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THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – DON’T BE AFRAID OF RELIGIOUS BULLIES

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DON’T BE AFRAID OF RELIGIOUS BULLIES

“‘I’m speaking to you as dear friends. Don’t be bluffed into silence or insincerity by religious bullies. True, they can kill you but then what can they do? There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life – body and soul – in His hands.'” Luke 12:4, 5.

Always, always, Jesus put life into its correct perspective. For Him, life includes this life and the life to come. If our concern is only for this life, we will make decisions and choices which will adversely affect us in the eternal realm.

Had He only considered preserving His life for the short time He was on earth, the outcome would have been very different for us human beings. But He didn’t. The writer to the Hebrews puts it like this, ‘”…who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2b NIV).

Jesus was never afraid of the truth. He spoke it and He lived it fearlessly. Truth cannot die and those who hold to the truth cannot be destroyed. The body is destructible and will die, be it by natural or unnatural means, but the inner being will never die. It will continue to live, either with God or without God, depending on what we do with the truth.

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is truth?’ He didn’t even wait for an answer but, unknowingly, he was standing in the presence of the one who said, ‘I am the truth.’ So, what is truth? Everything that God is, says and does is the truth.

Jesus came to represent the Father, and to reveal the Father and He is therefore the embodiment of truth. Look and listen to Jesus and you have an accurate representation of the truth.

Religious bullies come in many subtle disguises. Some kill people who don’t subscribe to their religion. Others kill people’s names in the media and especially on the internet in the name of ‘truth’. Character assassination is a common way of destroying the opposition, especially in political circles.

But Jesus assured us, ‘Don’t worry about people like that. They may kill your name or even your body but they cannot kill you. Only God can do that and you are safe with Him forever if you stand on the side of truth.’

It is neither pleasant nor easy to face the hot breath of lies that is often used against us, especially when we are a threat to people as Jesus was. We either want to curl up or shut up but the counsel from God’s word is, ‘Stand up, speak up and look up.’ You may pay a price for your courage but the reward far outweighs the cost in the long run.

Ungodly people think nothing of using revenge to vindicate themselves when they cannot get their own way, but God’s Word says, ‘Don’t be like them. Let God do your vindicating for you.’ It may not happen in this life but God is a righteous judge. He will always have the last word, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ That question has only one answer – no-one. A man of God once said, ‘Fear God, and you will have nothing else to fear.’

THE BOOK OF ACTS – GOD IN THE SHADOWS

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CHAPTER 25

GOD IN THE SHADOWS

“Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take up his duties as governor, he went up to Jerusalem. The high priests and top leaders renewed their vendetta against Paul. They asked Festus if he wouldn’t please do them a favour by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course — they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way.

“Festus answered that Caesarea was the proper jurisdiction for Paul, and that he himself was going back there in a few days. ‘You’re perfectly welcome,’ he said, ‘to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he’s done wrong.'” Acts 25:1-5 (The Message).

Like the proverbial elephant, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had not forgotten about Paul. Felix’ indecision had not let him off the hook as far as they were concerned. Paul was still a thorn in their side and they were determined to annihilate him whatever it took. There was new blood in control and now was their opportunity to get around Festus before he could hear Paul’s side of the story.

Grabbing the chance to get him off guard, the religious leaders casually asked Festus to send Paul back to Jerusalem on the pretext that they would give him a hearing there, but they knew that, once Paul was dead, Festus could do nothing about it. It would not be their fault if he were murdered on the way to Jerusalem.

Fortunately for Paul, Festus didn’t buy that one! He was either too familiar with the rules of his job to agree to their request or he smelt a rat and chose to protect Paul and give him a fair hearing. Once again, there was a Higher Hand guiding Paul’s affairs so that he would not fall into the hands of his murderous opponents. Rome had no issue with him, so it was better for him to remain in Caesarea until someone had the courage to make a decision. God said he was going to Rome and that settled it!

When one takes a step back and on hindsight, one can see that, as long as Paul remained in the territory of Israel, he was not safe. Had he been acquitted and released, the Jews would have made sure their assassin was in place before he had a chance to get out of the country. God was surely watching over His son and, as unpleasant as it was for him to be imprisoned indefinitely, he was safe where he was until his passage to Rome under Roman guard, was assured.

Paul’s story should be of great encouragement to God’s children. King David assured us, and that after years of experiencing God’s protection through many dangerous situations, that all the days ordained for us were written in His book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16 – NIV). Not only has He ordained the length of our days, but He has also planned each day in advance.

That does not mean that He treats us as puppets or as pawns on a chess board. He honours His gift of choice far too much to do that, but it does mean that every day He has given us is packed with the potential to live it with Him and for Him.

Paul had come to know, through the hazardous life he had lived as a missionary in a hostile world, that he was indestructible until his work was done. He did not waste time worrying about his safety. He lived to the full in the assurance that it was God’s responsibility to take care of him, and he could get on with the business of God’s kingdom without wasting energy on what he could not control.

We live in the shadow of the Almighty. We cannot see where He is going but we can see where He has been and what He has done. Is that not enough to convince us that “Our God reigns”?

THE BOOK OF ACTS – TRIAL BY FIRE

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TRIAL BY FIRE                                                                                        

“That night the Master appeared to Paul. ‘It’s going to be alright. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome.'” Acts 23:11 (The Message).

How desperately Paul needed reassurance at that moment! Things looked pretty bad for him. He was not involved in any criminal activity and at least the Pharisee part of the Sanhedrin had given their verdict — in their row with the Sadducees — not guilty, but not in an official trial. He could not be released and even if he were, he was still in danger of being torn apart by the angry mob if he so much as stuck his nose out of doors.

Paul must have felt very alone in his circumstances, between a rock and a hard place and not knowing what would happen to him next. Things seemed to have gone horribly wrong. There seemed no way out and he must have been wondering whether God’s plan for him had been derailed.

Just when he needed it, the word came from the Master Himself. ‘It’s okay, Paul, everything is still on track. I’ll get you to Rome, just as I said I would.’ It’s just like Jesus to affirm Paul even in these sticky circumstances. He spoke words of encouragement and approval like a good father and Paul must have breathed easy again, knowing that, crazy as things seemed to be God was still there orchestrating the situation for His own purposes.

Paul was in custody in the barracks, and now the Roman captain was sitting with a problem on his hands — what to do with him. He had no authority to release him or to try him. It was the Jews’ fight. Somehow he had to get Paul a trial by the proper authorities.

“Next day the Jews worked up a plot against Paul. They took a solemn oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed him. Over forty of them ritually bound themselves to this murder and presented themselves to the high priests and religious leaders. ‘We’ve bound ourselves by an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. But we need your help. Send a request from the council to the captain to bring Paul back so that you can investigate the charges in more detail. We’ll do the rest. Before he gets anywhere near you, we’ll have killed him. You won’t be involved.'” Acts 23:12-15 (The Message).

Now what! Paul’s Jewish antagonists had hatched a seemingly fool proof plot to kill him. No one knew about it, so they thought, and now they had Paul in the bag! This reminds me of the words of an old hymn:

“Though the cause of evil prosper,

Yet ’tis truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadows,

Keeping watch above His own

(“Once to every man and nation” – James Russell Lowell)

The reassurance Jesus had given Paul was enough for him to know that, no matter what the current circumstances, God would turn it to His own advantage.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ENTER STEPHEN

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ENTER STEPHEN

“Stephen, brimming with God’s grace and energy, was doing wonderful things among the people, unmistakable signs that God was among them. But some men from the meeting place whose membership was made up of freed slaves, Cyrenians, Alexandrians and some others from Cilicia and Asia, went up against him, trying to argue him down. But they were no match for his wisdom and spirit when he spoke.

“So in secret they bribed men to lie. ‘We heard him cursing Moses and God.'” Acts 6:8-11 (The Message).

It’s amazing what people will do to get their own way! As then, so now, there are always those who think nothing of sabotaging the church to carry out their own agenda.

The apostles had so far safely navigated the challenges that had come from within the church when the old sinful nature reared up its ugly head in people. One of their issues, racism among the widows in Jerusalem, had brought a jewel of a man to the surface. Stephen was “discovered” when the Jerusalem church chose the first deacons. He not only did the job he was selected to do, but he also brought the power of God’s presence into the church by his miracles and preaching.

This angered a group of “expats” in the local synagogue who were driven to jealousy by Stephen’s superior wisdom and godliness. They could not get the better of him by arguing so they turned to lying and treachery, going the same route that took Jesus to the cross.

No matter how idyllic the early church seemed to be in its initial euphoria, it was made up of people then, as it is today. People will always be people; some will have honest hearts while others will conceal their true nature behind a veneer of “spirituality” which will deceive people for a while but, when they are crossed or can’t get their own way, the real person will show up.

What was the issue with these men? Why was Stephen such a threat to them? We don’t really know. Our only clue is that Stephen outsmarted them in discussion and they couldn’t take it. They were part of the fanatical legalists who obviously could not stand the idea of a God who was kind, generous and merciful. They were provoked by the evidences of God’s goodness through Stephen. They could not get rid of God but they could get at Him through His followers!

When Jesus was in a similar situation, up against His religious opponents and brought to trial for His life, Pilate was astute enough to recognize the real reason for their hatred. Envy! Envy and jealousy are not the same thing. Jealousy covets what another person has or is; envy goes a step farther. Envy will ruin or destroy another person rather than allow him to be who he is. Jealousy covets; envy kills.

Was this the reason for these men’s murderous hatred? They were willing to stoop to bribery and lying to get rid of Stephen because they hated what he was. It’s amazing to what lengths people will go to fight against God!

We must not be surprised by the reaction of people. We are not neutral when it comes to the things of God. We were born with a built-in hatred for God. The Bible states that. “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!” Romans 5:10 (NIV).

It takes a miracle of God’s grace to transform us from enemies to sons!

Another Nail In His Coffin

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ANOTHER NAIL IN HIS COFFIN

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

He had one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, “They will respect my son.” But the tenants said to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvellous in our eyes”?’

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest Him because they knew He had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away (Mark 12: 1-12).

Clever guys! You got the message! But did they?

Why did Jesus tell a story like this against the religious leaders? Was it to alert them to the fact that He knew what they were up to? Was He warning them not to do it because there were serious consequences for them if they did? Was He giving them an opportunity to change their minds?

Remember that this story followed the cleansing of the temple and their enquiry about His authority to do that. They must surely have got the message, loud and clear that He had done what He had done to the merchants and money-changers because He was acting on authority given to Him by none other than God Himself. If that was so, then the story He told about them, concealed in the parable of the vineyard and the unscrupulous tenants, came from the same source of authority as His action in the temple.

But these men were stubborn, just as stubborn as their forebears who refused to submit to God’s authority. In spite of the retribution that fell on them time and again, the Israelites had never learned the lesson. Disobedience to God’s Word carries penalties – not because God is cruel or vindictive, but because there are natural consequences to transgressing the laws which keep the universe functioning in harmony with the nature of God.

Let’s look at the parable. There are some clear lessons in it, for them and for us. Jesus often told a story to address a problem; leaving the hearers to discern the answer for themselves. It was up to the hearers to identify with one or more of the characters in the story. There are four groups of people in this story; the owner of the vineyard, the tenants, the owner’s servants and his son.

What was the issue? The vineyard was the property of the landowner – the tenants those who worked the vineyard and owed some of the harvest to the landowner. They were stewards of property not their own.

The owner of the vineyard had a right to collect some of the harvest, but the tenants acted as though they had a right to it all. When the landowner sent servants to collect what was rightfully his, they rejected his claim and abused his servants. They refused to honour the rightful heir, murdering him with the idea that, if he were out of the way, they could lay claim to the vineyard and keep the profits.

Their thinking was faulty for the following reasons:

  1. The vineyard did not belong to them. They were stewards responsible for working it for the landowner.
  2. The profits did not belong to them. The owner had the right to claim his share.
  3. They were under the authority of the landowner. They were obliged to do what he requested.
  4. They were servants, not sons. They had no right to the inheritance.

The religious leaders got the message, loud and clear, but they did not receive it. Their response was the same as the tenants – kill the messengers and in that way negate the message, so they thought.

Did it work for them? Not according to Jesus. What would actually happen and what they thought would happen were poles apart. Israel was God’s “vineyard”. He had done everything for them to guarantee fruitfulness, and entrusted it to appointed leaders who were to care for His people under His directions. But instead they had led the people astray. Time and again He sent His prophets to call the people back to Himself but they were ignored, rejected and abused and some were even murdered.

Then He sent His one and only beloved Son. What would they do with Him? The custodians of God’s “vineyard” were already scheming to kill Him. Would they get the message? The outcome was already determined – and Jesus indicated in the conclusion to His parable that He knew what it was. Would they heed the warning? There were consequences in it for them if they didn’t.

Their response indicated that they were like the hard soil of the footpath. The more they were warned, the harder their hearts became, strengthening their resolve to get rid of the landowner’s son.

What is the condition of your heart?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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