John 11:45-57

 (1) Why did Jesus resurrect Lazarus from the death?

a. 11:15 and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

For the disciples to believe in Jesus

b.11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

11:45 Then many of the people, who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him.

For the friends and family of Mary and Martha to believe in Jesus

c. 11:46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and reported to them what Jesus had done.

However, there were also some people who reported the incident to the Pharisees v.46. This is very similar to the neighbours of the born blind man. They brought the born blind man to the Pharisees 9:13. 

2. What is in the mind of these people in (c)? Jesus had done such an amazing miracle. No one could deny that He came from God. Why did they still go to His opponents, the religious leaders, to report to them? They followed the religious leaders blindly. 

Reflection: Were you able to make your own judgment? If your leader leads you to the wrong direction spiritually can you tell? If what your leader said was contrary to the Bible or not from the Bible can you tell?

3. v.47b “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation.”

Again, Jesus had done a miracle that the religious leaders did not have any room to deny nor they were able to deny that Jesus was the Messiah/Savior/King. They knew that if they "allowed" Him to go on everyone would believe that He is the Messiah. However, they worried that when the Messiah was recognized by the people then the Romans would know about that and then they current relationship with the Romans would fall. 

(PNTC) Rather, they express their fear that popular messianic expectations will be fired to fever pitch, and, with or without Jesus’ sanction, set off an uprising that would bring down the full weight of Rome upon their heads. They fear such reprisals could end in destruction of ‘our place’ (almost certainly a reference to the temple...) and nation (i.e. the semi-autonomous status of the Jewish nation)... They are prompted less by dispassionate concern for the well-being of the nation than for their own positions of power and prestige...The rapid changes in power across the previous three centuries make such fears understandable, if not admirable.

Reflection: The religious leaders did not really want to have the Kingdom of God to come. They wanted to maintain their current status and did not want anything to be changed because they were the ruler under the Roman government. That was their best life. What about us? Are you looking forward for the day that Jesus came back? We will be with the Lord in air? All the earth be ruled over by Jesus? Or you rather to keep your job, your house, your kids, and under the current rulers?