Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; They shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees. (Ezekiel 37:24)
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock. (Jeremiah 31:10d)
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (John 11:49-50)
Piety
Jesus, words cannot express my gratitude for what You did for me and for many so that sins may be forgiven. May my actions and service in Your name speak for me.
Study
Caiaphas was right, of course.
But he didn’t realize it.
It was better for all of us that one man would die so that the rest of us would not perish eternally. It was better because God loves us all so completely and wants reconciliation for us.
But Caiaphas spoke from a sense of his understanding of the Torah and the prophets and not a little sense of self-preservation. Jesus was dangerous. In addition to all those water into wine and people with disabilities cured public actions, Jesus had now raised a friend who had been dead for four days. D-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s. Jesus threatened the status quo in a way that seemed likely to cause still more problems for the people Caiaphas led that year, and that scared him.
Like Caiaphas, sometimes we think we understand God. We seek to arrange our lives to eliminate problems and protect those we love and lead. Change is as difficult for us as it was for the chief priests and Pharisees. But if we believe, truly believe, that one man died so that we need not perish for all eternity, if we don’t just pay lip service and go through the motions, then we need not fear change, for we have hope in how our story will end.
Action
Say a prayer for Caiaphas and the others who lacked the ability to believe what was right in front of them.
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