When it comes to Jesus, I can confidently argue that these two men are right at the top of the list of our Savior’s enemies. Neither could stand Jesus or the teaching that He brought to the Jews. Both saw Jesus as a blasphemer and one worthy of death. In fact, in their march to erase His influence, both men went as far as to murder. Yet, there is a big difference between the two, and I believe that this difference is worthy to explore. And as we do, I ask you to consider the question, “Am I more like Saul or Caiaphas?”
Caiaphas was the High Priest during the life of Christ and he detested this “self-proclaimed” Messiah. Jesus came with no army, no name and was not a member of the right part of society. In fact, it seemed that Jesus took every opportunity to pronounce woes upon the elite and do everything He could to turn the people against them. How bad did it get?
Do you remember when Jesus raised his friend, Lazarus, from the dead? How do you suppose Caiaphas reacted?
“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.” (John 11:49-53 ESV).
And Caiaphas followed through on his threat. Under him, our Savior was executed. And then, we turn our attention to Saul. This man was zealous in his persecution of Christians. He consented to the death of the first martyr, Stephen, as we read in Act 8. After that, Saul caught fire in his single-minded purpose:
“But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3 ESV).
So, both men share a zeal against Christ. But there is an important distinction between the two. Caiaphas was more interested in defending what he wanted rather than what God wanted. He wasn’t looking to serve God. Jesus gave him every opportunity, every bit of evidence, and every teaching needed to come to an understanding of what God wanted. But Caiaphas wasn’t going to hear anything that upset what he had already decided was important.
Then we move to Saul. Same zeal, same desire to stop blasphemers. But Saul truly was interested in serving God. Everything he did was in devotion to God:
“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9 ESV).
But when faced with the same evidence Caiaphas had, Paul converted to Christ. Why? Because his zeal was for what God wanted, not in defending his current beliefs. When presented with this evidence, Paul stayed true to his love for God and changed himself to bring himself in alignment with God.
Both men were taught the Truth. Both men witnessed miracles. Both men read the same prophecies of the coming Messiah. Both men saw someone who was raised from the dead. But one man was single minded in his conviction to self while the other was single minded in his conviction to God.
What about us today? Are we more like Saul or are we more like Caiaphas? To what are we committed, God or our current beliefs? We talk about the virtue of having an open mind, but do we really believe that? Or will we defend our current beliefs without even considering if they are truly rooted in what God wants?
If we truly seek God, and His will, we should never fear examining every aspect of our faith. And if we learn something that is different from what we hold now, do we bring ourselves into alignment with what we learned or will we defend the old belief regardless?
We may never kill over our beliefs, but our attitude toward God’s Word can be just as damning if we are not willing to let His Word continue to mold us, rather than us trying to mold It.
“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (John 12:9-11 ESV).
The safest place on earth to be is at night in a small boat during a violent storm with Jesus. What a powerful lesson.
The same holds true for us today. The safest place we can be during the violent storms of life, when most would give up or give in, is with Jesus. Without Him, life can defeat us. With Him, we can endure any storm.
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:37-40 ESV).
It can be very discouraging when we bring the Gospel message to someone and they reject it. Sometimes we feel like we are a failure or doing something wrong.
It may help to remember two things when we evangelize:
1. The power is in the Gospel, and not in us.
2. Sometimes we fulfill our role by giving someone the opportunity to hear the Word, making them without excuse.
Remember, the Word will always accomplish its purpose through us.
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV).
This week, I am wrapping up my daily reading from the Psalms. The Spirit has put so much in there that it could take a lifetime to uncover new discernment with each reading. But among the significant themes that pepper the Psalms, I read one phrase this morning that stayed in my heart.
“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” (Psalm 101:3 ESV).
I will set nothing worthless before my eyes. Wow, what powerful words. For out of the things we put into our heart will flow the issues of life.
I can't tell you how many times I prayed to be a better husband, a better father, a better steward of God. This verse reminded me that to fashion what I want to be, I must first choose to put in my heart the material to build me into what I want to be.
We have a lot of things fighting to be put before our eyes. Most of it is pretty worthless, if we're honest. But the choice is mine.
I'm trying to replace worthless things with good things. I'm trying to put the raw building blocks of a holy life into my heart. And I can tell you, that there is wisdom in that.
The less TV I watch and the more Bible I read, the better able I am to serve God. The less idle entertainment I engage in and the more spiritual blogs and podcasts I consume, the more wisdom God imparts to me.
We all need moments of refreshing and entertainment, but I have learned for me, to let it be less worthless and more worthy.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 ESV).
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1 ESV).