What's Going On?

The Sunday night message in the Gettysburg United Methodist church.  September 17, 2023.  The Bible verses used are John 11:42--12:11.

            One of the things about some Bible passages is that we feel like we’ve heard the story before.  We may not remember all the details, but we know the general outlines.  Even if we don’t feel like we know that much about the Bible, we know how the last part of Jesus’ life went.  We know that Jesus was arrested, that he died on a cross, and that he rose from the dead on the third day.  

We still like the story, of course.  We still want and need to hear it.  But it starts to lose its impact sometimes, because we know how it ends.  It’s like seeing a favorite movie or reading a favorite book.  We still like it, but it does not make the same impact on us that it would if we did not know how it was going to come out.

So tonight, let’s imagine we’re hearing this story for the first time.  Let’s try to put ourselves in the story in some way, seeing what the people then saw and feeling what the people then felt.

Where our story starts today is right after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead.  Lots of people are putting faith in Jesus, and the Pharisees are worried.  A meeting is called of the Sanhedrin, which was the leading religious council in Israel.  They’re trying to figure out what they’re going to do about this Jesus guy.

I think the reaction of the Sanhedrin is interesting.  We tend to think that they were just mad at Jesus because he was making them look bad.  He was upsetting the apple cart.  We tend to think the Pharisees had personal reasons for wanting Jesus killed.

And maybe some of them did, but that’s not what John tells us.  Here’s why John tells us the Pharisees want Jesus killed.  He quotes the Pharisees as saying, “If we let Jesus go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

You see at this time, as you may know, Israel was part of the Roman Empire.  That’s why we hear about King Herod.  Herod was in control of Israel for the Roman Empire.  Now, Rome did not care that much about the people of Israel as people.  They just wanted to make sure they stayed in control and that taxes were paid like they were supposed to be.  The Jewish people could do whatever they wanted, as long as they did not cause trouble and as long as they paid their taxes.

But that’s why the Pharisees were so scared of Jesus.  They heard him referred to as the King, and thought he was going to try to be an earthly king, someone who was going to try to break Israel away from Rome and make it an independent country.  And even if they did not think Jesus wanted to be an earthly king, they thought the people might very well try to make Him one anyway.

And while the Pharisees were not opposed to an independent Israel in theory, they did not think there was any chance it could actually happen.  Israel had tried to break free from Rome about a hundred years earlier.  They achieved some independence for a while, but then Rome came and crushed them.  And Israel was weaker now than it had been then, while Rome was stronger.  They thought if Jesus led a rebellion, they’d be crushed again.  And this time, Rome might take away everything:  their religion, their national identity, everything.

That’s why the high priest, Caiaphas, said what he did.  He said it was better for one man, Jesus, to die for the people than it was for the whole nation to perish.  He thought the only way for the nation to survive was for Jesus to be killed.

But they had a problem.  The Pharisees did not know where Jesus was or when they’d find him.  They knew the Passover was coming, and Jewish people were supposed to go to Jerusalem for it, but would Jesus come, under these circumstances?  They did not know.  All they could do was wait and watch.

Jesus knew what was going on.  For a while, he hid out in Ephraim with the disciples.  But he knew he was going to Jerusalem for the Passover.  He first went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived.  Mary, Martha’s sister, poured expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet.  Jesus said this was to prepare Jesus for burial.  We’re also told that a big crowd came, not just to see Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from the dead.  So the Pharisees decided they needed to kill Lazarus, too.  We’re not told if the Pharisees ever carried out that part of the plan.

            The interesting thing--well, there are a lot of interesting things, but the interesting thing I want to point out tonight--is that the only one who knew what was really going on in this story was Jesus. The Pharisees did not know what was going on.  They thought Jesus was going to become an earthly king and start an earthly revolution that could destroy Israel.  The disciples did not know what was going on.  In fact, we’re not told that they had any clue that anything was going on.  Mary did not know what was going on.  Jesus said that she was preparing him for burial, but we’re not given any indication that Mary knew that was what she was doing.  

None of the people involved in this story knew what was going on or why they were doing what they were doing.  And yet, somehow, God used all of them to make all the events of the Easter story happen exactly the way they were supposed to happen.

            And I think that’s one of the most remarkable things about this story.  And it gives me hope.  

Because there are so many times now when it seems like no one really knows what’s going on.  Our leaders--whether we’re talking about religious leaders or political leaders or business leaders or any other kind of leaders--really don’t know what’s going on, even if sometimes they think they do.  The common, ordinary people really don’t know what’s going on.  Even the followers of Jesus really don’t know what’s going on. And yet, somehow, God is using all of us to make all the events in the world happen exactly the way they’re supposed to happen.  

Is it hard to believe that?  Yeah, sometimes it is.  There are so many things happening that don’t seem right.  There are so many things that make us wonder where God is.  There are so many things that make us wonder why God allows things to be the way they are, that make us wonder if God really cares and if God really loves us.  It’s hard to believe that, somehow, God is using all this to make things happen the way they’re supposed to happen.

            That’s why we need to put ourselves in these stories.  Because the people we’re reading about felt the exact same way.  The Pharisees did not believe that what Jesus was doing was part of God’s plan.  They thought they had to stop him for the survival of their nation.  And when we think about where the story goes, with Jesus’ death, we realize that no one thought that could be part of God’s plan.  The disciples did not.  In fact, when Jesus started talking about his death to the disciples, Peter told him to shut up, that he should not talk that way.  The crowds did not.  They thought this was the guy who was going to lead them to freedom and independence from Rome.

            Nobody knew what was going on.  And yet, God used it all to make the story come out exactly the way it was supposed to.

            God is doing the same thing now.  God is doing that for the world.  God is doing that for the country.  And God is doing that in our personal lives, too.

            Because we feel that way in our own lives sometimes.  I do.  Don’t you?  I think most of us do, at least sometimes.  We have times when we feel like we don’t know what’s going on or how it could possibly be God’s plan.  We feel like nobody else does, either.  And yet, if we just trust God, God will use all the things that are going on in our lives to make our stories come out the way they’re supposed to come out, too.

            You and I may not know what’s going on.  Maybe there’s nobody who knows what’s going on.  But God knows.  And if we just keep trusting God, God will use all the things that are happening to make things come out the way they’re supposed to.  God will do that for the world.  God will do it for the country.  And God will do it for you and for m