For whatever
things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the
patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. The portion of God’s
Word before us this evening comes from John 11:49-53:
And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that
year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50 "nor do you consider
that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not
that the whole nation should perish." 51 Now this he did not say on his
own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would
die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would
gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 Then,
from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
Tonight, we
consider our second eye-witness who was present when Jesus was crucified. This
individual was not only there, he was the one who planned the crucifixion.
Caiaphas was the high priest that year. His father-in-law was Annas, the former
high priest, who also questioned Jesus. Caiaphas was perhaps the strongest
opponent of Jesus during His ministry. As we hear a first-hand account of what
Caiaphas might have been thinking, it’s important that we remember his
opposition to Jesus. Caiaphas was unbeliever and we have no reason to believe
that he was ever converted. When I speak as Caiaphas remember that he’s coming
from the perspective of unbelief and extreme opposition to Jesus and His
disciples. But also remember that although Caiaphas was vehemently against
Jesus, God was still able to use him to accomplish His will. This man, who was
supposed speak God’s truth but viciously attacked it, ended up accomplishing
God’s will without even knowing it. Let us hear from the man himself:
Caiaphas: The High Priest
1) Blindly arrogant in his calling
2) Ignorantly distrustful of the Scriptures
I blame
Gamaliel. You want to know why the Christian religion endures to this day? It’s
his fault. We had everything we needed. Jesus was dead. Sure, there were rumors
of resurrection, but no one credible witnesses stepped forward. Surely, He
would have faded to myth like so many “Messiahs” before Him. It was Gamaliel who
reignited the flame. Your Bible tells you how. Not long after our Passover
victory over the blasphemer, we had his foremost apostle in our custody, Simon,
called Peter, and certain others as well. We could have ended the movement
there, with one fell swoop. If only we had the courage to do what needed to be
done.
When I say “we”
I mean the Sanhedrin. For those unfamiliar with our culture, the Sanhedrin was
the collective body that represented Israel. It was composed primarily of my
colleagues, the Sadducees, and the less qualified Pharisees. The struggle
between these two sides was always part of our culture. Pharisees naively clung
the ancient Scriptures. Of course, they would; their claim to power rested on
the peoples’ understanding of the Scriptures. They were also the scribes; those
in charge of producing copies and protecting the sacred texts. Don’t be so
foolish yourself to think that they didn’t add their own commandments too.
We Sadducees
were the proper representatives of God. Our bloodlines go back to the first
high priest, Aaron. Throughout history we have kept God’s people alive and
intact, as the chosen nation that we are. We don’t need to foolishly cling to
the written words, for we are divinely appointed by God Himself, and we speak
with God’s authority. The blasphemer should have known this, and yet He
continually disrespected our office by going back to the Scriptures.
You call Him
Jesus. I call Him the blasphemer. Do you even know what the name “Jesus” means?
It’s a sacred name in our culture, meaning Savior. It’s the most distasteful Aramaic
rendering of Joshua, which means “Jehovah saves.” Joshua was the hero who led
our people into the Promised Land. What arrogance of this carpenter’s son to compare
Himself to that and even call Himself greater! He acts as if the angels of God
themselves gave Him the name, Jesus.
But that’s
enough about Him, back to Gamaliel. We had Peter and other apostles in prison;
captured and ready to be executed, when Gamaliel gave them hope. I still can’t
believe it now. The very insinuation that the blasphemer could be the Messiah
was outrageous! That outdated relic of undignified time suggested that we wait
and see if the Christian movement would die out. I wanted to end it there, and I
could have. But one man only holds so much power. I had a large following as
high priest, even more when you consider the allies I made through my
father-in-law’s connections, but I couldn’t oppose the chief Pharisee. I had to
let the Christians go, and wait. And now look at what this heresy has become.
I know you
think I’m evil. You think I murdered your Savior. Go ahead, think what you
want. I’ve heard it before. You think it bothers me anymore? I was the real savior.
I spared the true Israel from the wrath of the Romans. You think the blasphemer
was innocent but can’t you see He was bringing Caesar’s fury upon us? Each day He
grew in popularity it piqued the attention of our aggressors. And the Romans
were just waiting for a reason to wipe us out. I had to act when I did and take
Jesus out of the way. It was the only
way my people could be spared. Think what you want about me, I’ll let God judge
my actions. You may think I was impatient or that I acted on impulse, but you’d
be wrong. This plan was long in the making. Let me tell you how.
Ever since the
Romans first suppressed us under captivity they made a mockery of our most
sacred religious rites. Foremost of these is the institution of the priesthood.
When one becomes a priest, he is a priest for life. When one is elevated to the
level of high priest, he occupies that title for life. The Romans began to
delegate who would be high priest and they would depose them as soon as they
saw fit. So you see, I had to dirty myself in the political affairs of our
nation because the Roman mockery of our faith demanded it!
My
father-in-law, Annas, served as high priest before me. He was appointed by
Governor Quirinius. In all honesty, Annas should not have been high priest, one
does not receive that office from man but from God. But what could we do? We
were at the mercy of the Roman legislators. When the next governor took power,
he immediately deposed my father-in-law. A few others assumed the role of high
priest before me, but in the peoples’ eyes, Annas was always the rightful
leader. Obviously, this created strife between our people and the Romans. Those
Gentile pagans thought they were keeping good order by regularly changing the leadership,
but what they really were doing was desecrating our beliefs, and creating a breakdown
in authority.
It was into
this context that I was given the office of high priest under the Roman
governor Gratus. Gratus hated our people and he showed it by switching the high
priest whenever he wanted – running roughshod over our beliefs; a systematic
display to show who was in control. The only reason I endured his manipulations
was because I happened to be high priest when he left office. His replacement:
Pontius Pilate. Pilate didn’t like being our governor any more than Gratus, but
he wasn’t as strong of a leader. As soon as I met Pilate it didn’t take long to
recognize that he could be swayed. He didn’t like confrontation. His morals
were weak. Our fathers waited years for an opportunity like this; a time to
regain our cultural strength, and now it was upon us, during my reign as high
priest. Clearly, God was calling me to act.
Despite my
growing power, our people were still divided about who to follow. Many still
viewed my father-in-law as the true high priest; and so he also continued in
that vocation. I’ll be honest, he was a tremendous help at times, especially
when I needed allies in the Sanhedrin. But, his popularity also had its costs.
There was a growing sentiment among the people that I was nothing more than his
puppet. I had to show my credibility and that I could make the tough decisions
on my own. The entrance of the blasphemer provided the perfect solution. I knew
I could influence Pilate and show my ability to lead us against the Romans. I
simply needed a platform where people would take notice. This supposed Messiah
and His band of Galileans gave me just what I needed. I didn’t even have to
convince the Pharisees, my most ardent opponents. He took care of it for me.
The stage was set, everything we had patiently waited for was upon us. A time
to break free from the political captivity of the Romans and a time to showcase
my leadership as the sole high priest.
And so I lead
you back to where we began. Those in Sanhedrin who worried about Jesus? Those
like Gamaliel? They knew nothing. They lacked the foresight to plan as I had. I
knew this day was coming, God Himself allowed me to prophecy about it. That’s
right, you hear that Christians? God told me that this Jesus, whom you believe
to be His Son, must die for the people. If He is God’s Son, why would His very
Father let that happen? Can you not see the fallacy in your belief? No one
believes in a God that dies for His people. No other religion is like that, not
even of the heathens. You want to boast in that, go ahead, you can live in your
foolishness. Yours will be a faith forever tainted by death. Your own symbol,
the cross, is emblem of death. That’s supposed to be the power of God? His
sacrifice? Ha! If that’s what Jesus came to be then maybe He was right. Because
He will forever be known as a humble sacrifice, and you can have that.
That’s what I
never understood about Jesus. He preached that we must respect, even love our
enemies. He focused on a life to come, instead of worrying about today’s
problems. Easy for Him to say, He wasn’t a position of authority like I am. He could
afford to play upon the peoples’ grand desires of an afterlife. You think He’s
all powerful? His own disciple betrayed Him for a mere 30 pieces of silver,
that’s the equivalent of $18 in your currency. Some Savior He was, He couldn’t
even control His own misguided followers.
I don’t live
in the land of faith and fairy-tale; I’m a realist and I knew what had to be
done. That’s why I survived and the blasphemer died. Oh, you say He’s not gone;
that’s He’s still with you today in spirit? You claim He came back to life?
Let me guess,
you use the Scriptures as your guide? In them you have the history of our
people and truth from God, I readily admit that I readily use it. But you also
have fanciful stories about sins being forgiven and a bodily resurrection from
the dead? And Jesus promises to give you this? That’s certainly a leap of
faith, don’t you think? I know one thing for sure. I saw Him die. I made sure
to witness it; to see the completion of my hard work. Whatever His zealots
decided to do with His body after that is not my concern. Whatever hoax they
concocted will surely come to light soon. I will trust what I saw. You can
trust what Jesus promises you. We’ll see soon enough who’s right.
You who trust
the Scriptures, you really are just like the blasphemer. When I look at your
lives it almost as if I see a mirror of His, though you are not as bold as He
was. You care about others; thinking that kindness and humility actually mean
anything. You quickly discredit your own worthiness, calling yourselves
sinners? You bow in repentance? Those who truly have God don’t need such
foolishness. Haven’t you learned anything from the Pharisees? It’s all smoke
and mirrors. Don’t get me wrong, I love God’s Word, but it’s open to so much
interpretation. No one can know what is really true from the Scriptures. That’s
why you must listen to me, the high priest! I speak directly for God. I’ve been
given the right to make atonement for sins, not some Galilean prophet! And mark
my words, this Christian movement will die on the vine and no one will remember
that blasphemer. You can put that in
your Scriptures.
As for me, I
stood up and defended our people when I was called upon. I will be remembered
for that, as it should be. But as a parting message, humor me. Let me ask you
this. Why do you believe in this
Jesus? Do you really want your life to change because of Him? Look at Peter and
the rest of them, it’s only a matter of time before they’re in our grasp again;
and be assured, no one will protect them on that day. Do you think salvation comes
by faith only? I’ve never heard anything so illogical! God favors the strong.
God is with those who act. That is my belief. I will stand before God one day
on my merits, not on those of another man.
Was the
blasphemer a good man? In many ways He was. He helped the poor. Even I can’t
deny His power to perform miracles. He taught with great authority and gained
multitudes of followers. I must admit, I was a little taken aback by how
patient and calm He was while on trial. I didn’t expect that. I was hoping to
at least get Him to crack under the pressure. I also know that many of the
people still side with Him, including you. That’s really what bothers me the
most, His popularity just won’t go away, no matter what we do. I know I look
bad in the eyes of the people, as if I don’t care about them. I’m certainly not
as good to them as Jesus was. But not all of us can be fanatical heroes. I must
lead the people in strength and power, call my actions “collateral damage” if
it makes you feel better. I did what was best for Israel. I will forever be a
servant to them, as I should be, as God has called me to be. They may not
always understand why I do what I do, just as you surely don’t. But that is my
life’s calling.
If you want a
life of lowliness and scorn. If you deny yourself and you repent of sin. If you
truly believe that you can’t get to God on your own, then by all means follow
Jesus. You can have that for that is all you Christians deserve. As for me, I
am the high priest. I don’t need a Savior or a Redeemer. You want to boast in a
man’s death, that’s your choice. I don’t need it. Amen.
The peace of
God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
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