Rev. Steven S. Billings
Ash Wednesday
Sermon
2-6-2008

St. John 11:49-50

⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

The meeting was called rather hastily. But then again, most emergency meetings are. The hubbub in the room was almost deafening. Everybody had an idea. But they had tried so many ideas before. And each one failed. This Jesus was really starting to get on their nerves.

At first, they just tried to ignore Him. It was easy then because He was all the way up in Galilee. But that didn't last. Soon He was proving Himself to be so much more than just another pretender claiming to be the Messiah; Jesus had staying power.

When His journey brought Him closer to Jerusalem He could no longer be ignored. So they tried discrediting Him. That didn't work either. Every time they confronted Him He absolutely stripped them of any credibility. When they tried to link Him to the devil, they became bedeviled. When they tried to trap Him in His own words or put Him on the wrong side of God's Law, it all came crashing down on their heads. Every effort failed.

Now it seemed like the whole world was following Him. And could you blame them? In Bethany, which isn't that far from Jerusalem, right in their own backyard, Jesus raised a man from the dead! So there was Lazarus, alive and well, testifying about what Jesus had done for him to everyone who would listen.

And there were other witnesses too - way too many to ignore, way too many even to attempt discrediting Him. The old play-book wasn't going to work anymore.

Well, as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. They also call for decisive leadership, which is why God placed Caiaphas in the position of High Priest. Caiaphas was a Roman pawn. But God Himself would use this pawn to His own purpose.

But how would this decisive leader lead? We've heard leaders say prophetic things. Franklin Roosevelt told us that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." John Kennedy urged a nation to "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Ronald Reagan led the whole world to change by defiantly saying, "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall!"

Caiaphas, though not an elected leader, would go one better. His words were not penned by some political speech-writer. No, they flowed from a Divine source.

When all the other efforts failed, there was really only one thing left. Sounding almost like Tony Soprano, Caiaphas ordered the "hit." "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish." He was right, of course. But not for the reason he had in mind. He was afraid that Jesus would take his place in leadership. The Romans were practical. If the religious leaders could keep the people in check, ok. But if not, they had to go. With the masses now following Jesus, this was a real threat! So, Jesus had to go; He had to die. It was that simple.

Thankfully, God had other ideas. Oh, He did plan for Jesus to die. No doubt about that. The Lamb of God could only take away the sin of the world one way: He had to die. Caiaphas was right. It was better that this one Man, this Son of Man, would die rather than that the whole nation perish.

You know, ultimately, Caiaphas did lose his place. And Israel lost their nation. So what did the death of this one Man accomplish? It established for us a place and a nation! We have a place because Jesus took ours! We were lost. There was no place for us before the Lord. Without His death we could never be a nation. Oh yeah, Caiaphas was completely correct. His words, evilly intended as they were, were truly prophetic!

Which is why we take this 40-day journey called Lent. Over the next six weeks we'll move closer and closer to the cross where Jesus did exactly what Caiaphas foretold. This one Man died and through His death you have life; you are a new creation. You now have a place with the heavenly Father, a place at the Lord's Table. In a few moments you will take your place and receive into your mouth the very body and blood Caiaphas helped to shed.

But the place you now own goes far beyond this moment; it is eternal. There is a room reserved for you in the heavenly mansion. You have a place in the New Jerusalem. Because of what this one Man did, you - yes you! - are one of the Chosen; you are part of a royal priesthood. You are a citizen of a holy nation. Your place is with God.

In these doubled-edged words Caiaphas and the other religious leaders of the day planned something sinister. They plotted evil. But there was another plan on the other edge of these words. God enacted salvation for you. Caiaphas suggested wielding the deathly dagger of murder. But that sword has another edge - the edge of sacrifice which achieved our salvation. God grant that edge to cut through to the heart of each of us this day, that we may truly find our place in His kingdom. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen