John 11:47-53 (KJV)
Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 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.
And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
In this lengthy passage of Scripture, we see that the Pharisees (the haughty Jewish religious sect that continuously opposed Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry) and the council (the Jewish Sanhedrin) were aware of all the miracles that Jesus had done over the past few weeks. Because of all these miracles, many people believed on Jesus Christ. However, the Pharisees feared that if Jesus continued to do these miracles, “all men would believe on Him.” Thus, the Pharisees made the proclamation that it was urgent to put Jesus to death. In doing so, the Pharisees failed to realize that they were fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus was to be “hated without reason [see Psalm 35:19 and John 15:24-25]” (Hindson, Falwell, et al., 1962), and in plotting for his death, they failed to realize that God was about to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus would become the “vicarious sacrifice [see Isaiah 53:5 and Romans 5:6, 8]” (Hindson, Falwell, et al., 1962) that would take away the sin of the world.
Our text tells us that Jesus should die “not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.” This parallels with yesterday’s topic verse: 1 John 2:2
“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Jesus did not die just for our sins, or for the sins of Israel, but for the sins of the whole world. You might be asking: how is this possible? Let’s take a look at the book of Isaiah for some insight on the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross:
The first part of this verse says that Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions. This refers to the crucifixion of our Lord as he was “pierced through hands and feet” (Hindson, Falwell, et al., 1962) This was first prophesied by Zechariah in Zechariah 12:10:
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
The above was later confirmed in John 20:27 (Hindson, Falwell, et al., 1962) when Jesus told Thomas to feel the wounds in his hands and the wound in his side:
“Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”
Secondly, Isaiah says that “he was bruised for our iniquities.” This refers to the fact that Jesus was “spat upon and smitten” as recorded in Matthew 26:67; this was prophesied by Isaiah once again in Isaiah 50:6 (Hindson, Falwell, et al., 1962):
“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”
Now let’s look at Matthew 26:67:
“Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,”
Thirdly, Isaiah says that the “chastisement of our peace was upon him.” In other words, Jesus died so that we might have an opportunity to be saved and be at peace (or reconciled) to God. This was fulfilled in 1 Peter 2:24:
Jesus died so that we, as sinners who were condemned to death, could live unto righteousness (be saved and live for him).
Finally, Isaiah said that “with his stripes, ye are healed.” When Jesus shed his Blood on Calvary’s Cross, it successfully atoned (or paid for) our sin. On the Cross, Jesus was truly displayed as the “mirror of agonizing love” (Spurgeon); his love was displayed like no other. Jesus Christ showed the greatest example of love on this Earth. His love was unconditional, yet so precious that his bloody stripes are able to heal us of the deadly disease of sin if you will simply accept Him as your Lord and Savior today. If you would like to do this, please click here.
For the Christian, as we reflect upon Jesus death and burial during this time of Easter, and “as we feel the sure and blessed healing which his stripes have wrought in us, does not our heart melt at once with love and grief” (Spurgeon)? Let us check the condition of our hearts this morning and reflect upon the price that was paid by Jesus to save us and let us thank God continually for his vicarious sacrifice, Jesus Christ, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Bibliography:
Hindson, Edward, Jerry Falwell, et al. “Messianic Prophecies.” The King James Study Bible. 2.Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2013. 1962. Print.
Spurgeon, Charles. “March 31 (3/31/2018) – Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Bible Gateway Devotionals.” BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.
Bible Gateway, Web. 27 Mar 2018.