Daily Dose of Hope

October 27, 2025

Scripture – John 11:45-57

Prayer: Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, We give you all the glory and praise. Thank you for being a God who provides. Thank you for being a God who heals and cares. God, we pray protection over Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands which are in the way of Hurricane Melissa. Be with the people in the path of the storm. Help them find safety. And we pray that the storm will turn in the name of Jesus. May there be as little destruction as possible. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are finishing up John 11.

After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, many believed. In fact, he was getting to be quite popular. As a result, the Jewish leaders were scared of Jesus. That is the bottom line. They were scared that too many people would believe in him and they would lose the limited power they had under the Romans. They think seriously about wanting him dead. The high priest, Caiphas, even says that wouldn't it be better for one man to lose his life rather than a whole nation to be wiped out.

Caiphas' words actually have a bit of a double meaning, of which he wasn't aware of at the time. However, John picks up on it. Let's reread verses 51-52, He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

While the Jewish leaders decide it would be better for Jesus to die, they had no idea the enormous truth that they set out to accomplish. They didn't understand Jesus' mission at all. Not only would Jesus' death be better for them, but it would open up salvation to all people, everywhere. The Jewish leaders' vision was much smaller than Jesus' vision of his mission, but it was large enough to allow Jesus to do what he needed to do and accomplish what he needed to accomplish.

But what their plans did mean was that Jesus could no longer walk around publicly. He had to be very careful. He knew his time would come but he didn't to rush it. There was still work to be done.

Tomorrow, we begin Passion Week. Get ready.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki