Jesus had just performed one of the most beautiful miracles imaginable. Lazarus, who had been dead, was alive again. Many who saw what Jesus had done believed in Him. You would think that such a miracle would move every heart. Yet the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting and asked, "What action are we taking?" They were not celebrating what Jesus had done. They were frightened by what might happen if people continued to believe in Him.
Their fear comes out very clearly: "If we let Him go on in this way, everybody will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our holy place and our nation" (John 11:48). That is what frightened them. Jesus was doing something extraordinary before their eyes, but they were thinking about what they might lose. Sometimes a miracle can happen in front of us and still not change us, because our heart is occupied with another question: what is this going to cost me?
What Are We Afraid to Lose?
This was not the first time people reacted to Jesus in this way. In Luke 8, Jesus enters the country of the Gerasenes and meets a man possessed by demons. The man had been living in terrible bondage. Jesus sets him free, and the demons enter a herd of swine that rush into the lake and drown. The swineherds run and tell the people what has happened, and the people come out and see the man who had been possessed now sitting there restored. A human life has been set free, yet their response to Jesus is astonishing: they ask Him to leave.
Why? Because when Jesus entered their land, they lost their swine. And once they had lost the swine, perhaps the next question in their minds was, "What else are we going to lose now?" Jesus had entered their world and material things had begun to change, so they pleaded with Him to go away. That is exactly what we see again with the Pharisees and the scribes. "If this man continues, our nation will be taken away. Our holy place will be taken away." Caiaphas says that it is better for one man to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed (John 11:49-50). Get rid of Him. Remove the One who is disturbing the security we are trying to protect.
Jesus comes knocking at the door of their hearts and their lives, but they are more worried about their material things. And this can happen to us as well.
When Jesus Captures the Heart
When Jesus comes, there is always a danger that life will change for us. The way we live may change. Our priorities may change. The things that receive our time may change. Our comforts and pleasures may have to move out of the centre because Jesus has come to capture the heart.
A man once told me that he was very disturbed because his wife was going for a retreat. He kept grumbling about it, and I asked him, "Why are you so disturbed? She is going for something good. At least for one week she will be there and you will get some peace." He told me, "Father, it is not about that one week. It is after she comes back from the retreat that I am afraid of."
Why? Because she would come back and probably spend more time in prayer. And, according to him, that prayer might begin to eat into his time for soccer and sports. That was what disturbed him. It sounds humorous, but there is something very real inside it. We are often comfortable with Jesus as long as He does not disturb anything. We are happy for Jesus to be present as long as our schedule, our pleasures, our habits and our way of life remain untouched.
But when Jesus captures the heart, there will be changes. That is why the people of the Gerasenes asked Him to leave. That is why the Pharisees wanted to get rid of Him. They were afraid of what His presence would change and what they might lose. The question is not simply whether I believe in Jesus. The question is whether I am willing to let Jesus come close enough to change my life.
Jesus, Captivate My Heart
As we enter Holy Week, this should become our prayer: "Jesus, captivate my heart." Lord, control my heart. Capture my heart. What You did when You entered Jerusalem, what You did when You entered the land of the Gerasenes, do that within me. Come into my life so completely that You become the One who holds my heart.
Everything else might have to change, and it may be tough for me. My comforts may have to change. My pleasures may have to change. My lifestyle may have to change. There may be things I have treated as so important that suddenly cannot remain at the centre anymore. But, Jesus, captivate my heart.
Let me not be like the Pharisees and the scribes, frightened that Your coming will bring disturbances. Let me not be like the people of the Gerasenes, afraid that when You come I might lose material things. Lord, irrespective of what I lose in this world, I pray today: captivate my heart.
If my comforts have to go, let it be so. If my pleasures have to change, let it be so. If my lifestyle has to change, let it be so. Do not let me push You away because I am frightened of what Your presence will demand from me. Jesus, captivate my heart. Capture my heart. Amen.