So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and were saying, 

"What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs? 

If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

John 11:47-48 CSB

These guys were the religious, cultural, political leaders. They had all the power in the community, and their response to the signs Jesus had done?

Shut him down because we have too much to lose. 

And let's catastrophise it into losing our whole nation while we're at it. 

Who Jesus is, what he was about, exposed their hearts which turned out to be completely about their own self interest. Their personal empires would crumble if Jesus was allowed to keep going.

There's a picture here for me that as I let Jesus in to my inner self, that the power structures, the personal empire can feel like it's being turned upside down. 

It can feel catastrophic.

But Jesus is Grace, Light, Life, and his work in us is never catastrophic, but Good.

These guys in this passage lived in fear that Jesus was going to disrupt things for them, how different their lives would have been of they'd embraced Jesus for who he is.

#upsidedownkingdom

#itsaheartthing