The Plot to Kill Jesus

We began this week with the readings of the woman caught in adultery (John 8), yesterday we read from John 10 where Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd, and today’s reading is from John 11, where Jesus raises Lazarus to life. The messages are clear in all the flow of John’s Gospel. We are those who are dead in our spirit and therefore our living is like the living dead. But Jesus does not condemn us for anything, as we see he did not condemn in the case of the Woman Caught in Adultery, who represents our unfaithfulness to God.

(John 9) In our spiritual poverty, we have become insecure and therefore we have grown into fearing everything around us. Even our children our born in spiritual poverty, because we do not know God truly and in a right way. We have made and fashioned god according to our own understanding of who god is. And therefore are spiritually blind. It is a case of blinds leading blinds. If everyone of us thinks his view of reality and God is right, even though it may not match others’ views, than who is right and who is wrong – this is the problem of subjectivism. The objective truth is that we are all like sheep, and we have gone our own separate ways, confused ourselves, and are complete lost. But praise be to God, because even before we cried out to Him, he sought us and found us where we were in our misery – He is the Good Shepherd (John 10), and he has sought us, that one lost sheep, and He invites us come, and He will raise you from the dead – like Lazarus – but from spiritual death (John 11).

Even the Pharisees and the leaders of Jesus’ time heard this same message, possibly the words were different, but the same message, but they had hardened their hearts towards Jesus, like Pharaoh in the Exodus story. Here Jesus was telling everyone, I have come to lead you into a new exodus from spiritual death to ring you back in the very presence of God, as was Adam before the Fall. Open your hearts – See, hear, understand for yourself and then believe. But Jesus did not fit their plans and expectations, so he did not count. And when Jesus’ Ministry grew in fruit, they wanted to do away with the competition. They had missed the message of the Law, the message of the Prophets, and they wanted to be the message. They plotted, and made plans to get rid of Jesus. They stumbled. But again thanks be to God who leads us in His love, he even turned the horror of their choices into a blessing for all humanity – Jesus choose to be the Sacrificial/Scrape Goat that they wanted to make of Him. Thus the Eucharistic Covenant was forged.

Holy Spirit come and convict us of all such moments in our lives, when we have tried to become the law to all those around, and disregarded your promptings and directions. Convict us, and perfect us/soften our hardened hearts, so we understand your guidance in our lives. Lead us to all truth. Amen.