Page 463 - Bible History

436 CHRIST'S TEACHINGS, MIRA ES AND CHURCH
The news of the raising of Lazarus from the dead spread abroad in the land and, hearing it, large num­ bers of the people were converted to Jesus and con­ fessed that He was the Son of God. Crowds of people went to Bethania, hoping that they might see Lazarus, and others went to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus had done.
The Pharisees went to the chief priests and said, ''\Vhat shall we do? For this man doth many mir­ acles. If \Ve let Him alone, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation."
Caiphas, the high priest of that year, stood up and said to them, "You know nothing. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, so that the whole nation
may not perish.''
He did not realize it, but by these words he stated
o cially that Jesus was the Savior, for he spoke not as a private individual but as the high priest of that year. In plain words he had prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation. But the Pharisees under­ stood his words as an order to them to secure evidence against Jesus which would be strong enough to have Him put to death. They hoped to nd something in His doctrine that sounded like treason against the Law of Moses or against the authority of the Roman em­ peror. They also sought to have Lazarus put to death, because he was a living proof that Jesus was the Messias and that the power of God was in Him.