Bible Study series: John 11:45-57. Jesus left Jerusalem for a while.
I write to learn. Together let’s learn more about this passage and apply it to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many translations click here:
For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 11:45-57
45 Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him. 46 But some of them left for the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did.
47 So the chief priests and Pharisees assembled the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do because this man does many signs? 48 If we let him go on in this manner, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy us and this place and the nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, was the high priest that year, and he told them, “You know nothing! 50 Nor do you consider that is advantageous for you that one man should die for the people and not the entire nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but since he was the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only but so that the children of God who were scattered might gather into one. 53 So from that day on, they planned to kill him.
54 So Jesus no longer walked around in public in Judea but departed from there for the country near the desert to a town called Ephraim and stayed there with the disciples.
55 The Feast of Passover of the Jews was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem from the countryside before the Passover in order to purify themselves. 56 Then they were looking for Jesus and were saying between them, standing in the temple, “What do you think? That he may not come to the Feast at all?”
57 The chief priests and Pharisees gave an order that if anyone knew where he was should inform them, so that they might arrest him. (John 11:45-57)
45-46:
So the crowd divides in two. Many believed in him, and we don’t know how deep their faith went, but it seems to be deep. Recall that thousands of Jews believed in Jesus after Pentecost (Acts 2:41; 44; 6:7 [large number of priests]; 20:21). No doubt Jesus ministry prepared the way for their conversion.
47-48:
The chief priests:
The Pharisees:
Sanhedrin:
Please see this link for a short write up about each one:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
They belonged to the highest court and council in Judaism, but as we will learn, they can declare a man guilty of the death penalty, but they cannot execute him without the Romans giving their permission.
They were concerned about the Romans. They may misinterpret the purpose of Jesus and claim he was a political revolutionary, with their backing. Then to punish them, the Romans would sack their city and destroy “this place,” meaning both Jerusalem and the temple. As it happened, the Romans did conquer the city and destroyed the temple in A.D. 70 (Matt. 21:33-45; 24:2; Luke 19:41-45; 21:20-24; 23:26-31). So his prophecy proved only partly or temporarily true.
49-53:
Often God will speak through unexpected people. He prophesied through this high priest. Please see this post for a list of people through whom God spoke or communicated.
What Happens at Judgment to People Who Never Heard Gospel?
Caiaphas spoke the words of utilitarianism: the greatest good for the greatest number. One man dying instead of the entire nation (or the priestly aristocracy and the other religious leaders) being destroyed? No contest! One man!
In his explanatory aside, John sees in Caiaphas’ prophecy the substitutionary atonement. That is, Jesus’s death takes our place or stands in for us or substitutes for us.
There are other theories on the atonement, and each has its place, but the one about Christ being our substitute is essential to our salvation. The entire Day of Atonement ritual shows that the animal dies in place of the high priest.
The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 from a NT Perspective
Some professional theologians may use these verses to support their limited atonement—Christ died only for the elect, not for all people. But this verse is out of bounds for the limited atonement doctrine.
Those who were scattered refers to Gentiles, which Jesus called “other sheep” that would hear his voice and follow him (10:16-17). Everyone who hears the gospel and responds by faith in the Son of God can be saved, whether Jew or Gentile.
Klink: The work of Jesus is universal and, as denoted by the purpose clause, is intended to ‘gather together’ … all God’s children, both Jew and gentile, into one body, the church. This is, then the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16), and Jesus will be their eternal high priest” (comment on v. 52).
In v. 53, the Passover plot has been hatched (Borchert, comment on v. 53)
54:
Jesus left Jerusalem because he sensed it was not his Father’s time. He had to wait for Passover. This verse reminds me of these: “Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple” (John 8:59). “Then they were attempting to arrest him, but he departed out of their hands. Then he departed again beyond the Jordan River to the place where John was baptizing the first time and stayed there.” (John 10:39-40). It is okay to leave persecution.
A city called Ephraim was near Bethel and was probably called “Ephron” in 2 Chron. 13:19 (Bruce, comments on v. 54). Nowadays you can look it up on google maps of the Bible. My website is not set up for creating maps.
55-57:
Let’s discuss the Passover.
Passover comes from the noun pascha (pronounced pah-skha, for the -ch- is hard). This is one of three festivals required by law (Tabernacles or Booths and Pentecost are the other two). Let’s define Passover. BDAG is considered by many to be the authoritative lexicon of the Greek NT. It says: (1) An annual Israelite festival commemorating Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the Passover, celebrated on the 14th of the month Nisan and continuing into the early hours of the 15th … Ex 12-13 … This was followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th to 21st. Popular usage merged the two festivals and treated them as a unity, as they were for practical purposes (see Lk 22:1 and Mk 14:12)”…. (2) “the lamb sacrificed for observance of the Passover, Passover lamb …figurative of Christ and his bloody death 1 Cor. 5:7 … eat the Passover Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12b, 14; Lk 22:11, 15; J 18:28.” (3) “The Passover meal Mt 26:19; Mk 14:16; Lk 22:8” …. (4) “in later Christian usage the Easter festival.”
The key points in that definition: popular usage merged Passover and Unleavened Bread for practical reasons; the Greek can be translated as the lamb itself, so the figurative usage is easy to apply to Christ’s sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7). (To this day, modern Greeks celebrate the pascha by eating a lamb.) The latter usage of the term “Easter” is the church’s choice to take over a pagan festival. You can certainly skip the term if it bothers your conscience and biblical values.
Here are the basic facts about the two festivals:
(1).. Passover
Time of year in OT: First Month: Aviv / Nisan 14th day (for one day)
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: March / April (second Passover is one month later according to Num. 9:10-11)
How to celebrate it:
(1) A whole lamb by the number of people in household, being ready to share with nearest neighbor; (2) one-year-old males without defects, taken from sheep and goats; (3) take care of them until the fourteenth day; (4) then all the community is to slaughter it at twilight; (5) put the blood on the tops and sides of the doorframes of the houses where the lambs are eaten, with bitter herbs and bread without yeast; (6) that night eat the lambs roasted over fire, with the head, legs and internal organs, not raw or boiled (7) do not leave any of it until morning; if there is any leftover, burn it; (8) the cloak must be tucked into belt; sandals on feet and staff in hand; (9) eat in haste in order to leave Egypt soon (Exod. 12:4-11).
Purpose: Exodus from Egypt and Protection from Judgment:
“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exod. 12:13).
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:4-14; Num. 28:16
(2).. Unleavened Bread
Time of Year in OT: Same month, 15th to 21st days, for seven days
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: Same month, on the fifteenth day, which lasts for seven days
How to celebrate it:
Exod. 12:14-20 says that the Israelites were to eat bread without yeast for seven days, from the fourteenth day to the twenty-first day. On the first day they were to remove the yeast from their houses. If they eat anything with yeast from the first to the seventh days they shall be cut off (excommunicated), and this was true for foreigner or native-born. They must not do work on those days, except to prepare to prepare the food for everyone to eat. On the first days they are to hold a sacred assembly (meet at the tabernacle) and another one on the seventh day.
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:14-20; Num. 28:16
Purpose: see the previous section “Passover.”
Paul writes in 1 Cor. 5:6-8:
Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor. 5:6-8)
The ancient Israelites were not supposed to eat leavened bread during this time. They were in such a hurry to leave Egypt that they could not wait for the yeast to raise the lump of dough. In this context yeast symbolized sin and hindrance. We are to keep the Passover, but only in a spiritual sense: “with sincerity and faith.” We are to get rid of the old yeast or moral corruption in our lives and the life of the church. Christ is our Passover lamb, and he protects us from God judicial wrath or judgment, when we are in union with him.
Festivals in Leviticus 23 from a NT Perspective
As we saw in vv. 1-2 and 1 Cor. 5:6-8, Jesus is our Passover lamb. And so, John draws the comparison between Jesus and the Passover lamb (John 1:29). His blood smeared on the door of your heart protects you from God’s judgment at the final judgment. However, please be aware that God is judging / evaluating you every minute of every day. Sometimes he likes what he sees, and at other times he tells you that you need an attitude adjustment.
See Heb. 12: 5-11, which talks about the discipline of the Lord out of his love. And 1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins with the household of God—now, here on earth.
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
The purification for the Passover is laid down in Num. 9:6-12:
6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day 7 and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”
8 Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, 11 but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. (Num 9:6-12, NIV)
And in this passage:
17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord. 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (2 Chron. 30:17-20, NIV)
Bruce says that the Jewish historian Josephus confirms that Jews went to Jerusalem a week or so earlier to purify themselves (comment on v. 55). He also says that this is the third Passover, which he places around A.D. 30. John 2:20 says the first Passover for Jesus in his adult ministry was forty-six years after Herod began rebuilding the temple. The second Passover is recorded in John 6:4, but he did not attend that one.
The city was all abuzz with the prospect that Jesus would again appear during Passover. He will in fact make his triumphal entry in John 12:12-19.
Finally, Bruce points out that the order to arrest him was issued to the Jerusalem populace, but maybe they did not know of the plot to execute him or at least sentence him to death.
GrowApp for John 11:45-57
1. Jesus left Jerusalem to flee persecution. Have you ever had to leave behind your old life when it almost destroyed you?
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 