John 11:38-57
Many of the Jews therefore … believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (vv. 45a,46) In my posts two days ago my comments from 2019 had included a discussion of who “the Jews” were. All along I’ve suggested that when John refers to “the Jews” he is speaking of the Jewish leaders, not the overall Jewish population. In the case of Lazarus, these Jews could have been local Jewish leaders in Bethany (Lazarus’ home), but they could also have included Jewish leaders from Jerusalem and even some of those more active in the temple worship.
Either way, some of these Jews returned to Jerusalem to tell the Pharisee leaders of this miracle – and I’m wondering, for some of them, at the extent of their new belief in Jesus. Some of them, especially those from Jerusalem, would probably have remained skeptical – though I can’t imagine how! But others, especially those from Bethany could have been overtaken by this latest miracle and asked the Pharisees genuinely if this Jesus could be the Messiah? So there could have been a healthy discussion about Jesus – until Caiaphas interrupted with his proclamation and death sentence. Then any of those Jewish leaders who may have been prone to believe in Jesus would have been shouted down! But my sense is that those new “believers” would have been strengthened in their faith. That is, if these “lesser” Jewish leaders had been shut down for what they were now believing, my sense is that human nature would lead them to be more firm in their belief, that their resolve would have been strengthened, that they would have gone back to Bethany, met up with Lazarus and his family and become active believers. Or is my natural optimism misguided?
See also: August 16 / John 11:38-44; August 17 / John 11:45-57
Yes, your natural optimism is misguided. 🙁 My natural pessimism sees the word “but” at the beginning of John 11:46; that is, those who believed stuck around with Jesus, but those who were still hard-hearted went and told the Pharisees. I don’t see many (or any) potential believers in that set. But perhaps my natural pessimism is misguided… 🙂
What strikes me most this time through the Lazarus narrative is how it prefigures Christ’s resurrection, yet it remains a mere shadow of that greater Triumph.
This dead man responds to Jesus’ call: “Lazarus, come out!” All of these things give us hints about the greater story to come, the story of Christ’s glorious Resurrection!
Interesting, John, how Lazarus’ narrative prefigures Christ’s resurrection. I think the Caiaphas prophesy also could be added to that list where he, as the high priest, prophesies that “Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” How right his prophesy was, even though Caiaphas meant it in an entirely different worldly way. But, in the end, an innocent man did die in order to save all mankind in a much more profound way through His love for us.