One for All

Why did Jesus die? What purpose did his death serve? And who gets to decide what that purpose is? These are all important, let’s say essential questions, to discovering the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross. A fascinating passage in John’s gospel provides answers to these questions as John transitions to speaking about Jesus and the cross. Let’s dig into these verses with some help from the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary.

One Man’s Death – John 11:45–57

Main Idea: John answers the question of why Jesus died both from the perspective of the religious leaders and from God’s perspective.

1. The Death of Jesus Was Politically Expedient (11:45–50).
2. The Death of Jesus Was Spiritually Effective (11:51–52).
   • His death satisfied the just wrath of God.
   • His death secured redemption for his children.

The cross is violent, bloody, and the pivotal moment in the Bible’s overarching story; everything that came before the cross pointed ahead to it, and everything that has come after looks back. Our focus on the cruel and bloody death of Jesus Christ does not stem from an unhealthy fascination with violence. It flows from a proper understanding of God’s Word. From this point forward the Gospel of John is focused on the cross. Beginning with the death and resurrection of Lazarus, the focus of this Gospel is the impending sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The raising of Lazarus from the dead assures us of Jesus’s power over death before he goes to the cross to die.

This passage contains a clear, powerful, and somewhat ironic instruction about the purpose of his death. Historically, the death of Jesus Christ cannot be denied. Too many valid sources record the death of Jesus of Nazareth on a cross. The real question revolves around its purpose. What was accomplished on the cross? This passage offers two perspectives on the death of Jesus: that of the religious leaders and that of God.

The Death of Jesus Was Politically Expedient – John 11:45–50

After the resurrection of Lazarus, several people believed on Jesus (v. 45), but some present informed the religious leaders—the Pharisees—of what happened (v. 46). The Pharisees called the other religious leaders—the Sadducees—together for a meeting of the Sanhedrin (v. 47). The Sanhedrin was the highest judicial body in Israel. They had both political and spiritual power but served under Roman authority. For them the power and popularity of Jesus was a significant problem.

They accepted the eyewitness testimony as true and then went about trying to figure out how to stop Jesus (vv. 47–48). They couldn’t bear the thought of a man running loose who could heal people and raise them from the dead. They didn’t protest the authenticity of the healing. They say matter-of-factly, “This man is doing many signs” (v. 47). They acknowledge Jesus has supernatural power to raise the dead. Even their word choice is remarkable. They used the word sign (semeion), which means “an event which is regarded as having some special meaning; something which points to a reality with even greater significance” (Louw and Nida). They acknowledge that the works of Jesus are so phenomenal that they must point to something more significant, yet they refuse to ask what the works point to. These religious leaders see all of these signs and fail to consider what’s being advertised: Jesus is the Messiah. How do we explain their failure to see the truth? The answer is not a lack of information. Jesus gave the answer when he told them they were blinded by their sin.

Their primary concern was maintaining control. Jesus threatened their position and influence. If people continued to believe Jesus was the Messiah, then Rome would sweep in and take away the leaders’ authority. They would lose their position and their freedom. You could better translate the end of verse 48, “The Romans will come and take away from us both our place and our nation.” Their concern wasn’t for the people but for themselves. They were focused on maintaining their own positions of power.

Caiaphas’s Plan

In response to their problem, Caiaphas, the high priest, offers a plan (vv. 49–50). Jesus was a problem, and problems need to be eliminated. With cunning and coldness, the high priest calls for Jesus’s death. His statement reveals another reality of religion. Religion is self-centered and fear motivated, and it always leads to spiritual rationalization. Since it’s not rooted in the unchanging grace of God, it will waver based on circumstances. We will make decisions based on our own perception of what benefits us—what we think keeps us in God’s favor. Ultimately, religion is our attempt to maintain our position. It’s rooted in what we believe others think about us and what we believe God thinks about us. So we begin to play this game: we look at an action that is wrong, and we begin to justify why it’s really not that bad. What we’re doing is coming up with a defense for our actions; we’re justifying ourselves. Christian, our justification doesn’t rest on us! It can’t. Our justification comes through Jesus and him alone.

What Caiaphas is doing here is self-justification. The religious leaders wanted to kill an innocent man because it benefitted them—it was politically expedient—but they needed to come up with some type of justification. If they could justify it (their thinking goes), then God could not hold it against them. On the scales of good and bad, their good motive would outweigh the evil of the actual deed.

Caiaphas’s speech must have been convincing because they made plans to kill Jesus (v. 53). It’s gone beyond impulsive attempts to stone him and become premeditated murder. However, Jesus avoided them until the appropriate time (v. 54). He would not die because of the whims and wishes of the religious establishment. His death was not the tragic death of a religious zealot. He would die at the time chosen by his Father. His life would not be taken from him, but he would willingly sacrifice it.

The Death of Jesus Was Spiritually Effective – John 11:51–52

Caiaphas’s words reveal a second perspective on Jesus’s death. God planned Caiaphas’s words to serve his own purpose. They held greater meaning than Caiaphas had planned. Caiaphas’s intention was evil, but God had ordained the death of Jesus. Peter makes this point clearly during his sermon on the Day of Pentecost: “Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him” (Acts 2:23).

God decided for Jesus to die. His death was not an accidental tragedy. It fulfilled God’s eternal plan. But that doesn’t get Caiaphas off the hook. He was not an unwilling puppet. We shouldn’t look at him as a spiritual dummy with God’s hand up his back moving his mouth. Once again we see the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. As John MacArthur wrote, “God sovereignly turned his wicked, blasphemous words into truth”. The death of Jesus Christ may have been politically expedient for the leadership of Israel, but it accomplished more important purposes.

His Death Satisfied the Just Wrath of God

There’s a key word that’s easy to overlook both in Caiaphas’s prophecy (John 11:50) and John’s interpretation of it (vv. 51–52): for. You understand the significance a little more if you substitute the words “in place of” or “on behalf of.” Jesus was dying in place of someone else. This is the language of temple sacrifice. The Gospel of John constantly points us to the Passover Festival, when lambs would be brought into Jerusalem and sacrificed in the temple. In chapter 1 John the Baptist twice introduced Jesus by saying, “Here is the Lamb of God” (vv. 29, 36). Beginning in chapter 12, the rest of the Gospel takes place during the Passover Festival.

When Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus would die for or on behalf of the children of God, he reminds us that someone must satisfy the debt of sin. Only a perfect Lamb could do that and only by shedding his blood. Jesus was not a helpless child; he was a willing Savior. This sacrifice was not contrary to love; it was the ultimate expression of it. Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, the just wrath of God has been removed, and forgiveness can be offered and fellowship restored between Creator and creature.

His Death Secured Redemption for His Children

As John interprets Caiaphas’s words, he adds a note of great certainty. The death of Jesus Christ “was going to” accomplish what God intended. It was going to save those it was intended to save, and it was going to gather them into one people. The certainty is unmistakable. The death of Jesus Christ did not secure the possibility of salvation. It actually secured salvation for those whom God had chosen—those referred to as the “children of God.”

Sometimes Christians talk like the death of Christ simply made atonement for sins possible. That’s not what the Bible teaches. The death of Christ actually atoned for the sins of those, both Jew and Gentile, who were the children of God. Who are the children of God? Those who were chosen by God and who responded by believing on the name of Jesus (1:12–13).

The death of Christ would gather all of his sheep into one fold with one shepherd. None would be lost. None would be forgotten. All would, by the power of the shepherd and through the offering of his life, be brought safely into the flock of God. We sing and preach and meditate on the death of Jesus, not to bask in the gory details but to celebrate the glorious victory. “Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood; sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior!” (Philip Bliss, “Hallelujah! What a Savior!”).

Reflect and Discuss

• According to the Jewish leaders, why did Jesus die?

• What caution should we take from the leaders’ acknowledging the “signs” Jesus performs while still plotting to kill him?

• Why can those who believe in Jesus have unchanging confidence despite circumstances?

• Describe how this passage reveals both the responsibility of man and the sovereignty of God in salvation.

• What did Jesus accomplish on your behalf on the cross?

Solid Commentary from the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary

The Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary takes a passage-by-passage approach to expositing the books of the Bible. This makes these commentary volumes excellent resources to use for sermon preparation, Bible studies, or even devotional reading. If you’re interested in understanding the meaning of biblical passages without getting bogged down in the details, then check out the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary today!