You have heard me say that a dysfunctional system will always try to find a way to sustain its dysfunction at any cost. Here is an example:

The Sanhedrin included the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees were not meant to be a political party. Their function was to live according to the letter of the law. All that was important for them was to live up to the letter of the law no matter who was in the political power.

The Sadducees were a prominent political party of wealthy and influential people. They were willing to cooperate with the Roman authorities as long as they were allowed to keep their wealth,  comfort, and power. To further complicate the dysfunction, all priests were Sadducees. Therefore, the priests controlled most of the talking in these meetings.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, many Jews who came for the funeral believed in Christ as the Messiah. Therefore, Jesus was a growing threat to this dysfunctional system’s power, greed, pride, and authority.