John 11:45-57 (Teaching)

[0:00] Good morning. Last week we kind of arrived at the climactic part of John chapter 11 where Jesus calls Lazarus back from the dead and those of you that were here last week you might recall I went slightly over my allotted time in Sunday school I do apologize for that but I really I hated to leave it hanging right before that happened so we kind of hurried hurried through that but I'll I'll ask again like I do at the end of every lesson does anybody have any questions as far as what was covered last week we read we like I said we read that Lazarus was indeed called back from from the dead you know we read several other verses that go along with that so but does anybody have any questions about anything that was covered last week before we get started this morning all right if not last week we ended with verse 44 and which is you know in verse 43 of course Jesus cries and says he cries with a loud voice

[1:39] Lazarus come forth and it says and he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes and his face was bound about with a napkin Jesus saith unto them loose him and let him go and that's where we let off last week and I talked briefly last week about how it's Jesus that does the calling forth and we read about that here he done the physical calling forth of Lazarus from the dead and the spiritual causing calling forth for that matter and Jesus does that now you and I don't have power to call anyone that's dead and trespasses and sin forth from that grave we don't have the power to pull them up out of their sin we don't have the power to save them to redeem them we don't have that kind of power however with that being said Jesus here he's the one that done the calling he's the one that brought Lazarus back from the dead but he gives command and loose him and let him go talking to those that were gathered around the grave here now this tells me a couple of different things one I believe we covered briefly last week was that Jesus employs people and uses people as instruments in his hand not in in the work of salvation outside of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ but he uses them as instruments going forward from there obviously these people were standing around in all because Jesus had to call them and tell them loose him and let him go but there's two aspects to what Jesus says here's two different things that he said loose him in other words get those grave cloths all clothes off of him take that napkin off of his face but then he said and let him go in other words Jesus did not give them permission to stand around and ask Lazarus what was it like while you was dead what did you see who did you see what did you do Jesus didn't allow that he said loose him and let him go let him go back to his own place let him go back to his own home though the home of Martha and Mary let him let him return back to his life but again Jesus employing people Jesus could have just wheeled the grave clothes to have come off of Lazarus and they would have fell off no doubt he could have wheeled the napkin off of

[4:20] Lazarus his face and it would have came off but he employed people to do that the same way that he employed people a few verses before this to roll away the stone Jesus could have willed for that to happen Jesus could have went over there with his pinky and pushed that stone out of the way had he wanted to and we talked last week about all throughout John's gospel we see Jesus using people to perform his work we in John chapter 2 we saw we saw the water that was made into wine but he told the servants to fill the water pots with water Jesus could have willed that to happen we see in John chapter 6 the feeding of the five thousands the cross uses the disciples to disperse the food so Jesus Jesus constantly into this day he uses people to do his work he doesn't need us to do his work he needs nothing he needs no one he is completely and utterly self-sufficient but he uses us and he chooses to use us as his servants so with all that being said and some of that was recapitulated last week and some of it may not have been we'll pick up in verse 45 of John chapter 11 says that many of the Jews which came to marry and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him many of the Jews which came to marry and again and we saw this last week as well that the when Mary went out we read about these Jews that had come from Jerusalem to comfort her we didn't read about that with Martha and we talked a little bit about the differences between Martha's personality and Mary's personality and how it remains consistent or their two personalities remain consistent all throughout the scriptures but it says many of the Jews which came to marry and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him this was bad news for a certain sect of people called the Pharisees and another sect of people called the Sadducees and other people called the chief priest this was bad news for them that many people had seen this miracle but just think had they not fallen marry out had they not gone out there and heard Jesus called Lazarus and Lazarus come forth if they hadn't heard that voice and they hadn't seen Lazarus walk out of that grave what a blessing they would have robbed themselves of if they hadn't done that but it says they believed on him because they had seen these things they seen the things which Jesus did and folks nowadays here in 2024 people see every day the things that Jesus Christ does he makes the Sun to rise he causes the moon to rise he keeps that he keeps the waves at bay on the seashore he he causes the stars to sparkle he does all these things Christ does these things but in the life of a believer Christ has worked the greatest miracle in all of

[7:30] Scripture in redeeming that believer and that believer may be surrounded by a family that doesn't believe by a family that constantly ostracizes them or a family that that refutes them or rebuts them or calls them crazy or kooky or wacky or whatever the case is but that doesn't affect the believer when that happens folks people can witness over and over the things that Christ has done I've got people in my own family that has witnessed the change that Christ has made in my life but they're still not saved so just because people witness the things that Christ does doesn't mean that they are saved and it doesn't mean that they're necessarily going to be saved but these people witness something that Christ done and because they witnessed this they they believed and remember these were Jews that had come from Jerusalem the same place where just a couple chapters before this Christ had healed a man that was blind from birth that man said himself it's never been done like there's no man that's been blind all of his life from birth has ever been healed and this caused a ruckus in Jerusalem it caused a ruckus between Christ and the religious elite of that day and it calls turmoil and we read about division amongst the Jews and we've read about it here in this chapter how there was a division amongst the Jews there's constantly division amongst the Jews about this man Jesus Christ some believed and some didn't some came to believe and some did not but the these

[9:16] Jews here says that many of the Jews not all of many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him but some of them went their ways to the Pharisees that's an ominous but that we read here at the beginning of verse 46 but some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done so many of them believed on Christ because they had seen the miracle he had performed but some of them went to the Pharisees this is the division amongst the Jews some of them believed some of them went to the Pharisees and said he just done another miracle he just done something else these Pharisees are the same ones that ousted Jesus out of the temple there are out of the temple grounds there at the end of John chapter 9 caused him to leave but but we are the John chapter 8 then John chapter 9 we read about this blind man that Jesus healed and all this is and all these things all these chapters have led up to where we are now but some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done what things had he done he performed a miracle what specific miracle he had called a man back from the grave a man that had been in the grave for four days corruption had done set in on his body he done began to rot he done began to decay there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Lazarus was dead and you'll read you might read some commentaries or hear some liberal preachers or slash teachers of the word that say well Lazarus really wasn't dead Lazarus was sleeping he was conked out he was knocked out he was in a coma he was this no folks Lazarus was dead Jesus Christ said it at the very beginning of this chapter when the disciples thought when he said the Lazarus sleepeth and the disciples thought well Lazarus gonna be all good he's he's just asleep when he wakes up he's gonna feel better Jesus told them plainly Lazarus is dead the man was dead just like Jesus Christ towards the end of the Gospel of John here was dead in the tomb Lazarus was dead so they went to Jerusalem they told the

[11:41] Pharisees what things Jesus had done then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees of counsel and said what do we for this man doeth many miracles folks this is an incredible statement that they make here what do we for this man doeth many miracles they were owning the miracles that Jesus did they weren't denying them they couldn't deny them I mean it was obvious what had happened and these folks had to go to comfort Mary and the loss of her brother had returned to Jerusalem went to the Pharisees and said he has brought a man back from the dead and they said what do we this man performs is performing all of these miracles many miracles they're not denying them and that's a dangerous spot for people to be and it was dangerous for these people and it's dangerous now like I said people might see the change in your life people people in your family your friends your co-workers whatever the case is they might see the change in your life they see the evidence that Jesus Christ is real and he has performed something miraculous in your mountain and your life by redeeming your soul and because of that you are a new creature and

[12:57] Christ but they see this and they still will not believe they still will not believe and the Pharisees the Pharisees said this man doeth many miracles verse 48 if we let if we let him thus alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation this shows the attitude this shows where their heart was and this shows how deep their rejection of the Messiah that was prophesied to come to them to come to these Pharisees to come to the nation Israel it shows how deep their rejection was of him when they say this it says if we let this if we let him thus alone all men will believe on him oops is that not what cross came for the Bible says he came to seek and to save that which was lost Paul wrote to Timothy said this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptations that cross Jesus came into the world to save sinners crosses said himself a couple of times throughout the

[14:10] Gospel of John he that believed with on me had the eternal life the whole thing was to believe on Jesus Christ and to believe on my side these chief priests it says then gathered the chief priests or I'm sorry if we let him thus alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come this was their concern and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and our nation but folks their concern was not for the people their concern was not for the nation Israel their concern was their place of power it's just like geographies in first John John John wrote the geographies he liked the preeminence among men he wanted he wanted that high-up position he wanted the praise of men he wanted their backpacks he wanted their congratulations and that's exactly what these Pharisees were after they were after the praise of men they were not concerned about the nation Israel says that it says that the Romans shall come and take away both our place that's their position of authority see when the

[15:16] Romans came in and and took over Jerusalem took over Israel and any other place that they did and the same went for the Greeks and you can go on back throughout history when when a nation would come in and take over another nation they would allow small a small amount of government within the remnant of the people that was left one that took that took some of it off of their own back it took it off of the Romans back to allow these Jews to continue in their ways to continue in their religion plus it kind of quashed the likelihood of a revolt against the Romans but it also if they allowed people to have authority over those people if they allowed people that they had taken over to have some authority over the other people that they had taken over in this case the Pharisees the Sadducees the chief priest to have authority over the laymen or the commoners the peasants of Israel then those people the ones that had that little bit of authority would keep those people at bay and keep them off the Roman governments back and keep them out of their ears and out of their hair so when he's when they say here if we let him this alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come and take away both our place in nation in other words all men should believe on him and this will cause a revolt and then the Romans will come and they will use severity to strip us to strip us off our power to strip us of the power that they have given us over these people that was their concern they were going to lose their place among men and when it says and their nation they come and take away their place and their nation I said they weren't a bit concerned about the nation of Israel they were concerned about their own place among men and one of them named

[17:14] Caiaphas being the high priest that same year said unto them you know nothing at all nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not so at first glance it seems like Caiaphas is going to jump on the side of Jesus here that's not what he's doing at all Caiaphas is not on the side of Christ says one of them named Caiaphas now Caiaphas was a Sadducee and you he was the high priest and you read it in the book of Acts how the high priest of that time which would have been Caiaphas was a Sadducee the main difference between Pharisees and Sadducees they were political opponents yes but the main the main spiritual difference between Sadducees and Pharisees was Pharisees believed in the resurrection and the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection so here's Caiaphas a Sadducee and he the chief priest he says being the high priest that same year said unto them you know nothing at all nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not it sounds like he's all for this and he is but it's for the good of the

[18:28] Sadducees it's for the good of the Pharisees that this one man should die and the whole nation perish not that Israel might not perish folks Israel Jerusalem did perish in 70 AD when Titus came in and he ransacked the city and he raced the city so what there what was Caiaphas getting at here again we'll read what he said then we'll read about the explanation for it one of them then Caiaphas being the high priest said and said the same year said unto them you know nothing at all nor consider it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not in other words that we might be preserved the people of Israel the nation of Israel God's chosen the apple of God's eye that we perish not well it's expedient for us that one should die but John goes on to elaborate in his gospel of course inspired by the

[19:32] Holy Ghost verse 51 says in this spake he not of himself but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only but that but that also he could gather together and one the children of God that were scattered abroad so Caiaphas said what he said and he said it's expedient for us that one man should die that the whole nation pair should not perish or perish not but John gives the explanation by means of the Holy Ghost he said in this he's spake not of himself but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should not die or that Jesus should die for that nation but it goes on to say and not for that nation only but that he also that also he should gather together in one the children of God this was a prophecy that Caiaphas was speaking and Caiaphas wasn't even aware of it Caiaphas didn't realize that it was a prophecy he was speaking Caiaphas was speaking for his own good for his own purposes in other words he was speaking evil against Jesus Christ but folks over and over and over in the scriptures we see God taking evil and God taking things that were meant for bad meant for evil meant for wickedness and turning them into good that's exactly what Joseph told his brothers there in Genesis chapter 50 when they were when they were kind of lamenting over the fact that they had sold Joseph over into slavery but folks that was all part of God's plan it was all part of God's plan plumb over in Genesis 37 Joseph gets sold into slavery by the hand of his own brothers and they meant it for wickedness they meant it for evil they hated

[21:23] Joseph but there in Genesis chapter 50 Joseph says you meant it for evil but God meant it for good God meant it unto good and this is the same thing here Caiaphas what he is uttering he meant for evil that one man should die that the whole nation perish not he's saying Christ needs to die this miracle worker needs to die because all the people are going to follow him they're going to worship him and the Romans are gonna come they're gonna take our spot they're gonna take our nation and there'll be nothing left of us that was what was on Caiaphas the mind of Caiaphas but God meant everything that Caiaphas spoke for good and he didn't speak any untruth when he said these things but John just gives us the explanation for it says this but being high priest that year he prophesied Jesus should die for that nation for what nation and folks this blows out of the water people that say that God's finished with Israel God is not finished with Israel absolutely not said that Jesus should die for that nation what nation the nation of Israel that Christ should die for them but praise God because I'm not a Jew and I can tell by looking at it you all that ain't much Jewish blood if any within the four walls of this church says not for that nation only but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad and this is something that Caiaphas would not have been able to have wrapped his head around he being a Sadducee and he being the high priest that year of that time he would not have been able to have wrapped his mind around anyone dying for the Gentiles but that's exactly what is being gotten out here in verse 52 and not for that nation only not for the nation of Israel only but not for that nation only but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that Jew and Gentile should be made one in Christ Jesus and that's the only way that we can be made one Paul does

[23:37] Paul elaborates much better on this in this thing that we're reading about here in his epistles when he's talking about the Jews and talking about the Gentiles and there and there at the end of Galatians chapter 3 says if any man being crossed or if any man is crossed then is he Abraham seed an error to the promise but folks that includes you and Gentile like we know from Paul's writings that it doesn't matter what color we are what ethnicity we are whether we're barbarian or Scythian whether we're Jew or we're Greek we are all made one in Christ Jesus and we read just a chapter or two ago about Jesus when he was talking about the fold he was talking about how he was the door where the gate into the fold and we talked about how he said I got sheep it's of another fold but but God is going to make one flock and God is making currently one flock of sheep for himself for himself he's not doing it for you he's not doing it because I deserve it because you deserve he is doing it for his glory and for his honor and for himself not for that nation only but that also he should gather together and one the children of God that were scattered abroad and after such a such a statement of Caiaphas and then John elaborates on what he's saying John goes on to write them from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death because one man said that one man should die on behalf of the entire nation of Israel one man said that meaning it for evil but God meant it for good anything what we would consider to be negative that comes our way God can turn that into good and God for a child of God if it's native and it comes our way I'm not saying the stupid stuff that we do that gets ourselves into trouble I'm saying stuff that comes into our life that we had nothing to do with

[25:46] God uses that for his glory and he uses it unto his good now God can take the things that we do on our own by ourselves and turn them into good the folks days just like he can save a sinner he can save the drunk he can save the drug he can save the prostitute he can save all these people he might save the prostitute but he might not wipe away the STD's he might save the drunk but he might not wipe away the cirrhosis he might save the drug he but he might not wipe away the things the after effects of that drug use folks he saves the soul he doesn't save the body this body's going back to the dust and I praise God for that because I don't want to take this body into eternity with me I'm promised a glorified body locking them fashioned into the Son of Man but from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death they took counsel together folks the Pharisees hated the Sadducees and the

[26:48] Sadducees hated the Pharisees they were political opponents it was like what we would consider now conservatives and liberals in our in our own government and that's basically what they were the Sadducees were the liberal sect of the elite of the religious elite Jews the Pharisees were the conservative sect of the religious elite Jews and they could not stand one another but I've said many times the left left wing and the right wing both belonged to the same bird they both belonged to the same bird they took counsel together together and we read elsewhere in the gospel accounts where the Herodians even got involved and that was the big political sect of that time that's all they were was political but they all took counsel together regardless of how much they hated each other regardless of how much they couldn't stand each other and I've seen it happen folks you all seen it happen in government where where Democrats and Republicans will come together to knock an independent out of a race or to obliterate whatever it is that an independent trying to do when when

[27:58] Democrats and Republicans supposedly hate each other but they'll team up together to go after one that is exactly what has happened here two sects of people the Sadducees and the Pharisees which could not stand each other teamed up for one common goal amongst themselves to kill the Messiah that had been promised in the Old Testament to kill the one that had been promised from that day for they took counsel together for to put him to death Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews but went then sent to a country near to the wilderness into a city called Ephraim and there continued with his disciples folks I've looked and looked and looked not only preparing for today but in the past as well and nobody knows for certain where the city of Ephraim was as far as in proximity to where we were at this point remember remember where we're at we're in Bethany we're in the town of Lazarus and Mary and Martha here there no city on ancient maps for certain I've found it but I've also found it 30 and 40 miles apart from one map to another so nobody knows for certain exactly where this city was but we know per the scripture account and I believe what the scripture account says Jesus know therefore walked no more openly among the

[29:26] Jews and I told you all when we began John chapter 11 this was the last public miracle that Jesus would perform as the last one that he would perform openly and it says that he no more walked among the Jews but went then sent into a country near to the wilderness into a city called if we're Ephraim and there continued with his disciples that's the main part of this I want you to grasp behold Jesus retired out into the wilderness into this city of Ephraim wherever it was at but he continued with his disciples folks Jesus does the same thing with us because believe me the Pharisees and the Sadducees hated the disciples of Christ just as much as they hated cross and crossed retired they followed Jesus to where he went to he retired for a time to this city but he continued there with them he didn't just up and leave him he didn't say things are getting too heated around here and I'm gonna go further north or further south or east or west or anything along those lines he continued there with them and folks we've got a promise in the scriptures he says low I'm with you always even to the end of the world and that promise was made 2000 years ago when he spoke it to his disciples and those that saw him a sin and that promise still stands good today for every born-again believer everyone that is repented of their ways and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ he is with us always and he continues with us just as he continued with his disciples he didn't leave them there to fend for themselves he continued with his disciples and the Jews Passover was not a hand and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves so the Jews Passover was a hand and this is what will will comprise the remainder of the book is the

[31:29] Passover week what some people call the Passion Week at the death the burial the resurrection of Jesus Christ then John praise God through the Holy Spirit adds another chapter of some things that we don't find in the other Gospels in John chapter 21 but the death the burial the resurrection of Jesus Christ is what makes up the rest of the gospel of John but says the Jews Passover was not hand what was the Passover all of us should know that it's pretty basic information over in the book of Exodus that's a command that God give to his people you know God God had done cause nine plagues to fall on Egypt the tenth plague was the death of the firstborn and he told the Jews he said he said you need to take a lamb you need to set it to the side you need to make sure it's unspotted and unblemished and you need to kill this land and you need to take the Hyssop and you need to spread the blood of it on the doorposts and the lentils to your home and of course there's other things go along with that you need to eat this lamb but the main thing was when I passed through Egypt this night and the

[32:42] Bible says that God said when I passed through Egypt this night and I see the blood I will pass over you I will pass over you that was the Passover and these Jews here were preparing to celebrate the Passover were preparing to follow a commandment of God but folks you all have heard me say it all throughout the gospel of John that Judaism had become nothing more than an empty hole it was religion it was ritual it was ceremony but it was not worship of God and these Jews were preparing to go up and follow the commandments of God and do what God had said in this Passover feast but they did not have a relationship with God and folks empty religion discuss God it discuss God in the Old Testament the book of Amos he says you know you forget your feast days forget your incense it's a stench in my nostrils he says I despise those things God said these things the very one that ordained those ceremonies for the Jews but why did he despise them because they were using those as a crutch they weren't using it to have a relationship with God they were using them saying well I'm following what the Bible says I'm doing everything that's over in the Torah I'm doing doing everything that I've been told to do so God must think that I'm alright with him folks we can go out here and do our best to live a good moral life and they's unsafe people out there to live more moral lives than a lot of Christians that I know but that doesn't make them saved it does not make them saved it takes a relationship with God and the only way we can have a relationship with

[34:29] God God the Father is through God the Son these people were going up to Jerusalem to celebrate this Passover it was nigh-hand and many went up to the country of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves people have an issue with that to purify themselves what were they doing the same thing that you and I should be doing all week long before Sunday morning service they were readying themselves for the Passover they were preparing themselves to worship God it's the same thing that we should do and it shouldn't just be the not before it shouldn't just be the morning of it should be a continual thing for a child of God to purify themselves and be and ready themselves to worship God but people have an issue with this we can't purify ourselves only Christ can do that folks at the moment of salvation you're absolutely right only God can make us pure and he can only do that through the blood of Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation this is true but folks there's some things that's laid in a believer's lap James says in James chapter 4 cleanse your heart she centers and purify your cleanser your hands he centers and purify your heart she double-minded that's a commandment to us James wouldn't run to heathen he wouldn't run to unbelievers he was writing to the church when he said that he says to cleanse your cleanse your hands and to purify your hearts how do we do that with this right here with this right here this is our labor that we go to the labor was was was the watering place within the the tabernacle grounds and the priests when they would come in they had the brazen altar to their right they would come in they'd make the sacrifice they'd have blood all over their hands they get it on their feet they get it on their clothes they get it everywhere and before they could go back and burn the incense though before they could give themselves over to the service of God in the tabernacle they had to stop by the labor and they had to wash themselves off this is our labor the Word of God Jesus told us disciples you're now cleansed you're now clean through the word which I've spoken to you this is where we wash so if you were not in this are we getting washed folks it is it's it's heretical it is alright heretical to ask for a fresh cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away your sins it's heretical to say that that is doubting the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away your sins is your faith in Christ is your trust in Christ is everything everything that you used to have faith and trust in has it been put to the side and you your hope is in

[37:16] Christ and him alone then there's no need for you to ask for a fresh cleansing of the blood to wash away your sin even when even when Christ washed the disciples feet we haven't gotten that gotten to that section in the Gospel of John here yet but even when he was washing their feet and we all know Peter he kind of puffed himself up and he said you'll not wash my feet Lord and Jesus told him he said if I wash not your feet you have no part with me he said and Peter said not just my feet but from my head down to my feet wash every bit of me but cross told him something there he said if I wash not your feet why the feet why do the priests have to wash their feet when they went to the labor the labor there in the tabernacle because they've been out to everybody's tent they've been wandering around the camp millions of people around literally millions of Jews and not all of them believed like they should not all of them have faith like they should they're in the days of the tabernacle is where they went folks and where we go and what we see what we hear folks that that will contaminate us it will contaminate us I promise you if you watch enough dirty movies on TV I don't care how saved you are sooner or later you'll get contaminated by it that's why it's best to stay away from those things keep you nosing the word now the television screen when stuff like that comes on and you'll walk away clean you'll walk away fill them more righteous because you'll be more righteous not because of anything that you've done but because the

[38:53] Word of God tells us to do these things then Salt they Jesus remember where we was out all these Jews coming up to Jerusalem for the Passover to purify themselves then Salt they Jesus and spake among themselves as they stood in the temple what think ye that he will not come to the feast so all these Jews are going up to Jerusalem to do what the Jews done to celebrate Passover it says then then Salt they for Jesus who is the they that's the Pharisees that's the Sadducees that's the religious elite then Salt they for Jesus and spake among themselves as they stood in the temple what think ye that he will not come to the feast why do you think they spoke this among themselves I'll tell you why I think it is because Jesus just raised a man from the dead and they didn't speak this publicly they spoke it among themselves for fear of an uproar the people that had heard that Jesus had raised someone from the dead and this would have caused a revolt an immediate revolt against the Pharisees and against the Sadducees and if there were a revolt like I explained earlier and the

[40:11] Romans are gonna come in and say what's going on here okay you no longer have your authority you no longer have your power that we have given you folks all power comes from God every bit of Jesus tells Pilate towards the end and towards the end of this gospel that we're in right now Pilate says do you not understand I have the power to crucify you or to set you free and Jesus tells Pilate you know I would have no power at all if it weren't giving me from my father all power comes from above all them people it's been president over the years that we didn't like God gave them that power all the people that are that are world leaders right now that we don't like God gives them that power but he gives them that power just as Satan has power in this world that power is limited and it is limited only to what God allows them to have and ultimately it has worked out for God's good and for God's glory and for God's purpose we don't like to think about things like that but it's the truth it's the truth of Scripture they sought for Jesus saying what thank you that he will not come to the feast I knew he'd come to the feast Jesus had kept every bit of the law up to this point this was law for the Israelites it was law for the Jews to keep the feast of the Passover now both the chief priests and

[41:31] Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where he where he were he should shoe it that they might take him and again this shows the depravity of these priests and other Pharisees and other Sadducees of all these sects of people it shows their depravity they had put word out that if any man knew where Jesus was that they needed to know about it and they wanted to know about it because they wanted to take him but folks Jesus Christ would not be taken until the time appointed by the Father before the foundation of the world was ever laid before you and I were ever born before these people were ever born before before the world was ever created and the eternal counsel of the Godhead it was determined that Christ would give his life as a ransom for many but it would not happen one second before that for ordained time of God came that's why we see Christ escaping the multitudes that's why when they take up stones to stone Christ they never to get ahold of them they never took him they never imprisoned him nothing along them lines ever happened because it was not his hour his hour is coming a few chapters beyond where we're at right now the hour of Christ is coming but it was not yet that brings us to the end of

[43:02] John chapter 11 anybody got any questions or comments on any of that alright God bless y'all appreciate you