Tag Archives: Authority

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 36

36. Pharisee Fever

Swear

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. (Mark 14:55-59)

The Greek word for trying to obtain is very intentional and very deliberate (one of its translations). It is a mental, emotional, and physical process. You are trying to reason it out or meditate upon it; but you are also striving after it and craving it. The pursuit and maintenance of untruth requires total commitment on your part. Heart, soul, mind and strength. Sound familiar?

Do you remember the passage from the Sermon on the Mount? Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ( Matt 7:7) A more accurate way of representing this passage would be: Ask (and keep asking) and it will be given to you; seek (and keep seeking) and you will find; knock (and keep knocking) and it will be opened to you. Note the sense of persistence in this passage. The question arises: Are we as persistent in seeking God’s Truth in our prayers as the Pharisees were seeking untruth?

The Greek word for consistent is where we get the root for an isosceles triangle; or equilateral triangle. And if one of the three angles is off even a fraction of a degree, then it is no longer an isosceles triangle. So it is with the truth. If there is any divergence from it, then it is no longer truth but a lie.

In the Greek, the meaning of the word has to do with being the same or equal, measure for measure. It has to do with equal shares, equal rights and fair measures. It is a sad thing to note that the Pharisees had the law and the prophets in their possession; but the truth and guidance found therein did not possess them..

I call this the Pharisee Fever. They had God in the flesh before them, they had Truth Incarnate standing there. He had proven Himself by authority, through miracles and teaching; yet they still would not accept Him as Messiah.

Now, when confronted with the Truth, you either accept it or deny it. But denying it requires that you disassemble it. You cannot ignore it; for if Truth remains it will be revealed, it will be found, and at some point, it will cause you to stumble and your house of cards to fall.

The need to destroy the Truth becomes so great, that eventually it doesn’t matter if what you proclaim has no consistency or credibility. You simply declare your version is consistent, credible, and worthy of placing your trust in it. And that’s what you do—you put your trust in it. And it doesn’t really matter how many civil, social or spiritual commands you break:

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)              

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:4)

You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:11-12)

There are more, but you get the point. The members of the Sanhedrin knew these laws but to keep them would have meant giving up their truth.

Here then is the first phase of the Pharisee Fever: your truth receives its validation and authority from you. You declare it to be meaningful and trustworthy. And you declare it long enough and loud enough until any inconsistencies are seen as irrelevant.

True Truth, absolute truth, has no need for validation. It simply is. That’s how God designed it. It’s worth, veracity, and application is not determined by human perspective, nor by individual interpretation, but by divine decree. It is utterly consistent and will stand up to the most strenuous scrutiny.

The second phase, and indeed the very purpose to the Pharisee Fever, is to destroy the Truth so that manufactured truth can stand unchallenged. Manufactured truth cannot stand when seen in the light of absolute Truth. The Pharisees were not about to trade in their cushy religious jobs and their seemingly exalted positions for a relationship with The Most High.

The reason for the existence of manufactured truth: pride.

The power behind these acts of pride is organized religion (I use that term in the broadest sense). When people choose to ascribe to the same opinions, beliefs, philosophies, and untruths, then build rituals and traditions around them, a unifying and destructive power begins to grow. And those who have gathered beneath its shadow, with the truths they believe, the pronouncements they make; and the actions they take, risk perilous and eternal consequences. Note the actions in Psalm 2.

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.  Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 2:1-12)

Note how the LORD addresses these kings. He lays down the consequences for their actions: break them with a rod of iron…  shatter them like earthenware. But He also gives them the opportunity to repent: show discernment, take warning, worship and do homage. He is revealing to them the path of repentance, and the opportunity to turn from rebellion to refuge. But how can they know this, these pagan kings, who have neither the commands of God nor Word of God. Recall the passage Paul’s letter to the Romans: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

God has shown enough of Himself for all to know that HE IS. Knowing that, it is then our responsibility and journey to leave the path of rebellion and travel the path of refuge, that we might find salvation.

If there is hope for a pagan king to repent, is there hope for the Pharisee? Can you be healed from the Pharisee fever?

Father, help me to seek You, and to seek Your Truth with at least the same total and utter commitment as one who would seek and maintain untruth. Amen.

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 32

32. Master or Servant?

greatest

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:24-27)

First came the volley of questions from each of the disciples: Surely not I, Lord? Now I know we don’t have the entire conversation of the Last Supper recorded, even across the four Gospels. But why didn’t anyone come to Jesus’ aid? Why didn’t Peter, or one of the Sons of Thunder, cry out and say: “Lord, who is it? Let us kill the betrayer now”? Obviously this could not happen, since Judas still had a role to play. But one of the disciples could have at least asked. They did not. They were too worried about their own skin rather than their Teacher and Lord. And I suppose we would have done the same.

That brings us to the next question, which also is driven by self-interest: which one of them was regarded to be greatest? Here’s Jesus pouring out His life before them and all they can talk about is who will be the greatest?

I’m not sure how the transition from betrayer to greatest happened (I’m not sure it even was a transition). I suppose once they had assured themselves that were not the betrayer, they went on to more “important” things. How often do we move on to other things before wrestling with the things God has laid upon hearts. It’s Spiritual ADD. We may never develop a deep relationship with the LORD because we refuse to tarry on matters which may be uncomfortable or difficult. OK, I’ve dealt with that; now let’s get on to something that really matters: who’s the greatest?

Fortunately, our Dear Lord chooses to deal with the matter that was “on the table”. Apparently the disciples were looking outside of the One True Source and Example to find what it meant to be the greatest. They were looking to the kings of the Gentiles and their local rulers.

From their own history, they should have at least looked to David, and some of his godly descendants. But power is an intoxicating thing and there are few of us indeed who would reject the opportunity to lord it over and have authority over others. So who were their examples? Caesar? Pilate? Herod? Pitiful. And they find it necessary to be named “Benefactors” (literally do-gooders). Nice euphemism.

But Jesus provides a counter-cultural model: the greatest must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. Another lesson in humility—something that Jesus taught all the way to the cross.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. (John 13:3-5)

Whereas Jesus taught a lesson on humility on the very eve of His crucifixion, I would have thought he’d have slapped the disciples on the back of the head for missing the point. Instead He chooses to address the matter. Again He uses Himself as the archetype: For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

It’s a matter of magnitude. Here we are arguing about who is the greatest among twelve blue collar workers, from a backwater city, in an obscure country, on an infinitesimal planet, on the edge of a ordinary galaxy, in front of The One Who made all this stuff. Three words: humility, humility, humility.

Still Jesus chooses to let them know that they would be receiving mega upgrade: You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Take note: it is not their hard work, nor their position in life that awards them such roles; but rather it is Who they stood by and remained faithful. What does David say in Psalm 84:10. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Here the cliche really does work: It’s Who you know.

So, the disciples get thrones and they do receive a significant place in Heaven; but are their thrones any comparison to the Son’s throne? Are they anything like The One Who sits upon the throne, The One Who sits at the right hand of the Father? The answer is obviously not. But still He served. Why shouldn’t we?

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 18

18. Worth & Authority

Centurion Kneeling1

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (Luke 7:1-10)

Yesterday we saw the disparity between God’s view of His Son and our view of Him. Specifically we zeroed Him out, but God highly exalted Him. In the above passage, a Roman Centurion, a pagan, an outsider—someone who should have not known any better—provides a lesson on the worth of Christ. In this passage, the word worthy is used three times, but they are three different words in the Greek. The first is has to do with one’s value. The second has to do with sufficiency and ability. The Jews saw the Centurion as someone who was of value to Israel. But the centurion saw himself as being insufficient, and inadequate to receive Christ, let alone ask for his personal intervention. The third is a derivative of first, and unlike those of us today, or many who were in Jesus day, who may have an inflated sense of self worth (aka pride), this presumedly pagan centurion declares his unworth.

I wonder how often Jesus marveled at something. Two things, I believe, caught Christ’s attention here: the Centurion understood authority, regarding those below him, and over him; and, he knew Christ’s authority was well beyond his. And having at least had a glimpse of Christ’s authority, and recognized He only need say the word. Secondly, he understood and embraced humility. We see this in four ways:

  • He cared deeply for one of his slaves.
  • He apparently embraced one of the conquered religions of the Roman Empire, specifically Judaism, as testified by his building of the synagogue.
  • He did not feel worthy enough to call upon Jesus himself, so he sent those whom he believed were more deserving individuals.
  • Although he did not feel worthy enough to have Christ even come under his roof, he believed that Christ could accomplish his request by merely speaking a word, regardless of how far away.

So here was a Roman Centurion, a warrior, and as such someone understood power and authority. But his understanding went far beyond the military and political realms. He had glimpsed into the spiritual realm. He cared about—even loved—Israel; a strange attitude for a conqueror. He had built their synagogue—which had little to do with the Roman occupation. He had heard about Jesus, One Who had performed miraculous healings, and although he could draw a parallel between his authority over men and Christ’s authority over sickness and disease, his was a mere shadow in comparison, and in humility sought the Healer and found the Savior.

Many today seem so far removed and outside the Church, that they see little of value in us. Still it is our duty and privilege to show them Jesus. And when they look past us and see Jesus, they just might see His worth and find the Savior.