As we prepare to enter Holy Week, today’s Gospel (John 11:45–57) marks a turning point: the debates disappear, and now they are ready to kill Him.
The high priest Caiaphas makes a chilling statement: “It is better for you that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish.” John says this was spoken not just as a political opinion but as a prophetic word.
It disturbs but is true. Life seems to work this way: the majority enjoys the sacrifice of the individual. Caiaphas “individual may be sacrificed for the common good.
It is called Utilitarianism; the greatest good for the greatest number, might be justified. Sacrificing one to save many is morally right - or even necessary.
• A small chick may be sacrificed for the sins of a great man.
• “To save a family, one may sacrifice an individual.
• To save a village, one may sacrifice a family. To save a nation, one may sacrifice a village. To save a soul, one may sacrifice the whole world.” (Mahabharata II.55.10)
This idea—that the small must suffer for the sake of the great—has been written into our cultural and moral logic. Jesus willingly becomes the one who suffers for all.
Is this ethical right? Scriptures often affirm: “What is needed is what is righteous.”
From the moment it is said, “Better for one man to die than the whole nation,” Jesus begins to withdraw. He no longer walks openly.
God is uniting but humans divide themselves; divine will transcends borders, races, languages, and ideologies, calling humanity to unity.
But then, as you said, humans divide themselves—by race, religion, nationality, politics, class, even petty disagreements. But here’s the catch: diversity is not the same as division. It’s okay for people to have different cultures, beliefs, and ways of life—as long as they respect and value each other. those differences become walls instead of bridges. question is: How can we embrace our differences without letting them divide us?
Today’s readings challenge us: We may be the ones who are sacrificed—the small ones suffering for the sake of the big.