John 2:18 - Fresh Starts, Real Authority, & Strategic Planning
What kind of confidence do you need to proceed? What do you need as a sign from God that you are on track and have the authority for what you are doing? Do you stay in the job you are in? Is it time to switch careers and focus on where you are passionate? Where should you serve at church? Where do our mission, vision, and strategic objectives come from? And where does authority come from? When we are convicted by God how should we confirm that conviction and how shouldn’t we? Lots of good questions - I only want to give one simple suggestion in this blog, but if you’ve got time for coffee let me know and we can cover a few more.
I had a criminal law professor, Doug Schmeiser, who instructed his first-year law students to always question the authority of anyone going after our clients (that included cops, prosecutors, security guards, homeowners associates, etc.). Doug taught us to always ask, “Says who?” Who gives you the authority to charge my client, what statute, and what elements of that statute are you using? What evidence do you have and by what authority are you attempting to bring this measure against my client? Doug intimidated the heck out of me. I’m a relatively confident guy, but man I could barely speak in his class. I suppose it's a sign of a good professor that he made a mark on me. Professor Schmeiser drilled into us the need to be thinking about authority.
The Bible makes bold statements about authority and God delegates certain authority to his people. Without proper authority, there is no power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge. God has such authority. We see in this passage (2:18) that Jesus claims authority. I think anyone who saw Him in action (and sees Him in action) would have no doubt of Jesus' authority.
I dare to say there is a lesson for all of us from that University of Saskatchewan First Year School of Law Class. By what authority do we operate? Who is the authority over our lives? What evidence do we have for that authority? What signs do we need to proceed in everyday endeavors, big and small? We see in this passage of Scripture Jesus, just a nobody from Nazareth, with no ostensible authority going into the big Temple in Jerusalem where there was power upon power (the power of the Sanhedrin and the power of Rome). Talk about audacity.
The religious elites hate it when anyone questions their power or their crooked operations. By the way, that’s one of the beautiful things about the American representative democratic system of republican government. There are a lot of republics in the world (such as the Communist Republic of China), but the American republican system has built into it wise checks on power such as term limits, age qualifications, some separate and some shared functions for the branches of government, and various other checks and balances on power. That’s a biblical concept that churches and church organizations with wise leadership readily follow. Wisdom begets wisdom (Proverbs 9:9).
By what authority did Jesus passionately command those in the Temple to stop dishonoring God? Later, the Jews had similar questions of authority about John the Baptist. These are timeless questions that we may ask instinctively as Kindergartners do: ‘Says who?’, ‘Who made you the boss of me?’, and ‘It’s a free country, I don’t need to listen to you!’
The church has more than enough clarity from God on authority, the appointment of leaders, and those qualified to serve. But we need the constant reminder. One of the reasons we have Scripture and that God commands us not to forsake gathering together is because we are like sheep and we need reminding. We need daily tending. That’s why we need to read God’s word every day and why the Christian walk is a daily thing. Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We easily drift off course - we can indeed shipwreck our faith.
Passion for God’s house consumed Jesus. Likewise, passion for the things of God shall consume Jesus’ followers. For we tabernacle (meaning to dwell or to worship in the real presence of God) with Jesus. Wherever we are - we have the Spirit of Christ in us.
Religious legalists and hypocrites love to wield their authority over others. The genuine Christian model is much different (1 Peter 5:3). It is one where we do not worry about losing our authority, but rather we influence, advocate, argue, teach, equip, build up, and serve God’s people with the mindset of doing so at the command of the only One with authority who commands that we love one another.
God’s way really is different - and much better. It is counterintuitive, but when we obey God we have peace and joy. If your life is way out of whack consider stripping away things that may be hindering your walk with God. Be a part of a healthy well-balanced church (yes, they exist), get away from bad doctrine and bad actors, and serve - simply serve (not expecting any praise or recognition).
The trouble, to be honest, is that we often just don’t know how to proceed. Where to go and what to do? I struggle with this. But I think from Scripture we can read God’s proverbs that say as much about what we should forgo as what we should engage in. Stop fighting. Stop meddling in other people’s affairs. Stop sinning. Gain knowledge. Tell the truth. Stop getting tangled up in things that are not of interest to Christ our King. Stop focusing on worldly endeavors that may give you a trophy, but are as useless as a whisper at NASCAR. Control your temper and your tongue. Forgive. Work hard. Have nothing to do with lazy people. Be sober. Etc. The remedy is daily growth and righteousness.
Yes, it is good to have big hairy audacious goals. That’s fine and dandy. But the Christian is also commanded to work with our hands, to be content with a good and quiet and godly life - not having to be a somebody and building a kingdom for ourselves - not that we could.
The Christian approach includes that we pray for those in authority (there is no better citizen than the Christian citizen and no better society than that salted and permeated with servant leaders), obey authority (unless it is attempting to force us to reject Christ), and work to have the Church operate based on Biblical authority (yes we have a great template for how our marriages, the church, and society should operate best).
On one hand, I want to encourage you to be patient (content right where you are if you will). On the other hand, we should all be ready, willing, and able to hear from God and go wherever He convicts us to go. Jesus’ Apostles got three years of teaching then they turned the world upside down for Christ. Gain God’s wisdom and never stop gaining it. But note that God’s a practical teacher - He teaches us as we minister to others (Luke 10 - Jesus sent out the 72 in groups of two like lambs among wolves He sent them out to tell of Jesus’ authority and power). We are never done learning.
As we look at this passage (2:18) we realize that Jesus was and is God. He was the promised Messiah. The Temple was there to worship the Father and it infuriated Jesus with the adulterous way His people were using the Temple as a marketplace. So Jesus had both the right and authority to expel the currency traders and hypocrites from the Temple.
Jesus has the authority today to ask us what we are putting before Him. And what excuses we are making (too old, too sick, too tired, burnt by the church and the hypocrites, etc.). We have all we need to believe in Christ. And we have all the miraculous signs and direction we need to go. We have the Word of God given to us through the Prophets. We have the marvel and majesty of Creation that speak to us everywhere we look. We have the writings and the life examples of the Apostles. We are made in God’s image with free will, reason, and rational minds - capable of learning and growing. We have the Apostles’ testimony about the sacrifice on the Cross and the Resurrection. We have the fulfillment of Jesus' Prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus promises that the new covenant of His blood forever made the old covenant obsolete. And we have 2,000 years of church growth through the Holy Spirit’s guidance. And God is not done! He is building His Kingdom today. He does so through fragile yet moldable jars of clay (His people). Jesus will keep building through us until He returns.
Jesus is nowhere near done with you. Yes, we screw up, but it’s never too late to turn back to God. Think of Abraham who the Bible tells us was considered so close to God to be His friend (James 2:23). Abraham didn’t even start his adventure of faith until he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4). Abraham didn’t know where he was going - but he had faith and he obeyed God with the vision and faith God gave him. He had just what he needed for daily success. One day at a time!
Be like Abraham this week. To my male friends, lead your families well. You are just babes in God’s eyes. We are His children. By His grace and authority, we will achieve the good things Providentially planned for us - one day at a time. He will provide our daily bread - and everything else we need.
Heavenly Father, we know we are a mess, but with You, we know that we can do immeasurably more than we could think or imagine. Thank You for all Your good gifts. Thank you for the confidence in eternity that you put in our hearts. Please remind us where our authority comes from and what it means to exercise biblical authority. Please give us new ideas and fresh confidence in you to be bold and to serve others well in love. Please bless the USA, Canada, and every nation where the Saints are praying for Your Kingdom to grow. Amen.
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