Daily Devotion for Wednesday 25th June 2025

Wednesday 25 June 2025

St John 12: 9 – 11

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well,  since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Reflection

It is always strange to me to read that people flock to see the site where ‘X’ fabulous villa burnt down or where ‘Y’ wrote their famous novels.   This is the attraction of celebrity, or possibly notoriety, in any different type of unusual situation a crowd gathers.

Why did a great crowd gather around Jesus AND Lazarus?  The curiosity of those who want to say: “I was there”.  “I saw both of them.”  “I have this bit of Lazarus’ shroud.”   Crowds challenged the priests.  There is double jeopardy here.  The Romans would have been alert to the possibility of insurrection when large crowds gathered and the priests did not want their authority challenged. A danger because the Romans would ask questions first of these in authority and, if people were following Jesus who they already felt was a danger to their sole ownership of G-d, where were their temple offerings going?  

Their response is to get rid of them both.  To stop the mob forming within the crowd which would seriously annoy the Romans and to boost the life of Temple and Synagogue.  If they can do it in one fell swoop, so much the better as a way to write them both out of the political narrative of the time. 

I can’t help feeling there is an element of hindsight in the explanatory comment that many were deserting.  Deserting what – Synagogue or Temple?  I can’t seriously imagine that everyone went to the synagogue every Sabbath.  Except, where else could people gather?  They might have been ill, ritually unclean, or in desperate need and where better to go to access community help than outside the synagogue.   That’s where Jesus went and found crowds who needed help.    

Prayer

Creator God,
we find comfort in crowds 
yet acknowledge it is only a small step 
from a crowd to a mob.  
Help us to avoid following the crowd into the mob, 
instead bringing comfort 
wherever people gather searching for release 
from illness and desperate need.  Amen