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I know it’s been a long time since we left the Gospel of John – but to remind you, we were in chapter 11, and Jesus had just risen Lazarus from the dead. The following is the religio-political backlash from that event:
John 11:45-53
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
”What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
I gave you a larger chunk of the narrative because I think it is so necessary to get a sense of the setting. You have a Jewish nation; you have Pharisees clearly pandering for political sway within that Nation, and then you have the solemnized religious leaders of the day, the Sanhedrin – ALL of them react differently to the work of Jesus.
What I find most upsetting is their reaction to the miracle. Rather than express any kind of joy over a dead man being raised to life, those who would be politically disadvantaged by the miracle despised that miracle. We, as Christians, cannot have this same response when God blesses our brothers and sisters – when he gifts them with marriage, with success, with ministry, with fellowship, with spiritual growth, with sanctification – we cannot envy nor bite one another, or despise the work of God when he disrupts our own agendas.
Other than the conniption of the Pharisees, what is striking in this passage is the power of God to move, act, and prophesy in the midst of opposition. We tend to bicker over the political obstacles we face as a an American church, yet the last time I checked, God was still the sovereign king, ruler over all that has been created, and he will continue to ceaselessly work regardless of those who oppose him.
This point could not be made more clear than in the moment God prophesies through the high priest at the very moment the high priest means to most resist His plans. Not only is that clever, it’s omnipotent. If we learn anything, we should learn that God’s work will never be impeded – neither by the climate of politics, the course of culture, nor the intentions of men; on the contrary, he will even go about his own business in the den of his enemy’s scheming.
The question for us: Do we believe God is sovereign in his choices or that he has continued his plans even when things do not politically or do we “religiously” bend to our own whims?
God prophesied about and carried out his greatest work when his own people brutally opposed him – can he do it today when our nation or other nations oppose him? Or when our churches live in the plush comforts of American freedom?
Come to think of it, I suppose the greatest obstacle might even be our own complacency.
Another of Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions that has stood out in my mind, and has done so for a few weeks now, is this one, simply and tersely writ:
14. Resolved, never to do any thing out of revenge.
Edwards’ reason for writing this is probably easy – it’s drawn from the verse ‘Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.’
I love that verse – It lets me relax when anger gets my pants in a twist. And also that point, “leave room for God’s wrath.” This is nice for two reasons. One, when you take revenge is the other person truly at fault? Or, do you punish them merely because they upset your special world? If they are at fault, and you leave room for GOD’s wrath, then you will let him exact a punishment far more effective than anything you could come up with. Two, remember how God’s wrath towards mankind was quenched by Jesus Christ on a cross. The nice thing about God is that he extends grace. Another reason to leave room for God’s wrath – this would essentially end all quarrels between us.
When you treat your enemy as your enemy you only make them more your enemy. That’s a problem when God has made us ambassadors for a message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:16-21) How can we represent “reconciliation” when we constantly bite and devour one another. We cannot foster, contribute to, nor suffer any disunity among us.
Some lovely verses:
Romans 12:17-18
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Ephesians 4:2-3
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Philippians 2:1-4
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I must do every thing I can to create unity – to diffuse conflict. If I only need to apologize, to become humble, to lose some pride, to sacrifice some reputation, and this is the little I must give up to create unity within the Body of Christ, then by all means, I’ll do it.
To continue in division is to deny the importance of Unity as expressed in the above verses. When I hold onto offenses and enmity with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I say, “I do not value what God values. I do not need unity within the body of Christ as much as I need my own reputation. More importantly, I will sustain a conflict with my brother until all of my own feelings are accounted for. WHY? Because my own feelings are more to me than God’s kingdom and more to me than obedience.
We must be like-minded; we must have the same purpose of living; we must make EVERY effort to create unity. So far as it depends on me, regardless of what anyone else will do, so far as it depends on me, I will live at peace with all men.
Hey everyone,
The college group I attend went on a retreat this weekend to learn about the way we MUST use the Scriptures to counsel both ourselves in our own trials, and others when they seek our advice.
I have a little sneak peak of photos (more to follow)
Given this is the season of either starting or thinking up some New Year’s Resolutions, we talked about a few of Edwards’ resolutions at our college group. It’s not that he ever set out to write New Year’s Resolutions, which are, by definition, temporally constrained to a year – Edwards wrote life resolutions; seventy of them; all of which he read weekly till his death at age fifty-five.
Of the seventy, the following was for me the most difficult to read:
8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.
I’m struck by how keenly Edwards, the most brilliant theological mind of American history, recognized the need for humility. It’s no stretch to say that Edwards probably looked for opportunities to remember his own shortcomings.
I think our progress in evangelism and fellowship, and the world’s general impression of Christians would greatly improve if we all aspired towards humility. Even more, I think our own relationships with God would grow more intimately appreciative if we reveled in our own weaknesses and in so doing, reveled in His grace.
Paul wrote, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I think it was for a similar reason that Edwards resolved to think more of his own sin than the sins of others. And lets just be honest, most of the sins we see in others we could see more rampantly (if not secretly) in ourselves.
So lets resolve to remember this: it is God alone who deserves the honor. It is we who receive his grace.
