Tag Archives: lies

Lies Unravelled

Bible Study, , ,

LIES UNRAVELLED

“The governor motioned to Paul that it was now his turn. Paul said, ‘I count myself fortunate to be defending myself before you, Governor, knowing how fair-minded you’ve been in judging us all these years. I’ve been back in the country only twelve days — you can check out these dates easily enough. I came with the express purpose of worshipping in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and I’ve been minding my own business the whole time. Nobody can say they saw me arguing in the Temple or working up a crowd in the streets. Not one of their charges can be backed up with evidences or witnesses.'” Acts 24:10-13 (The Message).

Now, Paul, it’s your turn to pit your brilliant legal mind against Tertullius and his clients.

It was Paul’s turn to speak, to make his defence against the pathetic accusations brought by Tertullius on behalf of the Jews who were trying to use emotional hype to make their case stick. The problem was that, for Felix, it was a toss-up between administering justice for Paul or currying favour with the Jews. That depended on the governor’s character and integrity. Was this about justice or about winning a popularity contest with the influential and volatile Jewish leaders?

Paul appealed to the governor’s past performance of good governance, whether it was true or not, in the hopes that Felix would want to uphold his good name. His defence was not based on emotion but on fact and truth.

Paul dismissed the charges of being a rabble-rouser with the contempt it deserved. He wasted no time defending himself on that point, appealing to Felix to call the witnesses and check the evidence.

“‘But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshipped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures.  And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.'” Acts 24:14-15 (The Message).

Paul knew what the real issue was, just as Jesus did decades before. It was about the Messiah the Jewish leaders had rejected. This was not about his criminal activity. This was about their position of power over the people, and the wealth they garnered from their offerings. If Jesus was truly the Messiah, whom the people of the Way believed and followed, then the Jewish hierarchy would have to admit that they were wrong and that they had crucified their Messiah. They would have to eat humble pie, give up their position and follow Him.

Paul skilfully put them in a really bad light. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, theoretically, but they rejected the resurrection of Jesus. If they were to be true to what they believed, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus was their Messiah. Paul had them cornered because he placed himself squarely on their side. If he were guilty of believing in the resurrection, so were they. He had gone all the way and embraced the resurrection as fact and proof of Jesus’ Messiah ship. They had not.

Paul had dug in the knife. In the next few sentences he would slash open the hearts of these hypocrites and their slimy, useless lawyer who did no more than mouth the feeble accusations of his clients. This had nothing to do with Paul’s behaviour and everything to do with their unbelieving and greedy hearts.

This is a clear lesson for all who claim to be followers of the Messiah Jesus. There is no room in His body for people who follow Him for what they can get out of it for themselves. Jesus is about truth. He is Messiah and Lord, appointed by the Father to be the king over all things. Those who would follow Him may only do so if they abandon themselves to Him as Lord.

Saying Is Believing

Bible Study, , ,

SAYING IS BELIEVING

“Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorising the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas.

“They broke into Jason’s house, thinking that Paul and Silas were there. When they couldn’t find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, ‘These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!” Acts 17:4-7 (The Message).

They’re at it again! The unbelieving Jews seem to have been tarred with the same brush the world over. Were the Thessalonian Jews infected by those coming from other centres that had already heard and reacted against Paul and Silas, or was this a fresh wave of persecution? These European Jews appear to be just as hard-hearted as the ones in Israel and Asia Minor.

They didn’t want to get their hands dirty, so they hid behind the street hooligans and relied on them to cook up lies and get the city fathers’ backs up against Paul and Silas while they stood watching in the background. There was no truth and no conscience in the accusations and behaviour of the mob. Since Paul and Silas were not available to face the music, they grabbed the first people they could find to victimise with their lying hysteria.

This is the typical modus operandi of the devil — turn up as much heat as possible so that people are not interested in the light. It was through experiences like these that Paul was able to understand and write about Satan’s tactics and teach his beloved converts how to deal with him. He recognised that, behind the trouble he experienced from unbelievers, both Jews and Gentiles, was an unseen, sinister enemy who was out to destroy both him and his work because he was allied to the God whom the devil hates.

The devil’s language is lies and his method is deception. Jesus called him ‘a liar and the father of lies,’ and that was no libellous indictment. Those who are under his influence because they refuse to believe and receive the truth are themselves subject to the lies with which he infiltrates their minds.

The big problem is that those who speak out lies actually believe what they are saying is true because they are saying it. This happens in politics. Representatives of government make grandiose statements and then believe them simply because they have said it. This happens in my country. Anyone with half a brain laughs at some of the claims made, knowing very well that there is no substance to them but, at the same time. knowing that the speaker thinks that, because he or she has made the statement, that makes it true.

How are we to counter these attacks? Paul had learned that it was not his role to fight. The war has already been won. Jesus exposed and defeated the devil on the cross. Our weapon and defence is the truth. Lies have no substance and cannot endure. It is the truth that prevails over lies. As soldiers in the army of God, we have only one instruction, “Stand!” We are to hold our position, standing on and protected by the truth.

By submitting ourselves to God’s word and His authority, we put the devil to flight since he cannot take God on and win. If we stand on and believe the truth we are indestructible because “the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Pilate Caved In

Christian Life, , ,

PILATE CAVED IN

“Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again.

“But they kept shouting back, ‘Crucify! Crucify Him.’

“He tried a third time.’But for what crime?’ I’ve found nothing in Him deserving death.’ I’m going to warn Him to watch His step and let Him go.’

“But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that He be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown into prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted.” Luke 23:20-25 (The Message).

And so, finally, the mob prevailed. They wore Pilate down until he gave in to shut them up and to keep the peace.

We would do well, at this moment, to consider their choice. Because of the custom to release a prisoner at Passover, they had to choose between two men, Barabbas, a murderer, and Jesus, the Son of God, who had come to give life, not take it.

“Barabbas” means “son of the father”. Of whose father was he the son? On one occasion the Jewish leaders had an altercation with Jesus. He had promised them freedom if they obeyed His teaching. They protested. “‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?'” John 8:33 (NIV).

Jesus responded with a shocking statement: “‘If you were Abraham’s children…then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I have heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father did.'” John 8:38b-41 (NIV).

They protested that God was their Father. Jesus’ response was, ‘Prove it. Who do you resemble?’

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here…Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there was no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.'” John 8:42-44 (NIV).

The choice of the mob is understandable when we recognise who Barabbas was, the “son” of his father the devil and of the same family as those who wanted him freed. They were all inadvertently in league with one another because, on their own unwitting admission, Jesus’ accusers were also sons of the devil. They displayed the nature of the devil because he was a murderer from the beginning.

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. How true was His claim? To be the “son of” in Jewish thought was to be from the same source and to display the same nature as the father, a sort of “chip off the old block”.

How true was this claim? Was Jesus connected to His Father as His source? Did He display the same nature as the Father? “‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?'” We have spent months travelling with Jesus through the Gospel of Luke. We have to answer Jesus’ challenge with a resounding “No!” Everything Jesus said and did revealed His union with the Father and His revelation of the Father’s nature. He was always a giver, never a taker of life.

By their choice of Barabbas, the Jewish religious leaders and the mob they led, acknowledged that the devil was their “father” and admitted their alienation from God. Pilate, in his weakness, joined hands with them.

We have already made our choice, Barabbas or Jesus. It all depends on which father we display – the devil or God. To be against or indifferent to Jesus means that we are also of the devil and stand condemned as Pilate did.