In the Old Covenant, the high priest was the supreme religious figure in Israel. He oversaw the functions of all the priests and was chosen by God. Hebrews 5:1 says, “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” The first high priest was Aaron (Exodus 28:1) and the role passed through his lineage. Of all the responsibilities of the high priest, the greatest was to offer a sacrifice in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The high priest was the only person who could enter the holy of holies and he could only do so on a specific day, in a specific way, with specific sacrifices (see Leviticus 16:1-34). The role of high priest was very significant as he was the mediator for the Jews before God so that God would accept their sacrifices and offerings.
Who was Caiaphas?
Joseph ben Caiaphas was appointed as high priest in Judea by a Roman official named Valerius Gratus in 18AD. If that sentence sounds odd, it is because Jewish high priests were not supposed to be appointed by non-Jewish (pagan) governments. This, however, was the situation in Israel during Jesus’ ministry. In an even odder statement, he was the high priest along with his father in law Annas (Luke 3:2; John 18:13). Being a Roman appointed high priest, he was more of a political figure than a religious figure (even though he was a religious high priest). It is reported by Josephus (Jewish historian) that he was very close with Pontius Pilate (Roman governor of Judea) and, in 36AD, both Caiaphas and Pilate were dismissed from office by Syrian governor, Lucius Vitellius.
What Caiaphas Said & Meant
The Pharisees were told that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and many people were believing that He is the Christ. Rather than seeing this sign and believing, 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 Jewish leaders were primarily concerned with saving the nation. They feared that Jesus would stir up a rebellion and the Romans would destroy them. Caiaphas had a different view. He said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50-51). Caiaphas is shrewdly weighing options and proposing that it is obviously better to kill Jesus so that the religious leaders would not lose their power and positions to the Romans (11:48). We quickly learn of the immediate impact of his words, “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death…Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him” (11:53,57).
What Caiaphas Prophesied: Atonement
Whereas Caiaphas intended to persuade the council to arrest and kill Jesus, God had something else in mind. John writes, “Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (11:51-52). Caiaphas prophesied about Jesus’ atonement as the High Priest.
How does Jesus’ death gather together the children of God? It is best described as Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Michael Horton defines this as “Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was the payment of a debt to divine justice as a substitute for His people.” When John the Baptist called Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), he was prophesying that Jesus’ upcoming death parallels the death of the Passover lamb (Ex 12; Is 53:7). The New Testament speaks of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for sin (John 1:29,36; 1 Cor 5:7; Eph 5:2; 1 Pet 1:19). Stephen Wellum wrote: “The atoning death of Christ is at the heart of Jesus’ work as our great high priest. In the New Testament, the cross is the place of atonement. Atonement is…the restoration of friendly relations between God and sinners. The early meaning of the term is the restoration of harmony between estranged parties (suggesting ‘reconciliation’) gradually broadened to include notions of propitiating God and expiating sins. Thereafter, the word came to mean the means whereby reconciliation, propitiation are achieved.”
Jesus’ Expiation & Propitiation
Expiation refers to the cancellation of sin. Propitiation refers to removing the wrath of God. Christ’s death was a substitutionary death on behalf of His people. Christ’s death was a means to propitiate the wrath of God (satisfying the wrath of God and bringing peace) and expiate our sin (remove the sin and guilt of His people). It is God who takes the initiative to appease His own righteous anger. God the Son offered himself as the propitiatory sacrifice. Jesus Christ, the eternal “Word made flesh” (John 1:14), the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8), took our place (Is 53:4-5), bearing our sin (2 Cor 5:21), satisfying the righteous demands of His Own holy character (Rom 3:25-26).
Jesus’ Reconciliation
Atonement is the restoration of friendly relations between God and sinners. Psalm 5:4 says, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.” Sin separates us from God (Is 59:2), but God sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us back (John 3:16). Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Paul adds in Galatians 1:4 that Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”
Our clearest passage on reconciliation is in 1 Corinthians 5:17-19, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Caiaphas, the Roman appointed high priest, did not realize it; but he prophesied about the God appointed high priest who would offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice in order to “gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.” Are you one of God’s children? Have you been reconciled to God through His Son Jesus? If not, seek the Lord while He is near. Call upon Him and be saved. Admit you are a sinner and repent of your sin. If you are a Christian, love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!
First Baptist Scott City, MO 
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