One of the things writers hate to do is write about themselves. Pointing out the faults of others is fine, just don’t write anything in the first person. This article will violate that maxim.

More than 50 years ago, a very nice girl and I were seriously thinking about marriage. Then, her old boyfriend arrived on our college campus. I made things difficult. Jealousy makes a person see things that aren’t there, and I thought he was stealing my girl. I told her it was going to be either him or me. Turned out it was him.

In John 11, the chief priest of the Jews made a similar statement in reply to something one of his men said. The underling said that if Jesus kept performing miracles like raising the dead from the grave, the people will believe Jesus and abandon Jewish rule the Romans used to maintain order (John 11:48). Then, the Romans would take away Jewish rule.

Caiphas, the High Priest, said something very telling. “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish” (John 11:48b-50). Either Jesus would have to die, or the Pharisees faced ruin. It was either Jesus or them.

Of course, when the Jews demanded Jesus’ death, the Romans obliged. Then, the Lord rose from the dead and changed the world forever. Seventy years later, Jerusalem lay in ruins, and its religion died. Jesus built his church on Pentecost, people obeyed the gospel and became Christians.

One man died for the people so that a whole nation could be saved. That nation is the church Jesus built (Matthew 16:15-16).

Have you obeyed the gospel, and are you a part of that nation? It is a simple choice. We can choose salvation or we can choose self and sin. What will it be?

by John Henson