Caiaphas' Prophecy

Lazarus being raised

      In the eleventh chapter of John the evangelist tells the story of Lazarus and his resurrection from the dead. (Some argue that this was not officially a resurrection but resuscitation! Any dictionary should straighten that hair splitting.) The point here is that Lazarus' trip out of the tomb caused trouble in his day.  You would think it would be a point of rejoicing for all, especially Lazarus' religious leaders. Bethany was just over the hill from Jerusalem and many Jews came to Bethany to console Martha and Mary (John 11:18/19). (Hey, he was a popular guy.)  They all went back with an amazing story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. But the Pharisees heard of this and it upset them. "How dare he! And so close to the Holy City!" "Lazarus has his nerve." John tells us that the Sanhedrin actually counseled to kill Lazarus (John 12:10). "Let's kill him again."  

       In chapter eleven around verse 40 something even more strange happened. Caiaphas, the high priest, prophesied about the future of the temple, the priestly office and the nation Israel, as well as the absolute plan of God for the whole world! Caiaphas thought that Jesus' miracles would cause the nation to lose their temple, the priestly office and the identity of Israel as a nation.  His prophecy has affected  Israel to this day. They still do not have their temple, priestly office and are fighting for identity as a nation.
       What was this prophecy?  Well,  In verse 48 John tells us that Caiaphas uses what is called a "conditional sentence" (if such..., then such). Caiaphas said about Jesus and His miracles, "If we leave him alone," then certain things are bound to happen. This is called a 3rd class conditional sentence. It has as its apodosis, the "then" phrase, an inevitable result. "If we leave him alone then Roman will come and take away our place and our nation." Notice how the political priest put his job before the nation.  As an answer to this dilemma  Caiaphas continues his striking prophecy. He prophesied that Jesus should be sacrificed for the good of the nation. Better one man die than the whole nation (11:48-52). Wow, what a good idea! No wonder he is the high priest. That is just what God was thinking!  Of course they did sacrifice Jesus and all that those bad guys feared came upon them.

"Sitting on a foal of a donkey"

       The real irony here is that they took Jesus, crucify him and three days later the greatest resurrection the world has ever seen burst forth. The political leaders thought they could squelch this talk about the resurrection of Lazarus. Instead they promoted God's wonderful plan for the whole world through their ignorance. As Paul put it in another classic conditional sentence (2nd class), ei gar egnosan, oux an ton kurion  tes doxes estaurosan. "For if they knew, (then) they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Cor. 2:8b). Oopsie.

Seder, Remembering Forward

Communion, supper, reclining at the table, Judas, the sop, and a hymn all remind me of the Last Supper, and of course the Cistene Chapel. You might throw in the "Da Vince Code", but that's taking a left from where I want to go. Where I would like to go is to ask this question. How should I think about the Seder dinner?  My fellowship does a Seder dinner every year. We just finished having it Sunday night. Many Christians are having this experience. It is becoming a very ecumenical experience in Christianity today, which is a good thing. The Jews celebrate it because, well, Passover, Egypt, bondage, the red sea, and Carlton Heston. They lay legitimate claim to it as it celebrates an actual historical event for them. They do it out of obedience to the Lord. What they celebrate now with the Haggadah is a tradition that has grown since the destruction of the temple around 70 CE. Gamaliel the younger set the guidelines for what is a Passover meal celebration. Since his time, let us say, it has been greatly enriched. But where do we Christians fit in?

For Christians this is a much debated issue. We as Christians certainly are doing a good think to build bridges to Judaism and our elder brothers in the Lord, right? Christ command us too to do communion in remembrance, similar to the Jews. Then what is the problem?  It is only a problem IF the Seder dinner was not what the Lord and his disciples were sharing. One look at John's account of the dinner and we realize we have somewhat of a problem. John says Christ was slain on the day of the preparation (John 19). That would put the "Seder" dinner the night before the prep day. The Seder is held after the lamb is slain. No lamb, no dinner at least no seder dinner can happen. The synoptics all put the dinner after the lamb was slain and have Christ killed on the day Passover began (you have to keep in mind for Jews evening is the beginning of a new day). Do we want to start another Christian festival that is really not what it suppose to be? Do we want to risk frustrating our relationships with the Jews in taking one of their most holy days and making it ours, when it might not be authentic? I don't want to do that. I would rather honor the Jews and celebrate the Passover as a remembrance of the exodus. But that is IF it is incorrect.  Some great scholarly work has been done by Jonathan Klawans  Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism and Robert F. O'Toole, "Last Supper," in The Anchor Bible Dictionary (O'Toole). The two authors will give you both sides of the traditional argument. Unfortunately, both have missed the boat.

For me the answer to this centuries long debate is discovered in the answer to another question, Why did Jesus die? Did Christ die to protect us from the death angel? Sounds good, he gives us life eternal. Okay. But how does he give us life eternal? He became judgement for us, for me.  He became sin, he became death. As John R. Stevens has put it "Those first Passover lambs were killed ... to avert judgment. But for Christ, judgment could not be averted. He was the one on whom all judgment was vented. That is why He died on the day after the lambs were killed and the Passover meal was eaten", Beyond Passover.
We as Christians should be careful not to give away our heritage. Our Remembrance is the Lamb that was slain once and for all. We are taking the Lord's Supper looking to the future when we will again eat with him. It is the revelation of the Lord to me in the communion that will changes me. Some of the greatest meetings and revelation of the Lord after the resurrection came during communion. I am thinking particularly of the two on the road to Emmaus. "and he took the bread and blessed it and brake it and their eyes were open and they knew Him" (Luke 24:30-31, 35, KJV).

If we want to share communion with our Jewish elder brothers, I think it is wonderful. It is a great event. God did a marvelous thing in Egypt, for that matter at the Jordan, and at other Passovers. But the meal we call the "last supper" should be celebrated in its own context and as Christians ending sin and looking forward to the appearing of our risen Lord and His kingdom, not looking back. It is a remembrance of a living Lord that is going to appear to us. "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1john 3:2-3). As He is. Not as He was.
Footnote: Maybe we should remove Elijah's chair. He has already come, "if you can receive it". Who can we make that place setting for? Maybe we should set a place setting for the Lord. He is the one knocking at the door. Lets invite him in to sup with us (Rev.3:20).