Belief in Jesus!

For Saturday, May 6, 2023:

John 12:9-11 NKJV: “Now a great many of the Jews knew that Jesus was there; and they came, not for his sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”

The good thing Jesus did – raising Lazarus from the dead – was a threat to the religious status quo. Bringing a dead man back to life is too significant a miracle to be ignored. In three verses, John sums up the problem. Note that it wasn’t about God or prophesy or a fine point of theology. It’s about power, influence and ultimately money. If crowds of people were leaving the Synagogues to follow Jesus, their tithes were moving too!

The religious leader’s answer to this problem was a double murder, Jesus and now Lazarus. Their solution flew in the face of God’s commandments. Simply put, they were wrong.

We know now that Jesus dying, paying the price for the sins of the world, was all a part of God’s rescue plan to save mankind. How ironic that the Pharisee’s plot to murder the Son of God would put our salvation in motion! God is truly good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship