Jesus the rebel #2

February 9, 2022 (Wednesday)

 

How could Jesus be considered “a little bit of a rebel” when He is King of King? It’s a matter of perspective. We live in a world subjected to the fall its curse. Under this darkness, we are held captive in sin. C.S. Lewis used the illustration of a world occupied by the enemy.

 

Jesus subverted the culture of sin by His appearance. Jesus did this by what He said (last study), what He did, what He intended, and what He accomplished. Let’s pick up on what Jesus did to bring down the dominion of darkness.

 

One striking feature of Jesus’ recorded life, is His propensity to ruin funerals. I don’t know whose idea it was to spell “FUNeral” the way it is in English, but I suspect Jesus might have had a twinkle in His eye in Luke 7:11 – 15, “A little later Jesus went to a city called Nain. …  As he approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. … He stepped forward and touched the stretcher on which the dead man was being carried. Those carrying him stood still. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up.” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.” [CEB] Another time He told a pack of mourners that the little girl was just sleeping. The one that cause a lot of trouble was actually when Jesus robbed the grave. Someone has said if Jesus had not named Lazarus specifically (see John 11:34), EVERYONE would have come out of the grave that day.

 

In Luke 8:23 – 24 Jesus calmed the storm, “While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger. So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm.” [CEB] In a world, seemingly at the mercy of the forces of nature, Jesus showed His sovereignty over the elements. By the way, Jesus was the one who sent the disciples into this situation. He had a point to make.

 

Remember the “meek and weak” image of Jesus we were taught in Sunday School? This one is scary, “He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency.” [John 2:14 – 16 CEB] Jesus whipped people, with a real whip. Whipping a person is a brutal, full bodied vicious, and vengeful act. He flipped over tables. One historian claims those tables were limestone about the size of a communion table in church. They would have been very heavy, Sampson class strength heavy, which would explain why the Temple guards did not get involved.

 

Scrubbing any delusions of the “meek and weak” Jesus, Matthew 12:34 clues us to Jesus’ sharp tongue, “You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” [NLT] There is a nasty name: “brood of snakes.” Jesus means the poisons kind. Spiritually speaking, Satan was portrayed as a snake in the Garden of Eden. Underneath the insult is an identification that these people were children of the devil.

 

Jesus was determined to spoil the grave and ruin the fear of death. He demonstrated authority over frightening forces of nature. Jesus displayed superhuman strength and savage efficiency in cleaning the Temple. He was not below demonizing the demonic.

 

Think all this is a bit much? Remember this is the war for your soul. “Meek and weak” is not going to make the grade against an enemy who is out to “steal, kill, and destroy.” (see John 10:10)