The Real Battle 2
" Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." (Matthew 27:11-26, NIV) [1]
1. Many people waste time, energy and talent fighting secondary battles & skirmishes.
Henry David Thoreau wrote: “For every thousand people hacking at the branches of evil there is one striking at the root.”
Ill. Battle for Richmond
And we seem to have abundant energy to fight them. If the issue makes us mad there is motivation for us to resist. If the issue encroaches on our lifestyle or our rights there is energy to fight the battle. If it’s just a matter of fact that there are people leaving this city every day of life headed for a Christless eternity then there is no need to get too excited about that. We are busy people after all. We have commitments to our civic involvements. We volunteer here and there. Most of us in any given week find time to deliberately devote to lesser causes and find our limits just short of involvement in efforts that may make life more palatable in the here and now but have little impact relative to the next world.
It takes a singular focus to stay away from life’s skirmishes and secondary pursuits. I have discovered that I don’t have time to attend every argument that I am invited to.
Pastor Buckingham used to say, “Never wrestle with a pig because when you do you both get dirty and the pig likes it.” Fred Moore a godly Sr. Pastor who chose his battles wisely offered me similar advice. He said, “If you argue with a fool you have two fools arguing.”
Jesus knew his mission. He was not on earth to win arguments nor to defend himself. He refused wrestle with the pigs. The scripture records Pilate’s reaction to this.
“But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor”
This was not his battle. He was not on this earth to vindicate himself but to redeem lost, guilty souls.
This is the real battle. The mission was not to stay alive but to die with purpose. You can waste your life so quickly if you squander it in living for your own self centered interests and purposes. Or you can just refuse to invest your energies properly and you can give it for good things that matter here and now but things that count for nothing as far as God’s interests are concerned.
Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
2. When we fight the wrong battles, guilty men go free.
In God’s providence the tendency of mankind to identify the wrong enemies and fight the wrong battles was part of the plan as He offered up His innocent Son. The Pharisees orchestrated the execution of Christ, their promised Redeemer.
We just can’t imagine that can we? Most of us are consistently offended when we hear of people who walk away from the consequence of their actions due to legal maneuvering. Barabbas was released! The scripture says that he was a notorious prisoner.
When I was in Presque Isle ME, my first pastorate, I was baptized into the ministry one night by a man named Philip Carmichael. I never met him before that night – it was app. 2:00 in the morning. He staggered in a drunken state through the front door of the parsonage carrying a box of Dunkin Doughnuts. My wife saw him first, crouched at the foot of our bed and smelled the stench of sweat and stale alcohol. In the moments that followed, I was stabbed twice. They caught him a few days later and subsequently charged him with aggravated assault. He was incarcerated until trial dates were set. His attorney defended his actions on the basis of the fact that he was inebriated and therefore not responsible for his actions. In the words of the prosecuting attorney when all was said and done, they gave him 3 months in jail which he had already served and basically he walked out of the court a free man. My wife relives the emotion of this story every time I mention it. The end result of the trial has caused her more concern over the years than the stabbing itself – in many ways. We see justice as a travesty when we review it in our minds.
But you know something, ever since Jesus laid his life down on Calvary, taking the penalty of our sin, guilty people go free. It’s the victory that we celebrate at Easter each year. The guilty ones go free
3. This conflict was driven by simple envy.
It was plain enough to Pilate. Often our high causes are fueled poorly.
The source of most lofty disputes are simple human issues.
THE BUILDING
Ten Little Christians, standing in a line, One disliked the pastor, then there were nine.
Nine little Christians stayed up very late, One slept too late on Sunday, then there were eight.
Eight little Christians on their way to Heaven, One took the low road, then there were seven.
Seven little Christians chirping like some chicks, One disliked the music, then there were six.
Six little Christians seemed very much alive, but one lost his interest then there were five.
Five little Christians pulling for heaven's shore, but one stopped to rest, then there were only four.
Four little Christians, each busy as a bee One got her feelings hurt, then there were three.
Three little Christians knew not what to do, One joined the sporting crowd, then there were two.
Two little Christians, our rhyme is nearly done, differed with each other, then there was one.
One little Christian, can't do much 'tis true; brought his friend to Bible study -- then there were two.
Two earnest Christians, each won one more, that doubled the number, then there were four.
Four sincere Christians worked early and worked late,
Each won another, then there were eight.
Eight splendid Christians, if they doubled as before, In just a few short weeks, we'd have 1,024
In this little jingle, there is a lesson true, You either belong to The Building, Or to the wrecking crew!
The greater the cause that we represent the greater the level of justification that we feel for ungodly attitudes and actions.
There is another problem that we need to be aware of. Some Christians find it very tempting to be so very certain about what is right that they start laying down the law. Often it is difficult to be both firm and loving.
A.W. Tozer put it this way:
"It requires great care and a true knowledge of ourselves to distinguish a spiritual burden from a religious irritation. Often acts
done in a spirit of religious irritation have consequences far beyond what we could have guessed. It is more important that we maintain a right spirit toward the others than that we bring them to our way of thinking even if our way is right. Satan cares very little whether we go astray after false doctrine or merely turn sour. Either way he wins."
Do you know what Tozer means by "sour Christians"? Often they have a good grasp of doctrine and a clear analysis of the situation, but seem to lack gentleness and peace. Any follower of religion can have a religious irritation: . . . It is very easy to right in the wrong way.
It amazes me to think of the actions and the attitudes that we tolerate and even applaud at times in people who call themselves followers of Christ when they adopt adversarial positions to lost people. We hear the gospel preached in the tones of anger and hate and then we wonder why people struggle to understand what we are all about and why they don’t find their way in our doors on Sunday morning. The world is full of anger and hate, you can find it anywhere. There is no cause that justifies this. James writes:
" My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (James 1:19-20, NIV) [2]
4. His unlikely ally was a Pagan Roman Governor.
Jesus only advocate was a pagan Roman governor who clearly saw his guiltlessness. Jesus was a “friend of sinners”. It was an accusatory remark but in reality one of the highest compliments that a person could pay a passionate disciple of Christ.
"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”" (Matthew 11:18-19, NIV) [3]
5. His accusers were Pious Religious Gurus.
We are most vulnerable to those we trust.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12, KJV) [4]
It was those who occupied “high places” who orchestrated his trial and his execution. Wicked leadership influenced those who might have been neutral to go along with their plans.
.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
Their guidance should have been trustworthy but proved to be damning.
6. What is the real concern here?
The greatest threat to the church has always been and remains to this day it’s internal threat.
More damage is done to new converts by “church folk” than those who exist without. In the world they face temptation and the process of struggling with this battle produces strength and endurance and spiritual vitality. It is no surprise to anyone who comes to Christ that if they return to their former patterns they will ultimately fall. There have to be protective measures taken.
“The ship’s place is in the sea, but God pity the ship when the sea gets into it. The Christian’s place is in the world but God pity the Christian if the world gets into him.”
Even so, most of us can remember the learning curve that comes to the second born. We walk, we fall, we get up. God’s grace quickly comes to us to lift us from our faltering mistakes and deliberate disobedience.
It is often a mortal wound that comes to Christians new and old when the church delivers abuse rather than acceptance and love. We are most deeply wounded when other people of faith drive the dagger into our hearts. This is when the church faces it’s most difficult battles.
It is when people who call themselves Christians ascend to places of spiritual leadership and then fail to exercise that leadership either by virtue of their lifestyle, their demeanor or their attitude toward others.
We are our own greatest enemies. When Christ came to die on Calvary’s cross, he did so to deliver us from ourselves.
I am not a sinner because I sin, I sin because I am a sinner.
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." (Colossians 2:13-23, NIV) [5]
Deliverance that comes from God is an inside-out experience but most of the time we fight the battle from the outside in. We get convicted or we get caught. We realize sorrow primarily at the consequence of our disobedience and we resolve not to repeat these actions because we don’t like what the consequence has been. We want to be forgiven for what we have done but we fail to realize that our actions themselves are a consequence or an outgrowth of our nature. Unless we are delivered from ourselves it will be just a matter of time and we will become repeat offenders. Until we can grasp deeply the sinfulness of our condition we will never find true deliverance from ourselves.
Unfortunately like Pilate the pagan we want to absolve ourselves of the blood of Christ – we want to declare ourselves “not guilty” or like the Pious Pharisees we feel that we are doing God a favor justifying ungodly actions and attitudes out of a sense of self-righteousness.
And how in the world do you redeem a self-righteous person?
I believe with all my heart that personal spiritual growth diminishes a sense of self-righteousness rather than reinforces it. The awareness of God’s grace ought to increase as I become closer to God. What’s the consequence of that? It tends make me more compassionate for those who are unrighteous. It ought to equip me more to love the world as Jesus loved the world. It should help me to see that if Christ did not come into the world to condemn it then I need not be charged with that responsibility either. There should be an increasing clarity in my life to help me to see sharply that I am called to become a servant as Jesus was a servant. It ought to take me lower and more willing to make other people bigger for humility is not the way that I see myself but the way that I see others. The scripture says:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4, NIV) [6]
In 1974, Muhammed Ali fought heavily-favored George Foreman in Zaire in "The Rumble in the Jungle". Though Foreman was considered the hardest puncher in heavyweight history, Ali won. How?
Ali covered himself up against the ropes and let Foreman punch until tiring himself out. Ali called this his "rope-a-dope" technique.
You can choose to be the victim or the victor of this little game.
----
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
