’s far better for one man to die than for all of us to suffer.”
He did not realize how true his words were. Jesus was indeed going to suffer and die on behalf of everyone else.
From that day on, the Jewish authorities began to make plans to bring about Jesus’ death. When they heard that Bethany was buzzing with crowds of sightseers, all coming to stare at the man who had come back from the dead, they even talked of getting rid of Lazarus too, to destroy the evidence.
Meanwhile Jesus and the disciples left the danger zone. Jesus knew there was still work for him to do before God’s appointed time for him to die.
Pharisee
The word “Pharisee” means “separated ones”. Pharisees kept themselves apart from ordinary people by their strictness in keeping every tiny law that had been added to God’s law given to Moses. These mostly had to do with outward rules about washing hands and pots and pans in a certain way. Pharisees also fasted twice a week.
The New Testament speaks harshly of the Pharisees, except for a few, including Nicodemus and Gamaliel. The Pharisees themselves wrote texts in which they criticized their own faults, particularly their tendency to believe that they were superior to other people.
The gravest problem of the Pharisees was that they knew so much about God that it prevented them from truly knowing Jesus. They were scandalized by his poverty and his freedom. Saul of Tarsus explained the difficulty he had in giving up his Phariseen mentality in order to believe in Jesus.
Topics: Faith, Inspirational Stories, Spiritual Articles, View All Post, bible |
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