Whose Authority?

Readings for today: Judges 16-18, Psalms 75

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.” (Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬) There is nothing worse than living in a place where there is no authority. No one to fight for justice. No one to enforce the laws. Think of the misguided and tragic attempt made a few years ago to “abolish the police.” It was a disaster. Think of the cities where law enforcement was gutted. Crime immediately shot up. Such policies put people at greater risk, especially the most vulnerable. Many of those cities have since recanted and pushed through changes to reinforce those who protect and serve our communities. I think of nations where I’ve traveled where there is no rule of law. Roving gangs or tribes are allowed to kill and rape and burn without consequence. Starvation and famine and oppression and injustice are the rule not the exception. Development work slows to a crawl because it simply cannot succeed without a government exercising their authority over the local population.

As we near the end of the Book of Judges, we see what happens when everyone does what is right in their own eyes. The results are horrific. Violence, murder, rape, and destruction. Might makes right. Those with the most power operate without restraint. It’s brutal. This is humanity left to her own devices. This is humanity enslaved to sin. This is humanity at her bestial and most primal. The main message throughout these final chapters is that humanity is not fundamentally good. We are not fundamentally pure. We are not fundamentally innocent. We are conceived in iniquity. Born in sin. Oriented towards self. Almost always inclined to do what benefits us even if it comes at the expense of others. We see this all around the world today. We see this in our own country today. We see this in our own communities today. If we’re honest, we see this in our own hearts today.

What’s the answer? Submission to the king. Not necessarily a worldly king although God raises up human governments for the purpose restraining evil on some level. It’s submitting to the King of kings. The only King with the power to set us free from ourselves. To set us free from the power of sin. To deliver us from bondage to evil. When we submit our lives to Jesus, we do what seems right to Him rather than what seems right to us. We follow His ways rather than our ways. We deny our base impulses and instead pursue godliness and the world around us is blessed. The people we love and live among are blessed. This is what God desires. This is why He sent Jesus in the first place. This is why all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Submit yourself to the King. Let Him ascend the throne of your life. Honor Him in all you think, do, and say and you will live a life of blessing.

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 19-21, Psalms 76

By Whose Authority…

Readings for today: Matthew 21:23-46, 22:1-14, Mark 11:27-33, 12:1-12, Luke 20:1-18, John 12:37-50

I raised my kids to be independent thinkers. Strong-willed young men and women who can make their way in the world. I love how each of them is finding their place and it is a privilege to walk the journey with them. One of the many lessons I’ve tried to teach them is the difference between stewardship and ownership. When we grow up, we don’t own much. Everything from food to clothing to a roof over our heads is provided. Our job is to be good stewards. Clean our rooms. Follow the house rules. Take care of what we’ve been given. Then we get older. We graduate from high school. Become legally responsible. We start to become owners. We get a job. We pay the bills. We buy things like our own cars or cell phones. As a parent, I no longer have much authority over how my child takes care of their home or how much money they spend on gas or the number of apps they download on their phone.

All four Gospels tell the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple. Mark’s Gospel, however, contains a very important nugget of information. When Jesus drives out the money-changers and turns over the tables of the loan sharks, the Jews ask Him an important question. “Who authorized you to speak and act like this?” In other words, by whose authority do you do these things? Who gave you the right to disrupt the Passover? Who told you to bring in the blind and the lame and begin healing? Will you not put a stop to the praises of the children? Jesus’ reply could not be more clear, My house shall be called a house of prayer but you make it a den of robbers. Jesus is claiming rightful ownership of the Temple. He is making it clear to the religious leaders that their stewardship of the sacred places has come to an end. The rightful owner is now on the scene and He will do with His house as He wills. And what is His will? His house shall be a place of prayer. A hospital for healing. A sanctuary for praise.  

Imagine how you would feel if someone lived in your home and trashed the place. I have a good friend who owns a rental house in the Denver area. Several years ago, a tenant used his house to grow weed and cook meth. After going to court to get his tenant evicted, my friend had to gut the house and start over. It cost him thousands of dollars not to mention the time and effort he had to put in to get his house back in working order so it could be rented again. Now put yourself in Jesus’ sandals. The people you’ve entrusted your home to have trashed the place. They have turned it into a den of robbers. Exploiting the pilgrims who come for Passover each year. They make hefty profits by price gouging the people, especially the poor. So He makes a whip of cords and drives them out. He turns over the tables and throws them out. Do you understand now why Jesus is so upset? Zeal for His own home has consumed Him and He will do whatever it takes to restore His house to it’s former glory.  

Now let me give you an even more radical take. Jesus doesn’t just assert His authority over His house, He asserts it over all of creation with the fig tree. Not only that but He tells His disciples that if they have faith and embrace the Kingdom life, they will be able to operate with His authority in the world. They will be able to do to the fig tree what Jesus did or throw mountains into the heart of the sea. Most importantly, whatever they ask for in prayer will be given to them. Why? They are no longer tenants in God’s Kingdom but sons and daughters! In a sense, we’ve been given an “ownership” stake in all of creation and God expects us to exercise dominion and authority and responsibility in His name and for His glory.

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 22:15-46, 23:1-39, Mark 12:13-44, Luke 20:19-47, 21:1-4, 13:31-35