NOTES for Joh 11:45-57
Jesus performs an unprecedented miracle: the raising of Lazarus. This event, however, is perceived by people very differently: for some it becomes a sign of God's blessing, and for others, a dangerous manifestation of extremism. The Pharisees fear that this strange preacher from Judea, by His miracles, will attract the people to Himself and start an uprising that will be suppressed by the Romans, thereby putting an end to political freedom and religious life. Their earthly logic is entirely understandable: common sense suggests acting exactly as they did, sacrificing one person in the interests of the majority.
At times the Lord proposes that we do something that does not fit within generally accepted frameworks. His plan can appear insane to us, contradicting our ideas about the order of the world. It is hard for us to accept that His will can involve the disruption of familiar peace and quiet, the loss of what was achieved with hard labor, even death - and death on a cross. But precisely this "final" fall of Jesus, from the Pharisees' point of view, became salvation for the whole universe, because divine arithmetic differs from earthly arithmetic.