This morning I felt directed to read from John's Gospel, and specifically the eleventh chapter which is where the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is recounted. I have spent many hours meditating on that story, but this morning I felt directed to spend some time reflecting on the response of the religious establishment to Jesus. The following verses immediately follow the raising of Lazarus - John 11:45-48 NIV:
[45] "Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. [46] But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] 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 signs. [48] If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
I think the most telling thing about the overall issue was how they described the temple and nation, they called them "our" temple and "our" nation. They apparently forgot whose temple it really was, and who had made the nation of Israel their chosen nation from among all nations, namely God. My thoughts are that this is not uncommon, even today. Taking ownership of something that is not yours, even if you are a steward of that thing is not correct.
My mind is drawn back to the trilogy of the "Lord of the Rings" by J.R. Tolkien. In that story the King of Gondor had long been absent, but the kingdom had been placed into the hands of a steward, and his family. The present day steward was Denethor, and when he was confronted by possibility of the true King returning, He refused to give up power, and instead went crazy. In his mind, it was his kingdom, his nation, and his palace, even though he sat on a smaller chair in front of the proper king's throne. He didn't want the King to come and mess up his whole life and take his authority.
I believe this was exactly the issue with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. They had been in charge for so long, they had forgotten who was really in charge, and whose temple and nation it really was! They saw Jesus as a threat to their own positions of power and authority, their way of running things, and they resisted, and one could argue that they went crazy.
In the same way I think we, in the modern church, can forget our purpose and role as stewards of God's Kingdom, and Jesus' Body. The ownership, if you want to call it that, is clear! Yet, we can take on this attitude that the church, the congregation, the worship team, the programs, the finances, etc. are ours! We can become so used to the status-quo that anything that is God inspired, God-breathed, if it doesn't come from us, is seen as a threat to our positions of power and authority. We are threatened when we hear of God moving in other congregations, doing things that make us uncomfortable, or even sound outrageous. We work hard to maintain control of the service and programs, trying to keep things respectable and "worthy" of God, yet that designation comes from us, not Him.
The truth, that was missed by the Pharisees and by Denethor, was that their positions would not be decreased in power or authority, but rather they would be able to operate directly with the true source of power and authority and actually prosper in the presence of the King. The same thing is true in our churches. When God shows up in a manifest way, while a bit messy and more difficult to pastor, the church and leadership will all prosper. When God starts moving in nearby congregations we can actually bring that same movement to our churches, as in some way the Holy Spirit is contagious. Rather than struggling to maintain our power and rule in God's absence, we should be looking to find ways to invite His presence, power and authority to that which we are stewarding.
So today I am encouraged to welcome with open arms any indication that the King is returning, any move of the Holy Spirit, anything that allows Him to be glorified and witnessed to by many! The triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the direct result of His raising Lazarus, and the people were welcoming of Jesus the true King. Let us welcome Him this Sunday, the "Lord's" day, and recognize whose this day is in reality! We serve a King, whose Kingdom we are stewarding and expanding, and Jesus, whose Body we are part of, and for which we are responsible to care and strengthen.
Amen!
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