Lazarus and power
This week is on John 12:9-11:
These verses took place a little while after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Word had obviously gotten around that something unusual had happened. But fake news was as real of a thing back in those days as it is now, so people wanted to see for themselves. They came to the celebration Lazarus' family held for Jesus after the miracle had happened. And as we find out, access to the truth of God's love and power is enough to put down solid roots of faith in people.
But what about the people who should have had faith in the first place: The chief priests? You would think that a demonstration of God's power and love would be something they'd be broadcasting from everywhere. What better tool to undermine Roman occupation than to show how true the God of Israel was compared to the depraved idols of Imperial Rome? And yet that's not what happened at all.
We learn more about the evils that hide within organised religion here than we do in many places. Instead of choosing to glorify God and celebrate the good he did for Lazarus through Jesus, they wanted to kill Lazarus, a man who had done nothing wrong. In their eyes, Jesus was stealing attention from them and pointing out their lack of godliness, and Lazarus was an accomplice through no fault of his own. They would rather harm the innocent, hide the evidence of God's love and power, and serve their own careers through murderously suppressing the truth. They were more like Stalin or ISIS than servants of God. They behaved like despots.
Most priests are good godly people. But there are some people who become priests or "public servants" who in their hearts have no god but themselves. And that's the sort of people who were the chief priests at the time: Career public servants who would starve their own parents to gain power and fame would think nothing of killing some random guy who was standing in the way of their narrative. I'll call them self-priests to distinguish them from Christ-priests, because that's ultimately who they serve as their god.
So we have this contrast between the self-priests bent on murdering Lazarus, and Jesus who saved him from death. On the one side is power seeking more power without any love, and the other is love using power to extend love. On paper, the self-priests and powers of their world seem to have the upper hand.
To the self-priests, Lazarus was nothing but an obstacle in their road to continued power. They didn't know who he was or care. There was no love for Lazarus. Killing him was like killing an animal that was poaching their garden.
To Jesus, Lazarus was a friend. He was willing to go out of his way to try to help him, even restoring him back to life after he died. To the same extent that he was nobody to the self-priests, he was somebody to Jesus. I wonder if Jesus' love for Lazarus managed to get relayed with the stories the Jews heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead. If so, it's no mystery why so many were changing sides.
Which would you rather serve if you had to choose? Powerful men and women who control the narrative so that they can be seen as good charitable people, who are willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power? Or someone who loves you and is willing to do what it takes to see you thrive? Even without the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus' testimony is more powerful than the powers of this world.
Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
These verses took place a little while after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Word had obviously gotten around that something unusual had happened. But fake news was as real of a thing back in those days as it is now, so people wanted to see for themselves. They came to the celebration Lazarus' family held for Jesus after the miracle had happened. And as we find out, access to the truth of God's love and power is enough to put down solid roots of faith in people.
But what about the people who should have had faith in the first place: The chief priests? You would think that a demonstration of God's power and love would be something they'd be broadcasting from everywhere. What better tool to undermine Roman occupation than to show how true the God of Israel was compared to the depraved idols of Imperial Rome? And yet that's not what happened at all.
We learn more about the evils that hide within organised religion here than we do in many places. Instead of choosing to glorify God and celebrate the good he did for Lazarus through Jesus, they wanted to kill Lazarus, a man who had done nothing wrong. In their eyes, Jesus was stealing attention from them and pointing out their lack of godliness, and Lazarus was an accomplice through no fault of his own. They would rather harm the innocent, hide the evidence of God's love and power, and serve their own careers through murderously suppressing the truth. They were more like Stalin or ISIS than servants of God. They behaved like despots.
Most priests are good godly people. But there are some people who become priests or "public servants" who in their hearts have no god but themselves. And that's the sort of people who were the chief priests at the time: Career public servants who would starve their own parents to gain power and fame would think nothing of killing some random guy who was standing in the way of their narrative. I'll call them self-priests to distinguish them from Christ-priests, because that's ultimately who they serve as their god.
So we have this contrast between the self-priests bent on murdering Lazarus, and Jesus who saved him from death. On the one side is power seeking more power without any love, and the other is love using power to extend love. On paper, the self-priests and powers of their world seem to have the upper hand.
To the self-priests, Lazarus was nothing but an obstacle in their road to continued power. They didn't know who he was or care. There was no love for Lazarus. Killing him was like killing an animal that was poaching their garden.
To Jesus, Lazarus was a friend. He was willing to go out of his way to try to help him, even restoring him back to life after he died. To the same extent that he was nobody to the self-priests, he was somebody to Jesus. I wonder if Jesus' love for Lazarus managed to get relayed with the stories the Jews heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead. If so, it's no mystery why so many were changing sides.
Which would you rather serve if you had to choose? Powerful men and women who control the narrative so that they can be seen as good charitable people, who are willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power? Or someone who loves you and is willing to do what it takes to see you thrive? Even without the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus' testimony is more powerful than the powers of this world.
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