Politics, Prophesy, & Passover | Tim Henderson

Well, many of you know probably that before moving to Roanoke, Kelly and I used to work with Campus Crusade for Christ, and my job was to direct the ministry at Penn State. What maybe fewer of you know is that prior to that assignment, we worked with Crew at another campus. I directed Crew at Westchester University, which was the first campus we worked at. And we led there for a long time, loved that, and then got transferred or asked to go to Penn State, which we did. And as you'd expect, they had somebody come in and replace me in the ministry at Westchester.

Several years later, when I was still at Penn State, I got a phone call from a friend of mine, a guy named John, who had taken over the ministry at Westchester, to tell me that they had suffered first a really painful tragedy, and then a really bizarre situation. There was a student involved in the ministry that had grown really sick, and a number of students were just really supportive, loved this guy, and began to pray earnestly that the Lord would rescue him from this impending death. But in fact, he did die, and the movement was really grieved by it.

And these students that had been praying earnestly that their friend would not die, began to pray earnestly that he would be raised from the dead. Earnestly, fervently, incessantly. And in fact, the notion that God not only could raise the dead, but would raise the dead, and in particular, would raise their dead friend became something of a test of orthodoxy in this little subculture of these students. And they were not about to give it up.

So, as happens, the parents of this student held a funeral. And at this funeral, this cluster of students showed up loudly living out their belief that God was going to drape himself in glory by the dramatic reversal of death for this child. Parents did not appreciate this at all. They didn't take this as a sign of their great faith, but rather as a most unwelcome circus that was intruding in their ability to grieve their son's death in peace.

Well, the dramatic end of that story, as you might guess, is that that student stayed dead. And is today, in the grave where he was laid to rest. I recall that story to you just to observe what you already know, which is that when people die, they stay dead. And they're going to stay dead until Jesus returns to the earth to restore all things and raise us all.

Lazarus' resurrection may have become for you like something ho-hum. I mean, I've heard the story a thousand times. This is kind of... But you guys, it's not ho-hum. It's a big deal. It is a huge deal. It is as big of a deal as it would have been if those misguided students had been correct.

And so when we get to the point where Lazarus is raised from the dead, we should be shocked. We should be just completely dumbfounded that this thing happened, because this thing doesn't happen. And if you have that expectation and you're hoping that what John is going to do now is be like, okay, check this out, and then here's how it went—you're going to be very disappointed. Because John gives us nothing.

This thing has happened that is absolutely extraordinary, and he's given us all these details of the conversation that Mary had with Jesus, and that Martha had with Jesus. And I wish there was a conversation that Jesus had with Mary after the fact. There must have been a conversation that Jesus had with Martha after the fact. Or at very least, wouldn't you love it if John had interviewed Lazarus? Like, wouldn't you love to hear this story from his vantage point? You get nothing. Not a drop, none of that.

All that John gives us—he's so incredibly stingy. All that he says here, after this unbelievable event, is:

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him. — John 11:45

That's it. And then John pivots and he starts talking about the opposition that is coming. He's just so stingy. It just kind of drives me crazy. All that he tells us is that because Lazarus was raised from the dead, many believed. Which you might recall from earlier in the chapter—that was the point of the whole thing. Remember when Jesus said, "Hey, I'm glad that I'm not there so that you may believe." That was the purpose of this whole thing. This whole thing is orchestrated so that people will believe.

We get that, and then John moves on because he has other things to talk about. Which is a little bit unsatisfying—I'd like to learn more about that in the world to come. But I want you to see what he does choose to focus on, because there's something here for us as well.

With a simple statement that many believed, John pivots to talk about the opposition that is coming from those who did not believe, from those who did not want to believe. And from this point on, it's all straight opposition—the only thing that John wants to talk about.

So I want you to notice three things about the opposition that John is recording. Number one, it was caused by a usurping political agenda. Number two, it carried an unintended prophecy. And number three, it culminated in the ultimate Passover.

The Political Agenda

Let's begin with the political agenda. Just listen to how this plays out.

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and they said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." — John 11:45-48

So their question is, "What are we to do?" Well, I'll tell you what you should do—you should worship him as Christ. He's raising the dead.

And this is what is so crazy when you look at this for these guys. This is it. He has come. The very reason your nation has been called into existence, the long awaited day—it has finally arrived. For thousands of years, there's been this promise, this long waited anticipation that someone would come to redeem you, someone would come to redeem the world. And he's here. He's right here.

You're not even contesting the evidence of his power. They know that he has raised the dead. That's all stipulated, and yet they confront it. It's so stupid. Something has blinded them so they cannot see what they're directly looking at. The most important person to ever walk the face of the earth is standing before them, and all they can see is how this is gonna complicate their relationship with Rome. I mean, what in the world? Talk about losing the plot. It is just aggravating to watch.

But as ridiculous as it seems, this is not the last time that somebody's preference for power or political expediency has kept them from seeing the importance of what God is really doing in a given moment. We too can become so enamored by the trees that we lose the ability to see the forest.

I just wonder, is there any chance for some of us? Is God doing something meaningful in your life but you can't see it and you can't receive it because you've been waiting so long for him to finally do it that you found something that you can use to distract yourself while you're waiting, and now the distraction has become the thing and you forgot the point of it all? That is what is happening to them, and I fear that it could happen to us. It might be happening to some of us this very minute.

The Unintended Prophecy

Take a look at the unintended prophecy, which is fascinating.

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on, they made plans to put him to death. — John 11:49-53

Caiaphas is the high priest, which means he's the chief Jew in charge of things, and he says something that makes absolute sense at the surface level according to his vantage point, but which he has no idea is also much more meaningful at a deeper and more important level. It's true at his level, but it is also true in a way that is completely at odds with his own priority.

He simply says, "Hey, listen, it's good for Israel if Jesus dies." He's like, "Yeah, we gotta kill this guy." What he means is, it's good for Israel if Jesus dies so that the nation won't suffer harm. But what's in fact true is that it's good for Israel if Jesus dies so that he can absorb into himself the penalty for their sin.

And John points out the irony that he was exactly right, but on a different plane of which he was completely unaware. Jesus did die for the people of Israel, and not just for the people of Israel, but also for what he calls the scattered children of God. That's you. You Gentiles who have no right to any claim in the Jewish Messiah. John is saying he was dying not just for the nation, but for the nations.

This was unintentionally and obliviously the most important and the truest thing that this man ever said. And with his strange, unconscious double meaning, he catalyzes the crucifixion. This is it.

This is the moment that the Jews are gonna cross the Rubicon. This is the moment, right here, the very end of John 11, that seals Jesus' death. John is using this whole first half of the book, the book of signs, all through chapter 11. This is like the fifth or sixth week in John 11. Right? We're finally getting to the end of it. And what happens here at the end of it is it's like, this man must die. He must die.

Now, this is not where this begins. In fact, do you guys remember where did the blood lust for Jesus begin in John's gospel? Do you remember the first time we heard that they wanted to kill him? Where was it? When he said he was God. Yes. That's exactly right, Catherine. It was back in John 5 when he healed a man on the Sabbath, and when he was confronted by it, he basically made himself equal with God.

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he's even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. — John 5:18

Just like you said, Catherine.

John reminds us of this intent in John 7:

After this, Jesus went about in Galilee, he would not go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him. — John 7

And then in John 8, they tried to kill him:

They picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. — John 8:59

And then again, they tried in chapter 10:

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. — John 10:31

But those were all spontaneous, disorganized reactions, and they were ineffective. What's changing here in John 11 is they're like, alright, alright, alright, enough of this. From that day on, they made plans to put him to death. They're gonna say, it's time, we're gonna get this right. We're going to form a plan, we're gonna think this through, we're gonna be methodological, and we're going to get it done.

And since Lazarus is such a difficult living proof for them of the power of Jesus, you know what they plan to do? They're gonna kill him too. Right?

So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well. — John 12:10

Can you imagine thinking that this is a good idea, that this is the reasonable solution? They are just so absolutely blinded by their political considerations, by the things of this world, and their love of power that they miss it all. As Jesus will say later, from the cross himself, they do not know what they are doing.

They, and we are all capable of astonishing levels of blindness. Whenever I see people being absolute idiots, it frightens me to wonder if I am capable of the same level of blindness and stupidity and selfishness. And it seems to me unreasonably optimistic to believe that I am not. There's something wrong with us. Our ability to love ourselves to our massive disadvantage is just almost limitless.

And so they do. But in any case, it is go time for them. They are determined they're gonna kill him and so they set a plan in motion. But what I want you to see here is that it's still up to Jesus. Jesus is not gonna have his life taken from him, he's going to surrender it.

There's been a theme that runs throughout John's gospel: the hour has not yet come, the time is not yet here. And even though they say, okay, it's time, let's kill him, that is still subject to Jesus's approval. He will not die until the date that he is chosen to die. And so he goes into hiding for a little bit. They will kill him when and only when Jesus submits to be killed. He's evaded them multiple times, and now he's gonna go into an evasion cycle for just a little bit more.

There Jesus, therefore, no longer walked openly among the Jews, but he went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. — John 11:54

So have you ever wondered, what is he waiting for exactly? Could it be that Jesus is just trying to work up the nerve to go through this absolute agony? I think it would be understandable if Jesus was just trying to delay and defer. You might. If you knew you're gonna be crucified, you might just try to buy time. Maybe he's just trying to stretch this thing out as long as he can.

But in fact, that's not the case. Jesus has a specific date in mind and they will not be permitted to kill him until that date arrives. What's the date, you guys? It's Passover. They wanna kill him today, he's like, no, not today. Wait. Because we're gonna do this on Passover. The day of his Passover, Jesus is choreographing this entire thing and he's allowing himself to be captured on purpose on Passover.

— John 11:55

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and 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, they should let them know, so that they might arrest him. — John 11:55-57

This is Passover, at the Passover feast, when he will finally allow them to capture him, and it's not a coincidence. Now, this is a strange thing and I cannot resist—I'm gonna go on a little bit of a side trail for the rest of our time together because I want you to understand this. But I'm just gonna warn you on the front end: this is gonna take a little bit of mental juice, okay? And it's kind of stupid to do the hard stuff at the end of the sermon, but this is church with the Holy Spirit, and you guys are very smart people. So come in, okay? There's a payoff. Stay with me. Trust me. It's gonna be worth it by the time we're done.

Yom Kippur and Passover

There are multiple days in the Jewish calendar that are high holy days. There are two in particular that might seem very appropriate times for the Messiah to offer his life as a sacrifice for all people. Passover is one of them, and we're gonna talk more about that in a minute. But what is the other one? What might be the candidates for when it would make sense for the time for the Messiah to be offered as a sacrifice?

Yom Kippur and the Day of Atonement are the same thing. So Passover's in the spring, Day of Atonement is in the fall, and the day of atonement honestly makes maybe a little bit more sense. Those two days would be the particularly appropriate times for Jesus to surrender his life. We'll talk about Passover in a second, but let's do Yom Kippur first.

Yom Kippur is the day that the high priest would offer a sacrifice, first for himself, and then for the sins of the people. It is the day in which he makes atonement—annually, one day a year that he makes atonement for the people. It is the day, if you remember this at all, when there were two goats. We take one goat, and upon each of them, we impute the wickedness of the people. All of the blame, all of the wrongness, wickedness, sin, and rebellion of the people are imputed to these goats. Then one goat is banished. This goat is sent off into the wilderness, presumably where it will ultimately die, but what's being pictured there is estrangement, isolation, separation. You're gone because our sin separates us from God. The other goat has his throat slit, and he bleeds out, and his blood is scattered in the holy of holies. All of the sin of the Israelites are imputed to these goats. Banishment and death are the consequence of sin. For as Paul says:

The wages of sin is death. — Romans 6:23

This is Yom Kippur. Our mental categories of what's accomplished in the atonement seem to point most to Yom Kippur because we tend to think of the cross in terms of penal substitutionary atonement, which is exactly what Yom Kippur was about. Jesus was dying on the cross as a substitute in our place to absorb the wrath of God. He took the penalty that we deserved. And so it would have made perfect sense if Jesus had allowed himself to be caught on the day of atonement. But what's interesting is that he didn't. His chosen date for his atoning crucifixion was Passover, which actually conveys something different.

It's very likely that you think of the Passover in terms of penal substitutionary atonement because we just tend to shove things in whatever cubbyhole we happen to already possess. But that is not what Passover is about. Penal substitution is true and Jesus' death is the ultimate fulfillment of Yom Kippur. But what he was communicating by allowing himself to be crucified on Passover is different. It's not penal substitutionary atonement. So let's remember what Passover is.

If you wanna go read up on it, it's Exodus chapter 12—you can take in all the details there—but I'm just gonna give you a summary. The people of God have fallen into captivity. They went into Egypt a long time ago, four hundred years ago, seeking refuge from a famine essentially. But once there they got enslaved. Their power was weakened and weakened and weakened. And now they are slaves of a brutal, overbearing Pharaoh. After four hundred years of this misery, God finally sends them a deliverer. He sends a rescuer to free them from the clutches of Pharaoh. It's finally time that they get to go home. Moses confronts the Pharaoh and he orchestrates a series of plagues, one after another.

There's frogs and there's boils and there's blood and there's locusts and there's darkness, but none of them compel the pharaoh to relent. And the slavery continues. And so the tenth plague is this: it is a fatal blow against the enemy of God and the enemy of his people. On one particular night, the Lord will visit every house in Egypt and the firstborn in every house will die. This is an act of war, to defeat an enemy and to free the people and to mark those who are to be freed.

The father of the house is able to prevent the death from coming. In every household, a father would take a lamb and he would kill it and he would spread its blood on the doorposts. And whenever the Lord saw the blood on those doorposts, he would pass over that house. One of the best depictions I've ever seen of that comes from a film called The Prince of Egypt which you may have seen like ten or fifteen years ago. I don't think it's Disney—was it DreamWorks? I forget who did this. But if we could darken the lights, I want you to see this depiction of the Passover night as the Lord defeats his enemies.

The Meaning of Passover and the Cross

Passover is not about atoning for sin in the sense of the penalty of sin. It is about freedom from slavery. It's not about paying a penalty, it's not a replay of Yom Kippur, it is not the high priest offering a sacrifice for the sins of the people. It is God defeating an enemy, so as to free his people from slavery. It is about God's victory over Egypt. And you guys, it anticipates God's victory over Satan so that his people can be freed from sin.

When theologians talk about the cross of Christ, they observe that there was a lot going on on that day. One of the things that was happening is best described in the language of penal substitutionary atonement. Jesus was absorbing the wrath of God in our place as a substitute.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. — Isaiah 53

All of that is true. But another thing that was happening on the cross is what theologians call Christus Victor, the victory of Christ. For on the cross, Christ accomplished victory over Satan and his minions.

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. — Colossians 2

You guys, this is the significance of Jesus allowing himself to be killed on Passover. The cross is a declaration of victory. He is not only the one who suffered in our place bearing the wrath of God, drinking sin's penalty, but he is also the one who defeated our enemy and freed us from sin's power. It is because of Jesus that we are spared from judgment and it is because of him that we are set free from sin and made subjects of a better kingdom under a better king.

Jesus is the true and greater Moses who didn't merely free us from Egypt, but from sin and Satan himself. And what all of that means, you guys, is that you don't have to live in Egypt anymore. We're no longer under the demand of darkness. Jesus has freed us to walk in newness of life. And if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.

So we are finally, finally transitioning out of the book of signs and into the book of glory. And as we transition into this last week of Jesus' life, which will probably take us about six months to look at, it's going to lead to his death, which itself will lead to his resurrection. And I want you to watch it, remembering the whole time that everything that we're driving towards is going to happen on Passover because Jesus chose to allow it to happen on Passover.

And remember, his death did not merely free you from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. You once were a slave to sin, but you are no longer because he has set you free.

Lord Jesus, how can we thank you for all that you've done for us, for all that you paid for us? Let our minds be often drawn to the fact that you freed us from the penalty of sin. And that's enormous. For who would want to face death, destruction? Lord, the fact that you put yourself in our place is more than we could ever dare to hope. But Lord, you've gone beyond that and you've also freed us from the very clutches of sin. We don't have to live in the same way that we used to live. We don't have to persist in the habits that we developed when we were members of the demand of darkness, but we are free.

Holy Spirit, we ask you that you would give us the grace to embrace that freedom, to live a newness of life, and to demonstrate our new life by cheerful, joyful obedience to our new and better king.

We love you, love you, love you. Thanks for loving us. Amen.