The Unwitting Prophet and the Sovereign God Text: John 11:45-57
Introduction: The Calculus of Heaven and Earth
We come now to a passage that lays bare the inner workings of two starkly different councils. On the one hand, we have the Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jews, gathered in a panic. They are doing their political arithmetic, calculating risks, and trying to manage a crisis. On the other hand, hovering over all their frantic machinations, is the sovereign council of the Triune God, which decreed before the foundation of the world every last detail of what was about to unfold. The Sanhedrin thought they were in control, but they were merely stagehands in a divine drama, reading lines written for them by the ultimate Playwright.
This is a central lesson for the Christian life. We are constantly tempted to view the world through the lens of the Sanhedrin. We see political threats, cultural decay, and rising opposition, and we ask, "What are we doing?" We start doing the math, trying to figure out how to preserve our "place and our nation." But God is teaching us here to see with different eyes. He is teaching us to see that the frantic, self-preserving plots of wicked men are the very instruments He uses to accomplish His glorious, redemptive purposes. God does not just make lemonade out of lemons; He ordained the sourness of the lemon from eternity to bring about the sweetness of the final drink.
The raising of Lazarus was a sign that could not be ignored. It was an earth-shattering, category-disrupting miracle. It forced a decision. For many, it led to genuine faith. But for the religious establishment, it was the last straw. The miracle that brought life to Lazarus sealed the death sentence for Jesus. And in the high priest's cold, calculating pronouncement, we hear one of the most profound and ironic prophecies in all of Scripture. Caiaphas, intending to speak as a ruthless pragmatist, was seized by the Spirit of God and made to speak as a prophet of the gospel. God put His words in the mouth of His enemy, and made him declare the mystery of the atonement. This is our God. He makes the wrath of man to praise Him.
The Text
Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
(John 11:45-57 LSB)
A Divided Response and a Panicked Council (vv. 45-48)
We begin with the aftermath of the miracle.
"Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done." (John 11:45-46)
Every great work of God forces a division. The light comes, and it separates. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. Here, the sign of Lazarus's resurrection creates two groups. The first group sees the glory of God and believes. Their hearts are opened, and they receive the testimony. But the second group sees the exact same event and their response is to run straight to the authorities. They become informants. Notice, the text does not say they disbelieved the miracle. They knew what had happened. The problem was not a lack of evidence; the problem was a rebellious heart. They saw the power of God and decided to enlist on the other side.
This report throws the Sanhedrin into a frenzy.
"Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, 'What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.'" (John 11:47-48)
Their first question, "What are we doing?" reveals their panic. They acknowledge the signs. Again, this is not a council of skeptics debating the evidence. They concede the miracles. Their problem is not intellectual; it is political. Their concern is entirely self-interested. They are worried about their "place" and their "nation." Their place refers to their position, their power, their prestige, and the temple system that lined their pockets. Their nation refers to the fragile political arrangement they had with Rome. They feared that if Jesus's popularity grew, He would be hailed as a messianic king, which would provoke a brutal Roman crackdown, and they would lose everything.
The irony here is thick enough to cut with a knife. In their effort to save their place and their nation by killing Jesus, they ensured that they would lose both. Forty years later, in A.D. 70, the Romans did come. They utterly destroyed the temple, scattered the nation, and obliterated their "place." The very thing they feared came upon them precisely because they rejected the One who could have saved them. This is what happens when you trade your Messiah for political security. You lose both.
The Pragmatic Blasphemy of Caiaphas (vv. 49-53)
Into this chaotic meeting steps the high priest, Caiaphas, with a word of cold, hard, political calculus.
"But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.'" (John 11:49-50)
Caiaphas cuts through their hand-wringing with brutal clarity. He insults their intelligence and then lays out his pragmatic solution: sacrifice one man to save the many. From his perspective, this is simple math. Jesus is a political liability. The nation is at stake. Therefore, for the greater good, Jesus must be eliminated. This is the logic of every tyrant in history. Individual justice is irrelevant when the stability of the state is on the line. He is not concerned with right and wrong, guilt or innocence. He is concerned with what is "better for you," meaning, what is expedient.
But then John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, pulls back the curtain and shows us what was really happening.
"Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." (John 11:51-52)
This is a staggering display of God's sovereignty. God commandeers the vocal cords of a corrupt, unbelieving politician and makes him preach the gospel. Caiaphas meant it as a statement of political expediency, but God meant it as a statement of substitutionary atonement. God honored the office of the high priest, even when the man in it was a scoundrel. Like Balaam, who was hired to curse Israel but could only bless them, Caiaphas intended to speak for his own wicked purposes, but God overruled him and made him speak for His.
And notice the scope of the prophecy. Caiaphas was only thinking of the Jewish nation. But God, through Caiaphas, was thinking of the world. Jesus would die not just for that one nation, but to "gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." This refers to God's elect, both Jew and Gentile, scattered across the globe and throughout history. The death of Jesus was not a tribal sacrifice; it was a global, cosmic act of redemption that would create a new people, the Church, from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The council is persuaded by Caiaphas's ruthless logic, and the decision is made.
"So from that day on they planned together to kill Him." (John 11:53)
The verdict is in. The conspiracy is now official policy. The highest religious body in Israel has formally resolved to murder their Messiah.
Divine Timing and Public Opinion (vv. 54-57)
Jesus, knowing their plot, makes a strategic withdrawal. His hour has not yet come.
"Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples." (John 11:54)
This is not an act of fear, but of sovereign control. Jesus is the author of this story, and He will not allow the final chapter to begin a moment too soon or a moment too late. He must die at Jerusalem, during the Passover, as the true Passover Lamb. The plots of men do not dictate His schedule; the eternal decree of God does. He withdraws to Ephraim, a town near the wilderness, to wait for the appointed time and to continue preparing His disciples for what is to come.
Meanwhile, the tension in Jerusalem builds as the great feast approaches.
"Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, 'What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?'" (John 11:55-56)
The city is buzzing with anticipation. The pilgrims coming for Passover are all talking about Jesus. He is the central topic of conversation. Will He show up? Does He dare? The atmosphere is charged with expectation and danger. The people are looking for their Messiah, while their leaders are looking to kill Him.
The trap is officially set.
"Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him." (John 11:57)
An official warrant is out for His arrest. They are deputizing the entire populace, turning citizens into informants. They are trying to hunt Him down like a common criminal. The stage is now perfectly set for the final confrontation in Jerusalem.
God's Plan, Man's Plot
What are we to take from this? We must see the absolute, meticulous sovereignty of God over the affairs of men, even in their most wicked acts. The Sanhedrin met, they debated, they schemed, and they passed their resolution. They thought it was their plan. But Peter, preaching at Pentecost, tells us what was really going on: "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men" (Acts 2:23).
They were responsible. They were guilty. Their motives were evil. And yet, through their very wickedness, they were fulfilling the "definite plan" of God. This is the great mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Men make their choices, and they are accountable for them. But God stands over all their choices, weaving them into His perfect tapestry of redemption.
Caiaphas thought he was solving a political problem. He was, in fact, articulating the gospel of grace. He thought he was preserving his nation. He was, in fact, providing the sacrifice that would create a new nation, a holy priesthood, the church of the living God. He thought he was getting rid of a troublemaker. He was, in fact, enthroning a King.
This should give us tremendous confidence. The world is filled with Caiaphases. They sit in the halls of power, making their pragmatic calculations, utterly oblivious to the God who rules over them. They plot and they scheme, and they think they are in charge. But our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3). And He is pleased to use the foolish, wicked, self-serving plans of men to accomplish the salvation of His people and the glory of His Son. Therefore, we do not fear their councils or their decrees. We trust in the God who makes even a high priest's curse into a declaration of the gospel.