The apostle John wrote how Jesus stood at the grave where Lazarus was buried, and “cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many miracles”, and in chapter eleven and verse forty-eight of his book John shared how how the Pharisees said, “if we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him” where we read:
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him:
and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
The verse reads, “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him:” John began with the words, “if we let him thus alone” which means “whether we allow and permit Jesus to be sent forth, let go or disregarded”, “all men” or “each, every, the whole and everyone both male and female” “will believe on him” which means “will trust in, rely upon, cling to and have confidence in Jesus”. John shared how the “religious leaders” surmised that if they allowed Jesus to continue His work, everybody would put their faith and trust in Him.
The verse continues, “and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” John added the words, “and the Romans” which means “and the members and authorities of the Roman government” “shall come and take away” which means “will arise, appear, remove and carry off” “both our place and nation” or “also and indeed the Jewish people's cities, villages, power and occasions for acting”. John shared how the “religious leaders” were concerned that if people “believed and trusted” in Jesus, the “ruling government – the Romans” would appear and remove their habitations and power to make decisions.
When we think through John's words in this verse, we learn about the dilemma for the “religious leaders” because of Jesus. If they continued to allow Jesus to do His work, people everywhere would put their “faith and trust” in Him, and the result would be the “Roman government” would come in and strip them of not only their possessions, but also their “power” to rule. In other words, the possessions and power of the “high priests and Pharisees” were threatened by Jesus. God loves people, and He puts people in authority, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (See Romans 13:1). He is able to build up governments, and He is able to tear them down. God's idea was to send His Son Jesus to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords of all the world, and everyone who surrenders their life to Him will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with Him. In other words, He is the ultimate government, possession and power, and nothing on earth should ever keep a person from yielding to Him.
Next time John shares how, “Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said … You know nothing at all”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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