Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

What strikes me about Caiaphas' statement is the ability of God to make even the words and actions of His bitter enemies reflect His sovereign will or plan, and to work for His glory, even to the point of having those words and actions unwittingly fulfill prophecies that had been given hundreds of years before, as in the case of Caiphas speaking of Christ dying for the people.

Nothing that humans can do -- even when they think that they are successfully planning to thwart God's design -- can do so. And their efforts (despite their worst intentions) will in fact even lead to the precise and specific achievement of what He wants to accomplish. (However, that does not negate either the free will of humans, or their responsibility for the consequences of their words and actions.)

November 04 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Caiaphas' words here in John 11:50 were ironic. He only meant that it was better that one man die than for the religious leaders to lose their positions and that the whole Jewish nation perish (But it is a fact that he used sacrificial and substitutionary language when he spoke (compare 2 Corinthians 5:21 --"For our sake, He [God] made him [JESUS] to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" and 1 Peter 2:24). --John MacArthur)

When Caiaphas said, "It is better that one man die and not that THE WHOLE NATION should perish," he unknowingly predicted that Jesus was dying for the nation, Israel (Isaiah 53:6 --"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [on Jesus] the iniquity of us all", and Isaiah 53:12) --Faithlife Study Bible

Caiaphas' worries and statement are both prophetic. Jesus' death is, in fact, meant as an alternative to the death of sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). His single sacrifice prevents countless souls from being separated from God for eternity (John 11:52). --https://www.bibleref.com/John/11/John-11-50.html

John notes that Caiaphas' words were not really his own idea but were God-inspired: "He [Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord." He said it because he was high priest, or rather, God's will was revealed through the high priest.

November 04 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report