Using Power for the Powerless

Intro

There is an old english proverb (not to be confused with a biblical proverb) that says “power attracts the corruptible”. There is another that says, “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power”.

Power is intoxicating. Those that don’t have it seek it for its pleasure and those that have it know that power rarely brings any.

I have heard it said that there is no such thing as an honest politician, and if there ever was an honest person to get into politics they would be ruined before they were done.

What is it about power that is so dangerous and yet to attractive at the same time? Why do we chase after something that we are warned has the tendency to corrupt?

I think that at the heart of the answer is the same thing that motivated Adam and Eve to sin against God in the garden.

God gave them everything except that one tree, but it wasn’t enough. And their desire to do as the serpent said, be like God brought about the downfall of creation.

And the sinful nature that followed, that all of us are born with, still desires to be like God. So we hunger and thirst for power.

Look at what is happening in the world today. It is the result of one person or group of people seeking to gain power over another.

It is intoxicating and seductive. The desire for power has destroyed people, families, business, communities, and whole civilizations.

And as followers of Jesus we are not exempt from its allure. There are Churches and whole denominations that have been damaged by the unhealthy pursuit of power.

This morning, as we continue in our series looking at the things that like Judas, we tend to trade Jesus for. I want to look at our propensity to trade Jesus for power.

At some point Judas felt like 30 pieces of silver was worth more than what Jesus was offering. And at some point there are Christians who are trading Jesus for power because they think it will be more valuable to them.

Power in the Text

This morning we are going to be looking at the gospel of John, and more specifically in chapter 18. It is here that we read about Jesus’ arrest and subsequent trial before Pontius Pilate.

We are going to jump in at verse 33. But you need to know what happens right before this.

Right before this we read about Jesus’ trial ending with the high priest. Remember, the religious leaders and those in power wanted him killed.

They were basing their judgement on what they believed to be blasphemy. And they were twisting the scriptures to support their stance. And according to the law of Moses, blasphemy was a capital crime.

But Israel at this point in history was not sovereign. They were under Roman rule and therefore they did not have the authority to execute anyone without Rome’s permission.

Well, they knew they would never get permission so they come up with a trumped up charge to present to the Roman governor of sedition against Rome.

In other words, they were accusing Jesus of leading a movement with the intention of overthrowing the Roman government.

This is why Pontius Pilate says this...

John 18:33-40 NLT 33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. 34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” 38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?” 40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

So Pilate gives in to their demands and has Jesus flogged and then eventually concedes and has him executed by way of crucifixion.

In a lot of ways Pilate did not understand why the religious leaders wanted Jesus killed. He questions them on numerous occasions, yet concedes to their demands.

Why did they want him dead? What had Jesus done that they believed he should be killed for? There are lots of reasons, but one highlighted in this passage is that Jesus’s way of life was a threat to those who held religious power.

Pilate needed to know if Jesus also posed a threat to his political power. Was Jesus really a king? He didn’t deny that he was a king, but “Jesus said that his ‘kingdom’ was not of this world because he had no military support and did not relate to any geographic locality or province”

If Jesus wanted to set up his kingdom on earth in that moment, his followers would have had to fight (v. 36). Instead, Jesus was about to usher in a new kingdom that was less about power (as the people around him understood it) or even theocracy, and more about the divine rule of the human heart.

What Pilate failed to understand was that the kingdom Jesus was building was not a kingdom of this world. His territory was the heart of man.

And his kingdom would expand not through military might or sedition, but it would expand as more and more people turned to him and put their faith and trust in him.

For every human heart that yields to Jesus, that is an expansion in the territory of his kingdom.

Big Idea/Why it Matters

What Jesus demonstrated in this conversation with Pilate and in his obedience to the will of the Father in going to the cross was that his kingdom is not one of public or political power, but of sacrifice.

We like to think of a powerful Jesus overturning tables, performing miracles, and rising in glory.

He did hang out with powerful people at times, like the religious elite—including Nicodemus. He wasn’t put off by the rich young ruler, a centurion who needed help, or even the tax collectors who lorded their power over others.

But Jesus seems to have spent a lot more time with people who had no power: women, orphans, the sick, the poor.

When we consider the power we have, we ought to be careful that we aren’t identifying more with the power brokers than with Jesus.

Any power we wield should be under the submission of God who sees the innate worth in every human.

We must set aside our own hopes of grandeur or desire for our political side to win a majority of governmental power and instead desire to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

So often today Christians are led to believe that they need to fit into this one political mold. That being a Republican is a denomination. They are the godly politicians who’s aim is to see God’s kingdom on earth.

If you believe that to be true you are being fooled. Call me cynical, but at the end of the day it is about votes. And more often than not, people in power will say whatever they have to if they think it will get them in, or keep them in power.

By all means, vote. And vote for biblical values, but don’t drink the Kool-aid. Quit blaming all our world’s problems on the other side and recognize that both sides have been corrupted by a lust for power.

We see it often in political leaders: those who hold Bibles for photo ops, and those who try to use Scripture to justify questionable actions.

Don’t let others make you feel like if you offer criticism or don’t worship the ground that some of our political leaders walk on that somehow you aren’t a real Christian.

If we don’t easily fit into the current religious and political power structures, we can be comforted that Jesus didn’t either.

But you know it isn’t just our leaders that do this.

It is not uncommon for believers to leverage their Church attendance or faith to get ahead.

Do we do the same thing? How many of us use church as a networking tool? Certainly, it’s nice to support one another, but we are not stepping-stones to the next big thing.

We need to be in honest, vulnerable, trusting relationships with one another. Power, or the desire for power, can get in the way of that.

So often we will trade Jesus for power in the way we compromise our values and in the way we often hurt others in our pursuits.

In many cases, power is only achieved when someone else is subjugated. Can you think of someone that you have hurt in your life in your pursuit for power and influence.

Application/Closing

And what is so amazing to me is that when you think about power and the unhealthy pursuit of power as Christians, it makes no sense.

1 John 4:4 NLT 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

John 14:12 NLT 12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.

Romans 8:11 NLT 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Need I go on? As Christians we have more power than we could possibly know what to do with. There isn’t a person in this world who can hold a candle to the power that lives in you and I.

Yet we so often want to trade what we have for something inferior. Why? Because we have failed to see the value in the power we already possess and therefore do not see it manifested in our everyday lives.

And as long as you keep chasing after a lesser power, this will be your experience.

And if you find yourself in a position of power, be careful. And make sure you are leveraging that power with the power of the Holy Spirit so that you are corrupted by it.

But if you would surrender yourself fully to Jesus. If you would place yourself under his divine authority. If you would recognize the true value of the Holy Spirit in your life you would see God move in power in ways you have only read about.

Like Judas, we have to decide if our desire for earthly power is more valuable that what Jesus has to offer.