Three Positions About Jesus

Those That Oppose Jesus

We find in the opening of this text that there are two groups that adamantly oppose Jesus. They are the Pharisees and Sadducee. They opposed Jesus for different reasons. In order to understand why they opposed Jesus we must know a little bit about who they are

Pharisee

The Pharisee were the religious group of the day. They were well respected as they were believed to be the holiest of all people. They were essentially professional ministers. They had been taught the Bible their entire lives. They were the ones the people believed were closest to God.

They were also responsible for the temple and worship. They were to maintain the nation of Israel and the traditions of Judaism. They were also the judges of those who broke the Jewish law and were the ones who sentenced people.

John 18:12–14 NASB95

So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

Jesus was taken to the Pharisees to be judged when He was arrested.

Jesus posed a threat to their tradition and religious leadership. He posed a threat to their tradition because he was teaching and preaching a message of salvation by grace and not works. Judaism taught that salvation came by lineage and observance of the law. These were in contrast to one another and the Pharisees could not allow the people to believe in salvation through Jesus Christ.

Jesus also posed a threat to their position of religious leadership. If the people believed that Jesus was the Messiah then they would no longer have to follow the Pharisees. Instead the Pharisees would have to submit to the Messiah. They did not want to lose their authority over the people.

Sadducee

The Sadducee were the Jewish lawyers and politicians of the day. They were advisors to the Pharisees when it came to legal matters and issues with Rome. They were the rich aristocrats of the day. They lived very comfortable lives and were responsible for stopping Jewish uprisings.

If there was a Jewish uprising then Rome would squash the Jewish people and remove the Sadducee’s from their position. This would mean they would lose their comfortable lifestyle and riches.

Jesus posed a real threat to them. If the people believed Jesus was the Messiah, they would no longer follow Caesar. They would follow Jesus Christ as their king. This would present a serious problem for the Sadducees.

Modern day Pharisee and Sadducee

We still have people today who adamantly oppose Jesus for the same reasons the Pharisees and Sadducees did. I would like to show you how to recognize them.

Modern Day Pharisee

A modern day Pharisee is a church folk or minister that is more interested in the preservation of their church or doctrine than they are the mission of Jesus Christ. A person that determines that we will do things the way we have always done them is not interested in reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They want to continue to live in what they perceive as the “glory days”. They are not willing to change the way to do things in the church in order to meet an ever changing culture. I am not proposing that the church change its stance on Biblical principals, but am suggesting that we must change our method of ministry if we are going to reach the world with the gospel.

Another way to recognize a Pharisee is when a person is more interested in being right theologically and doctrinely than they are about sharing the gospel. They love to debate issues like predestination, pre- post- and amillinial rapture, and other secondary doctrinal issues. They are more interested in defending their doctrine than winning lost souls into the kingdom of God

Modern Day Sadducee

These are people that have usually been successful in the worlds eyes. They have high intellect, big businesses, or high titles that prioritize those thing rather than their relationship with Jesus. If they have to sacrifice those thing in order to follow Jesus they will not. These are people that are quick to make excuses as to why they don’t want to be a part of a church. They would rather have the things of the world rather than the things of God.

1 John 2:15–17 NASB95

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

A modern day Sadducee is one who loves the world more than they love God. This is sad because the world is temporary, our relationship with God is eternal

Those That Are Apathetic Toward Jesus

The crowds were looking for Jesus at the passover to see what would happen to him if he showed up. They were not interested in the truth, they just wanted to see what would happen to him since the Pharisees had reported that anyone that spotted him was to turn him in.

They wanted to go about there daily living without any interest in the well-being of Jesus. They were more interested in what the Pharisees and Sudducees would do to him if he showed up. They wanted Jesus to be a source of entertainment rather than a king.

Jesus had no influence in their life, so they did not care if he showed up or not. I imagine they would be the ones that would turn him in if he showed up. Since He meant nothing to them they would turn him in for what they would get for doing so.

Jesus was nothing to them so they were apathetic towards him

Modern day Apathetic’s

These are people who have no interest in Jesus because He has no influence in their lives. These are people that do not engage in any form of ministry. They do not attend church. They live their lives the way they want to without any regard for Biblical principles.

These people are similiar to the Saducees only they are not opposed to Jesus. They don’t care anything about him or if anyone else does. They are simply apathetic toward Jesus. They could care less. He is not a priority to them.

Those That Follow Jesus

Jesus disciples are the ones who believed in and followed Jesus. I find it interesting that Jesus stopped ministering to the Pharisees, Sadducee’s, and Apathetic people and spent time exclusively with his followers. The Bible says Jesus no longer walked publicly.

He spent the last few weeks in intensive training with His disciples. he did this because they were going to revolutionize the world by ushering in the kingdom of God by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

People that believe in Jesus give their lives to Him. I am not saying that everyone becomes a vocational minister. I am saying that everyone becomes a minister in the context of where God has them. It is a total surrender of every aspect of your life to Him. Your marriage, your parenting, your job, your serving, and every other aspect of your life.

The disciples are the reason we gather here this morning. They began the church that Christ ordained to carry on His mission

Do you oppose Jesus?

Are you apathetic to Jesus?

Are you a disciple of Jesus?