What’s your position…?
John 11:46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”
After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, the religious leaders had a problem. Jesus popularity and His miracles threatened their “place” that is their position of power. Their identity and rule over the people.
Often in a family, when one member of that family becomes a Christian and begins to live for Christ in all that they do, other members of the family, even husbands and wives become threatened by losing their ‘position’ with that person. For they see now that the Christian family member has a true and undeniable love for Jesus Christ and they feel their ‘position’ lost.
This at times creates conflict often in the relationship and brings animosity to the Christian family member by the unsaved loved ones.
We need to remember this is what Jesus said would happen when we give our lives to follow Jesus Christ. There would come division in the home at times and conflict. So we need to not be surprised by such. Matthew 10:34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
Secondly, knowing that our unsaved loved ones may now be antagonistic against us, we are to call upon the help of the Holy Spirit to help us not return evil for evil but to instead do as Jesus commands us But I say unto you, ….. bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44
This is how we lead our unsaved family members to Christ as we continue to demonstrate our newfound love we have for Christ and extend it to them.
Back to our opening text and the case of the religious leaders with their turning against Jesus this was a far more serious matter. The path they were pursuing would end with dire consequences.
Sadly for many people, their love for a sinful life and the sinful pleasures it brings makes Jesus a threat to their way of living! Christ’s second coming to such people is an anathema.
Many Christians today are living with both feet in the world and only their bare knuckles in the Kingdom of God. Their lives are filled with the cares and riches of this temporal world and Christ’s return some may consider an interruption to their personal plans that they could do without.
May we all examine our hearts today and ensure that the only ‘place’ we have in our lives is that like Mary, the sister of Lazarus and our ‘place’ being always at the feet of Jesus!