This post is part of a devotional series based on our 2019 Bible Reading Calendar.
Then a large crowd of the Jews learned Jesus was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. ~ John 12:9-11
Sin blinds us. Sin makes even intelligent people do foolish things.
The religious leaders of the Jews during Jesus’ time on earth were not dumb men. Most were well educated and knew the Torah from front to back. Yet, in their sin, they seethed with a hatred for Jesus. In their pride, they wanted to kill him because they felt he was robbing them of followers.
Yet, as John explained, they not only wanted to kill Jesus but also Lazarus.
In John 11, we are told the story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection. Though he was in the grave for four days, Jesus arrived, spoke into the darkness of the tomb, and Lazarus emerged wrapped in burial clothes but very much alive.
Because of the miracle, many among the Jews began to follow Jesus and sought him out to see Lazarus as well. (It’s not everyday, after all, that one meets a person who was days dead and then alive.)
Throughout the Gospels, we don’t read about the scribes, Pharisees, or priests denying that Jesus did miracles. Instead, they attributed them to devilish origins. The raising of Lazarus seems to be no different: They did not deny what had occurred.
But they thought of a less than brilliant plan–they would kill a person who had already been raised from the dead. Never mind the fact that if they were successful, and the Bible never tells us their plan went beyond the initial thought, then Jesus could easily just raise him from the dead again.
Sin blinds us to the obvious. This is why the Proverbs say that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The way to overcome the blindness of sin is by trusting in the God who sent Jesus to be the solution to our sin. May God be the source of our wisdom!
All Scripture quotations taken from the Christian Standard Bible.
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