John 11:49-53 - It is better that one man die

11:49,50

Caiaphas was the high priest. The high priest was sometimes held to be prophetic as well. Caiaphas thought he was speaking his own wisdom. He saw the potential political trouble for the whole nation (and his own position) if Jesus continued in His ministry. So he thought it would be better for one man to die and so save the rest of the nation much trouble. Even in his human reasoning he was wrong, for in AD66-70 Jerusalem was utterly destroyed anyway. Worldly wisdom that is seemingly based on facts can be utterly worthless and wrong. We need to recognise the limits of our so-called wisdom.

11:51-53

However, Caiaphas was not just speaking his own words. John saw him as prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation, indeed for the whole world. So we see here the sovereignty of God and the will of man at work. We always want something to be one or the other. Did Caiaphas choose to say this, or did God make him say it? The answer is Yes to both. The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man go together, both can be operating at the same time, but it is God’s will that prevails.

Caiaphas’ words had much greater significance than he realised. They thought they were dealing with the state of the nation, but in fact it was the salvation of the whole world that was being played out. Events can be much more significant than we ever imagine.