Not Left Alone

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation."

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?" (John 11:45-56)

Here it is – the reason for so much turmoil caused by Jesus: “So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, 'What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation."  Self-preservation was the motive.  Retaining power, influence and wealth were key.  Seems like these are always the motives especially in politics where self-serving actions tend to be the norm.

Caesar and Rome were quite concerned about the trouble Jesus was causing.  The emperor was the Son of God (e.g., Augustus Caesar) and the followers of Jesus gave that title to Jesus. Jesus challenged Roman authority through his parables and preaching. Here’s an interesting perspective provided by writer Alyssa Roat published at Christianity.com.

(begin) Polytheistic Roman leaders didn’t care about what the Jews considered blasphemy. However, they took threats to Roman power seriously. Jesus was far from the only person gathering a following in Palestine during the first century, and Rome was more than happy to brutally put down any potential uprisings.

This Roman dedication to quelling uprisings was not without cause. A few decades after Jesus’ death, major uprisings took place in Judea, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the eventual destruction of the Temple in AD 70. The area was notoriously prone to rebellion.

Jesus had the dangerous ability to gather a crowd. Thousands at once came to hear Him speak. An especially poignant moment came when Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, filling the city with crowds.

When He rode into Jerusalem for the Passover – during which He would be betrayed and executed – the people shouted praises to Him, waved palm branches, and laid their cloaks on the road.

Though not bedecked with gold and the spoils of war, the procession was similar to the Roman Triumphs held for conquering Roman generals and emperors — a concerning sign that these people saw Jesus as a king (Matthew 21).

Jesus then promptly went into the Temple and flipped over the tables of the money changers and drove out all of the people who were buying and selling there, angrily declaring that they had turned His Father’s house into “a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13). These people were quickly replaced by the blind and lame coming to Jesus for healing and children shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:13-15). Jesus, as He often did, was causing a ruckus.

Gathering crowds, invoking kingship symbolism, causing a ruckus – the final nail in Jesus’ proverbial coffin was His claim of the title of Messiah, the awaited Anointed One who would save Israel. Most at the time understood this to be a military leader who would come to free Israel from Rome. And that was something Rome would never let happen.

More than the Romans feared rebellion, the Jewish leaders feared the Romans’ quelling of rebellions. Jesus threatened the very tenuous peace they held with Rome.

[Important note: Augustus partnered with local elites to use their loyalty as an extension of his rule.  He appointed client rulers, not least the Herodian dynasty, all of whom fell into line with the system of governance and profited greatly from such an allegiance.  Celebrated as a hero after the strife of civil war, Augustus was considered the great source of peace for Rome. After defeating the enemies of Rome, he was celebrated as a great “savior” to the people who would have likely been hopeless had victory not been achieved. The themes of freedom, justice, peace and salvation permeated his reign. Whenever the great deeds of Augusts were proclaimed, they were presented with the Greek term euangelion, which is translated, “good news” or, “gospel.”]

The Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body, called a meeting to figure out what to do about Jesus. “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation” (John 11:48). Thus, they decided that the best course of action was to arrest and kill Him. (end)

This perspective is shared by many other biblical scholars and historians.  It explains John’s statement:  “If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”  They didn’t leave him alone; they promoted and caused his death; and the rest is history. As noted by Roat: “A few decades after Jesus’ death, major uprisings took place in Judea, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the eventual destruction of the Temple in AD 70.”  

Deacon David Pierce