Love Over Fear (John 11:47–53)
House Church Discussion Guide
There were layers of power in the world of the Second Temple.
About 93 years before Jesus preached in the Temple—63 BCE—the Roman general Pompey rolled into Jerusalem and took over. Rome didn’t have it out for the Jews specifically; they were just in the way of a broader empire-building project.
Rather than destroy them, Rome made deals: stay peaceful, pay temple taxes, and you can keep your religion. Rome even allowed the temple leaders some power—to self-govern, to imprison, even to execute. This was new. Israel never had police or prisons—those were Babylonian ideas.
At first, this worked. Herod renovated the temple into something spectacular, and temple leaders enjoyed wealth, status, and Roman favor. Ninety years in, and they’re fully embedded in this system. They’ve got power, influence, connections—everything people tend to crave. And with that comes a deep fear of losing it all.
Enter Jesus.
He disrupts everything—flipping tables, healing people outside the system, including the excluded (like Samaritans), and openly violating Sabbath laws. Worst of all, he’s reportedly raising people from the dead.
That last one is especially dangerous. Rome controlled people through the threat of death —but someone who can undo death is a serious threat to the whole system.
Two things happen at once:
The people start to see the heart of God and live with compassion, not just obedience.
The power-holders see the writing on the wall—they might lose everything.
If God’s kingdom grows, the other one has to shrink.
That’s always been the tension.
We cannot serve two masters.
Jesus said that directly (Matthew 6:24), and it’s still true: following him often puts us at odds with the world’s systems. The first-century Christians experienced it. So did the Confessing Church under Nazi Germany. So did early Christians in Rome. Philosophers like Celsus criticized them for refusing violence. Pliny the Younger called them a “contagion” because they disrupted the economy—people stopped going to temples and buying sacrifices.
The point is: following Jesus will almost always get in someone’s way.
Let’s jump to the core passage:
John 11:47–53
The chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting… “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Then Caiaphas, the high priest, says: “It’s better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”
Caiaphas thinks he’s being strategic, but John says he was actually prophesying. Even that act—turning prophecy into a justification for violence—is spiritual abuse. The leaders aren’t being malicious. They’re terrified.
They’re afraid of losing control, afraid of change, afraid of the unknown.
And fear always makes us choose preservation over faith —makes us act like Babylon. That is precisely what Jesus invites us out of.
He shows us that love—not fear—should guide us. That Christlikeness might get us into trouble with empires, but it’s the only way to true life. It might get in the way of business models, hierarchies, or traditions—but it leads to liberation.
That’s why we gather as a church, to be with others who are likewise pursuing Christlikeness through the Spirit. Because trying to live this way—centered on Jesus, not self—is the hardest thing we’ll ever do. But being in community with others who are on the same path makes it easier.
When we come to the place where we must choose between Christlikeness or self-preservation, we must remind each other how Jesus became King, by choosing the cross.
And he invites us to do the same—because on the other side of it is resurrection, and life in the world to come.
Discussion Questions
How do you see fear shaping decisions—in scripture, in our world, or even in your own life?
Why do you think systems of power (both religious and political) often resist the kind of love and healing Jesus offers?
Have you ever felt caught between doing what’s Christlike and preserving something valuable to you (comfort, reputation, community, etc.)? How did you navigate that?
What does it actually look like, in your life right now, to choose the cross instead of self-preservation?
What helps you stay centered on Jesus when the culture around you—religious or non-religious—is pulling you another way?