Response to the Resurrection of Lazarus

Transcript

GR 379
11/16/1980
Response to the Resurrection of Lazarus
John 11:47-57
Gil Rugh

John chapter 11 in your Bibles. John's Gospel and the 11th chapter. We come to the conclusion of the 11th chapter of John in our study today, and it really demonstrates the response of the nation to the greatest miracle that Christ performed during His earthly ministry, the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. This in effect closes, in many ways, the public ministry of Jesus Christ. Chapter 12 will be the true conclusion, and He will have ministry to the nation as a whole. But as far as a demonstration of His person and the response to that, things are settled in the 11th chapter where the ruling body of the nation Israel settles on a plan to execute Jesus Christ.

The actual miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus is recorded in verses 38-44 which was performed in a very striking manner. Jesus, with representatives of the nation, gathered around. He calls Lazarus to the doorway of the tomb, having had the stone removed, and Lazarus comes forth at the call of Christ, bound hand and foot in burial cloths and wrappings, including even the cloth around the face still in place. An awesome miracle, demonstrating the power of the Son of God to call the dead to life. Who can give life but God Himself? And yet here Jesus Christ stands in the presence of the nation and calls a man who has been in the grave four days back to life, demonstrating clearly that He was the person He claimed to be—the Eternal Son of God.

Just a word here about the resurrection of Lazarus. There is no indication that following his resurrection he gave any insights into what life is like after death. It's rather popular today for people to go through an out-of-the-body experience. It's the in thing to die somewhere (usually a hospital is a good place, but it doesn't matter if you're going to come back to life. You can die in a variety of places) and then to give testimony as to what life was like after death. You know, this is a tremendous opportunity for Jesus to seize upon because He could have had Lazarus stand right there and give testimony to what it was like after you’ve died. Lazarus could have told them, I went into the presence of the Father and there He told me that it was His Son, Jesus Christ, who would raise me from the dead, etc. Could have been a tremendous testimony for Christ. But there's no indication or evidence that anything like that went on at all. If it did, it’s not recorded in the Scriptures, because why would the weight of Lazarus' testimony be greater than the testimony of the Son of God Himself? And, I would take it by the way the narrative is recorded that Lazarus did not have recall on the event that took place while he was in the tomb for four days. That he did not remember. And no indication that he was giving lectures on life after death. And they weren’t needed! They aren't needed today because all we need to know about life after death is recorded in the Scripture. A significant number of those who are giving their lecture what they say are contrary to what the Scriptures say about life after death, and the Bible is clear, I think, on these matters. So just a note because some of you have asked about Lazarus and his experience after his death. The Bible makes no statement on what happens to Lazarus, what he went through or anything like that. We have no indication that Lazarus even remembers the event that would have taken place.

So we leave him with the command at the end of verse 44, "Unbind him, and let him go." Now we will find when we get to chapter 12 that Lazarus' very presence is a testimony to the person and power of Jesus Christ, but that is the testimony. Not any particular insight on life after death but the fact that he was living which was living proof of the power of the Son of God.

The response is twofold in verses 45 and 46. "Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him." This tremendous miracle makes an impact upon them that it should. Who else but the Son of God could call a dead man back to life, and they believe in Him as the Messiah of Israel. There is another group, verse 46, "But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done." Remarkable! They have just stood and observed Jesus call a man back to life after he had been in the grave for four days and they are still unimpressed. They still do not believe. There is nothing that can be done to shake them and cause them to consider who Jesus Christ really is. They go back to the leaders in Jerusalem and tell them what has happened.

Note verse 47. "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council." I take it what we have here is a meeting of the Sanhedrin. Whether it was an informal or a formal meeting, the purpose is the same—the governing body is called into session to make a response to what Jesus had done and to decide where to go from here.

You know, it’s interesting. The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council. The chief priests were Sadducees. The Sadducees were primarily a political party in Israel. Now they were the religious leaders but their purpose was primarily political because the Sadducees did not believe in life after death. They did not believe in bodily resurrection. They did not believe in the supernatural. So you see their impact in spiritual things would be rather minimal. But they were primarily a political party, providing religious leadership. Now the Pharisees were the conservatives within the nation. They believed in the Scriptures. They believed in the resurrection of the body. They believed in life after death. They believed in the supernatural. And there was no love lost between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were enemies of one another within the nation. But it’s interesting. Jesus Christ divides people, as we see in verses 45 and 46, because every time Jesus Christ is presented, people are divided because some believe and some do not believe. And a division occurs. But He also unites people because people who do not believe in Him are united in their opposition against Him. And even those who are enemies on earth, when confronted with the person and work of Jesus Christ, unite against the common enemy. That’s what happens here with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus Christ divides but He also unites.

Happens on another occasion shortly after the account in John. Look back in Luke. Luke’s gospel, the 23rd chapter. It records events that happen shortly after what we’re studying in John chapter 11, surrounding the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As Pilate confronts Christ, He sends Him to Herod because He heard that Christ was from Galilee, and Herod was the one who ruled over that region. So verse 7 of Luke 23, ’’When Pilate learned that Christ belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time." Down to verse 11. "And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate." Now note verse 12. "Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been at enmity with each other." Up to this point Pilate and Herod had hated each other, but you know what? Now they both found out they hated Jesus Christ so they became friends. Amazing how people can be so antagonistic toward one another, and yet when confronted with the person of Jesus Christ and His claims, they have something that binds them together in a common hatred, a common rebellion against the person of Jesus Christ. The Book of Psalms records this when it says, "The nations of the earth gather together against the Lord and against His anointed" looking towards a time in the future.

Turn back to Revelation 19. Revelation and the 19th chapter. The scene here is when Jesus Christ is about to return to earth at the Second Coming, and what has been transpiring on earth is that the nations of the earth have been assembling their armies moving toward the Middle East for a final battle for world supremacy. You have the armies of the western world assembled there. You have the armies of the orient, marshalling an army of two hundred million toward the Middle East to do battle and challenging the Antichrist and his world rule. You have the remnants of the northern army, Russia and her allies descending upon the Middle East for battle. No love lost between these people. They are coming together to do battle out of hatred for one another, and yet on that time, on that occasion Jesus Christ at His appearance, the sign of His coming as it's called in Matthew, and the nations of the earth join together with one another. Those who had come together to do battle and kill one another now join together in harmony with one another. And in verse 19 of Revelation 19, "I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him (Christ) who sat upon the horse, and against His army." Because there is One they hate more than anyone or anything else—the person of Jesus Christ. One thing every unbeliever has in common is a hatred of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Some unbelievers are so deceived they think they are neutral concerning Jesus Christ. But down basically in their character they are in rebellion against God, rebellion against Jesus Christ, and they have something in common with every other unbeliever—they are opposed to the work and person of Jesus Christ. Now for some it lies rather dormant. For some it is rather openly expressed, but the Scripture is clear. Everyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ is the enemy of Jesus Christ. It simply takes the right kind of circumstances and situation to bring out that enmity.

I've been impressed as I talk with various religious people, particularly religious leaders (preachers, pastors, priests, etc.) how they can be so gentle, so kind, so loving, yet when the claims of Jesus Christ are pressed upon them they lose something of their composure. They lose something of the veneer and the hatred is there. The opposition is there, and it just simple takes the right set of circumstances to bring it out.

So it is in John chapter 11. The Pharisees and the Sadducees are united together in a common purpose—to do something about Jesus Christ. And the way they express themselves at the end of verse 47 is interesting. "What are we doing?" There is confusion here. It doesn’t mean, What shall we do, but what are we doing? What do we? In other words, there is confusion. We are accomplishing nothing. "For this man is performing many signs." In spite of all that we have done, in spite of all our threatening, in spite of our opposition, in spite of our persecution, He continues to do miracles. It's frustrating. What can we do? Everything we're doing is being brought to naught. It's being brought to frustration. There is confusion here. You note here— there is no question about the validity of the miracles that He is doing. Nobody raises doubt about whether Lazarus had really died and really been raised from the dead. They're too intelligent for that. It's been almost 2000 years for us to get those kind of dummies that raise those kind of questions. These men acknowledge it. "He is doing many signs. The miracles are there. What are we doing?" No matter what we do, as long as He keeps doing these miracles, we're not going to accomplish anything. Now isn't it amazing? Wouldn't you think these men who are at least average intelligence and probably above average in light of their position and training and etc. They would stop and consider, now here is a man who keeps on doing these miracles. Does that say something to us? No. They are so set in their opposition to Jesus Christ there is no chance they will consider that these miracles may testify that He is the Messiah that He claims to be.

Note how they go on in verse 48. "If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him." What a testimony! The impact of the miracles is being felt. And if He keeps on doing these miracles, raising people from the dead, giving blind people their sight, enabling the lame to walk, etc. everybody will believe in Him. That will be a problem. Why? "The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." There is a self-serving purpose before them. It's our place, it's our nation, and if everyone starts to believe in Him, the Romans will intervene because they will not tolerate a man setting Himself up as king here. So they’ll come and destroy what they call 'our place and our nation.' The place here refers to the temple. A way of referring to the temple several times. Turn over to the Book of Acts quickly. Acts chapter 6, verse 13. "And they put forward false witnesses who said, 'This man incessantly speaks against this holy place.'" Speaking of the temple there. The holy place, the holy temple. Verse 14, "...for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter..." So again, the place there refers to the temple and the alter associated with it.

Over in chapter 21, verse 28, "Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place..." Again, this place is a reference to the temple. The end of verse 28 calls it 'this holy place.' So clearly when they talk about "our place" they are talking about our temple which is really not theirs in the ultimate sense, it is God's and it belongs to the Son of God. It's His. But they are concerned that if they allow the popularity of Christ to increase, the Romans will intervene.

Now you know it's ironic because in less than 40 years, the very thing that they feared happened. In 70 AD the Romans annihilated the temple at Jerusalem and carried the nation away into slavery, after executing in horrible fashion thousands of the Jewish people. They thought they could prevent that by killing the Messiah, but the only thing that could have preserved the nation was the rule of the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God. They had been warned about this. Look back in Luke chapter 20. The parable of the vineyard and the vine grower.

Begin in verse 9 of Luke chapter 20, the picture here is of a man who plants a vineyard and then he rents it out to vine growers and goes away. And when it comes time for harvest, he sends some of his slaves to take possession of his property. But those he has rented it out to mistreat them. The picture here is the nation Israel, and God is the one who has planted it. He sent the prophets, etc. to the nation and they treated them shamefully. Then finally He sends them his son, verse 13. "And the owner of the vineyard said, ’What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let us kill him that the inheritance may be ours.'” That is the emphasis that we see in the Sanhedrin. "Our temple, our nation” taking upon themselves to lay claim to it.

So they take the son in verse 15, "And they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him." Referring to the execution of Christ outside of Jerusalem.
"What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.' And when they heard it, they said, 'May it never be!' But He looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone?' Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.' And the scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them." Note. They had been warned about their action. That they would try to kill the Son, the rightful owner of the temple and the nation, and the result would be ruin for them. Destruction for them. In less than 40 years, that would be carried out.

Go back to chapter 11. There is confusion in this assembly as this body of leaders meets. There is indecision over what ought to be done. And the man who is the leader asserts his authority. The man Caiaphas. "A certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year." He was appointed high priest in 18 AD by the man who was the predecessor of Pontias Pilate, and he was deposed in 36 AD by the man who succeeded Pontias Pilate. So he ruled as high priest for almost 18 years or approximately 18 years. Now that seems like a long time, but really the high priest according to the Old Testament Law was to be appointed for life. But by this time it had become a political post and the Romans determined who the political influence would be. They appointed the high priest. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas, and Annas had served as high priest from 6 AD to 15 AD, then he had been deposed and the Romans appointed another high priest. And a short time later they appointed another high priest. Then they came back around to the same family and appointed Caiaphas. That’s why you see Caiaphas and Annas both referred to as high priests. Annas was a deposed high priest but he still carried the title, and much of the influence over Caiaphas is from his father-in-law, Annas. But Caiaphas here exerts his influence in a very blunt way.

"You know nothing at all." That's getting right to the point. You are without intelligence. You are ignorant. Bluntly put—you are stupid. Now, Josephus refers to the Sadducees as almost barbaric. Josephus was a Pharisee himself so you can appreciate that he doesn't set the Sadducees in the best light, but nonetheless he says from a Pharisee's position, they view the Sadducees as barbaric—without manners. And in their speech, like aliens. Even when addressing one another, he says they speak like they are speaking to foreigners—very crudely. And you get some feeling of this here. Here he addresses the Sanhedrin, the other Sadducees along with the Pharisees, and he says 'You are without any insight. You don't know anything. Let me tell you.' And here's his plan.

"Nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." It's very simple. If you'd just sit down and think. We've already decided that if we allow this man to continue, the whole nation will follow Him as their Messiah. If that happens, the Romans will intervene and destroy the nation. Therefore, doesn't it make sense that we execute Him and save the nation? In other words, the end justifies the means. It's not a good idea to murder someone, but if in murdering someone you save the whole nation, isn't that alright? So it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people and the whole nation won't have to perish. Here's my idea. Let's kill Him. We can't stop Him from doing the miracles.

Isn't it amazing? They're going to settle on the execution of Christ, and the only crime He has committed is raise somebody from the dead, give sight to the blind, enabled the lame to walk, etc. etc. etc. For that they determine He must be executed. You just can't have a man going around calling people back from the grave. That causes a stir. You can't have a man going around giving sight to people who have been blind. That causes a stir. You can't have a man going around enabling people who have been without the ability to walk all their life enabling people to walk, that causes a stir. You can't have a man enabling the leper to be made whole and pure. That causes trouble. We've got to kill Him. Isn't it amazing? The only crime He is guilty of is doing miracles. And yet they determine to execute Him.

Now Caiaphas' plan is obvious. The amazing thing is what John says in verse 51. "He did not say this on his own initiative." It's a little bit ironic again. Caiaphas says at the end of verse 49, "You know nothing at all" and then it comes out that he doesn't even know what he's talking about. He's put his mouth in gear, but he really doesn't know what he's saying. And you see the one who is perhaps the most unknowing, the most ignorant of the whole group, is the spokesman, Caiaphas. "He did not saying this on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation..." He prophesied. The high priest was a spokesman for God in the Old Testament. He was to come to Him to find what God wanted him to do. So here God sovereignly takes hold of Caiaphas to use him as a spokesman. And you see here how God sovereignly uses even the sinful deeds of human beings. That Caiaphas in his sinfulness comes up with a plan, but God in His sovereignty has determined that this plan will accomplish His purposes. It does not remove the responsibility from Caiaphas or from the nation, but it accomplishes God's plan. "He prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation." Now he meant literally, physically, we'll execute Him so the nation can undergo physical deliverance. But God was conveying a message that went beyond that, which was that Jesus would die physically and spiritually so that the nation might have spiritual life, might experience the salvation of God. "And not for the nation only, but that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." You have no more concise statement anywhere in the Scripture on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Amazing, and it's uttered by a man who is a pagan. He did not even believe in spiritual life. He did not believe in eternity. Yet God takes him and uses him as a mouthpiece.

Look over in Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. It's difficult for us to understand the sovereignty of God. A God who is so powerful, so sovereign that He even takes man in his sinful rebellion and uses him in accomplishing His purposes. Look in verse 25 of Acts chapter 4, breaking into the sentence, quoting from Psalm 32 which I referred to earlier. "...who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Thy servant, did say, 'Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples devise future things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord, and against His Christ.' For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy Servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur." Note that. Herod. Pontius Pilate. Priding themselves in their self-control here, doing exactly what God predetermined would happen. It didn't mean they weren't responsible. Their own sinful desires. Their own sinful activity God simply used it to accomplish His purposes. They did what they wanted in their rebellion against God, but in doing what they wanted God used it to accomplish His purposes. Amazing, the control and sovereignty of God. So back to John chapter 11.

Caiaphas was uttering a prophecy he didn't understand. First, Jesus would die for the nation on behalf of the nation. The preposition here, translated "for" is sometimes called the preposition of the Atonement. It is used many times to refer to the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. He dies on our behalf, over us, in our place. It was our position that He took. He died on behalf of the nation so that the nation would not have to die. And beyond that, verse 52, it wasn’t just for the Jews, it wasn't just for the nation Israel but for the Gentiles as well. Because God was going to call His people out from all the nations, gather them together into one. Same thing that is expressed in John chapter 10 with the Good Shepherd where Jesus says, "I have other sheep who are not of this fold, who do not belong to the nation Israel and I am going to call them out and gather them together and they will be one flock and one fold" under the Great Shepherd Himself, Jesus Christ. Same idea here—that Christ is not only dying for Jews but He is also dying for Gentiles. So that it is now possible for Jews and Gentiles alike to believe in the death and resurrection of the Son of God and not perish. Amazing! He died for the nation Israel, and He died for the Gentiles as well so now anyone, Jew or Gentile, who believes in the Son of God has life. He does not have to perish. He does not have to experience condemnation, but can have life. That was God's sovereign pre-determined plan.

So inserted here is an explanation by John so that we understand as events move along that it's moving along according to God's timetable, moving along according to God's plan, and it's awesome the display of sinfulness and rebellion on the part of mankind. But it simply sets in stark contrast to the greatness of the love of God and the tremendous sovereignty displayed in the carrying out of His plan.

"So from that day on they planned together to kill Him." Now they have opposed Him before. They attempted to stone Him, to throw Him off the cliff. But now they have settled on a plan. It's not just the emotion of the moment any longer, but it is a settled plan to execute Him. Again, remind yourself. For what crime? If He keeps on doing miracles, everyone will believe in Him. For that we must execute Him. No consideration has been given--could it possibly be this man is who He claims to be? Could He possibly be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament? How can you explain that a man should be raised from the dead?

Jump over to chapter 12, verse 10, to understand the seriousness of the situation. "The chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus." You see how set they are in their hatred of Jesus Christ? No question that Lazarus was raised from the dead, but as long as he's walking around he is living proof of the power of Jesus Christ. I guess we'd better kill him too. It's almost irrational, and yet it displays how irrational sin really is. It cannot consider the evidence. It cannot consider the facts because I'm so full of hatred concerning the person who is involved. We talk about being blinded by hate? That is exactly our position as fallen, sinful beings. We are blinded by our hatred for God and His Son, Jesus Christ, that I am incapable, unable to evaluate the evidence or consider the facts. Amazing God's grace cuts through that hatred, lifts the blindness and causes me to see who Jesus Christ is and believe in Him.

Verse 54. Jesus can no longer walk publicly among the nation so he departs into a country near a wilderness, into a place called Ephraim which we're not sure exactly what place is designated here. But it's not too far from Jerusalem, and it's a desolate kind of area. Again, getting away from the intensity of the opposition because it's still not time. But note. "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand." Significant timeline. The Passover of the Jews is at hand. It is significant because this IS the appointed hour. It is at this feast that Jesus will be given into the hands of the nation for execution. "The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover, to purify themselves." Isn't that amazing! You read that statement and it's awesome. Here are the people of the nation going up early to Jerusalem to purify themselves so they are qualified to partake of the Passover according to the instructions for purification in the Old Testament. And note how concerned they are to go through the external observances, to perform what is demanded externally for external purification. But they have neglected the purifying of their souls. Because these very people concerned to go up now so they are physically pure and eligible for partaking of the Passover will be the very people who will be joining in calling out "Crucify Him" and joining together in crucifying the Son of God. Amazing.

No different than today, though. People have such concern for the external. With the ordinances that are observed and they neglect totally the purifying of their souls. That spiritual purifying that can only come through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet they are about to cry out to kill Him. The only One who can provide cleansing. Jesus has already told them, "If you do not believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Even this Passover was looking forward to the redemption that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Himself could provide.

Verse 56. They were seeking for Jesus, "and were saying to one another, as they stood in the temple, ’What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?'" The way this is worded, it implies a negative answer. They do not expect Jesus to show His face. Why? "The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it that they might seize Him." So you see, the leaders have come up with a plan, but the nation is guilty. The blood is upon the hands of the nation. The people of the nation that come to observe this feast, who go through external purification, know that the nation has set upon a course of executing this man, and they bring the guilt upon themselves. So they are guilty as a nation. The leaders plan it, but the people join in. And not only the Jews but the Romans and the nations as well—as Acts chapter 4 says. Amazing! And all that He has done is performed miracles. People today say, 'Oh, if I could only see a miracle, I would believe.' You would not, you're a liar. Because here you have the record of the miracles. Here you have the record of the testimony of the Son of God Himself and you don't believe it. All that would happen if you were confronted by the greatness of His miracles alive, demonstrated is that you would be antagonized because you are antagonized by the Word of God. You're antagonized by the person of Jesus Christ. And that antagonism is centered on Him and that's not changed by things. There is proof concerning who He is. But how have you responded to the proof? If you're here this morning and you have heard who Jesus Christ is, the divine Son of God, that One who has died on your behalf, in the place of the Jews and Gentiles alike so that all who believe in Him might have life—why have you not believed? If He loved you and died for you, why have you not believed? The miracles are recorded. None that were there doubted them. The testimony has been given. Why have you not believed? Only one reason: the pride and arrogance of our sin has set us in opposition to God. And it deceives us in a variety of ways. From saying we're alright the way we are on to all kinds of excuses. The proclamation of Jesus Christ continues to divide. It divides this audience among those who believe in Him and those who do not. But it unites. It unites those of us who have believed together in bowing down to worship Him, the Son of God. And it unites those of you who have not believed in opposition and hatred to the love and plan of God in providing redemption for all who will believe. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for the simplicity of the portion we've just considered, that clearly the Spirit has set before us that Jesus Christ died on behalf of Jew and Gentile alike, Lord, in order that we might hear the message concerning your Son, His death and resurrection that we might believe and have life. Father, thank you for the life that those here who have believed have experienced. And we pray for those who are here this morning. Father, perhaps they are a regular part of this congregation, yet Lord they have been concerned with external matters, their external appearance, their external purity and have neglected the purity of their souls. Father, I pray that your Spirit might reach down into that heart, and Father, might cause them to see as only He can that Jesus Christ is indeed the One He claimed to be, the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world, that they might believe that He died for them that they too might enter into life, for we pray in His name