Eliminate The Evidence

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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A miscarriage of justice. That’s what some people call it. A man is arrested for a crime that he committed. The evidence against him is overwhelming. The witnesses who saw him do this thing are ready to testify against him. But then it happens. The key evidence somehow is lost. The witnesses have all been coerced by the man’s friends into changing their stories. The man goes free. Why? Because the evidence against him had been eliminated.

Criminals know that evidence can be devastating. That’s why they spend so much time in trying to eliminate it. They wear gloves to prevent leaving finger prints. They wear disguises to keep people from recognizing them. They work their deeds in the dark to cover their evil ways. They simply do not want any evidence around.

The Bible speaks about some people who sought to eliminate evidence that they didn’t like. Those who are evil are against God and will stop at nothing to draw people away from God and away from righteousness. God’s ways exposes evil ways. That’s why those doing evil hate the light of God’s word.

At times during the ministry of Jesus the Jewish rulers plotted to overtake Jesus or even kill Him. They feared His popularity. But this fear was not limited to Jesus. John records a plot relating to Lazarus. He, of course, had died in Bethany and Jesus called him out of the tomb four days after he had died. The news of this resurrection quickly spread to nearby Jerusalem and a great number of the Jews began to seek after Jesus because of this miracle.

Listen to this reading from John 11:45-48.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

The Jews seemed convinced that Jesus was very powerful—enough so to work many signs or miracles, not just the raising of the dead. They realized that left unchallenged, Jesus would continue to draw the Jews to Himself and that would eventually eliminate their own roles and places of importance.

The Jews were really in a dilemma. If they openly acknowledge the powers of Jesus, they would have to admit that He was the Son of God. But they could not refute the miracles that had been seen by so many—especially when that miracle was a man who was raised from the dead.

Verse 53 states that from that day forward the Jews plotted to kill Jesus. But they didn’t limit their target only to Jesus. John 12:9-11 tells that while Jesus was at a meal in Bethany the Jews plotted to intervene.

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

So their tactic was to try to eliminate the evidence. With no Lazarus, the story of his resurrection would certainly fade. And, they reasoned, if they eliminated Jesus then His followers would also soon disband. But their assumptions were incorrect.

To the Jews of that day, Jesus and His disciples were a threat to their ways and they sought to eliminate them. Instead of accepting Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, they rejected Him in order to preserve their earthly standing.

Friends, many people today will attempt to eliminate the biblical evidence of morality, salvation and righteousness. It goes against their earthly agenda. It threatens their ability to sin without guilt. But no one can eliminate the Word of God. It will be the standard of our eternal judgment whether we accept it or not. That evidence is indisputable, unchangeable, eternal.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we determine to learn something from the Bible each day. May we become so acquainted with the evidence in God’s word that no one will ever be able to eliminate the truths that God reveals.

Our thought for the day: “Prejudice is an unwillingness to be confused with the facts.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.