So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
I was watching a murder mystery on television the other night. At the end of the story, we discover the antagonist is an older woman who was spurned by her younger lover. She had killed the young man and ten years later killed three more times to protect her secret. When caught, she reveals that the reason she killed him was that he was unfaithful. “He was so depraved!” she complained. I marveled at the fact that her character could not see her own depravity.
In this verse, we see a similar situation. The chief priests are so afraid of losing power to Jesus that they lose sight of God’s will. Instead of obeying God’s command not to murder, they sink to plotting a man’s death. Then, having taken a horrible plunge into that pool of depravity, they plot to take a second man’s life.
Where does depravity end? Having sunk to such depths, how can they be redeemed? Before they are done, they will have pulled Judas into the vortex of their self-destructive sewer and who knows how many other souls.
Let’s Discuss: How do we recognize depravity in ourselves and what should we do about it?
That is a great question and one that is difficult to answer. Our depravity is greater than we likely realize. That is one reason we can have a difficult time forgiving someone, thinking their sin against us was just too great to forgive, all the while not realizing that God has forgiven us so much more. I am completely selfish, self-absorbed, arrogant, prideful and this list could go on much longer than space is provided. Now, I do have the Holy Spirit’s influence in my life as an agent of change/sanctification and I am created in the image of God. Yet, in my sin nature I am crazy depraved. O wretched man that I am, who shall save me from this body of death? The answer we know from the book of Romans is thanks be to Jesus. Our depravity and forgiveness and the immense love of God is good to look at so that we worship and adore Him as He deserves.
Rich,
Thanks for your amazing response. This is a very difficult question for all of us. Yet Jesus provides a path to freedom and righteousness.
As we move further along the path following Jesus, as the Holy Spirit is renewing our mind, our sinfulness (depravity) is further revealed to us as God makes us more sensitive to His revelation of how holy and pure He is.
That revelation over time to me creates a dichotomy where I recognize how fallen I am apart from God and how hopeless and weak are my efforts to attain a better level of perfection on my own. Sometimes, it seems that I can only laugh or weep at the ridiculousness of my position of seeing both my depravity and helplessness with ever more clarity.
Thank God for grace.
-Brent
Thanks Brent! Well said! I can relate to your ‘dichotomy’ extremely well. The light of God’s righteousness does a great job of illuminating all of the dark corners of my life.