By Pastor Greg
So, a
boss was complaining in a staff meeting the other day that he wasn't getting
any respect. Later that morning he went out and got a small sign that read,
"I'm the Boss." He then taped it to his office door. Later that day when he returned from lunch,
he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said: "Your wife
called, she wants you to bring her sign back!"
Sad,
isn’t it? We always seem to be fighting
for control. We do it at home. We do it at work. We see it in politics. We even see it in the Church. We are so resistant to control that we fight
and argue about trivial things; worried that someone else might dictate what we
do or where we go (or even what we eat).
Our own nation was founded on the principle that we didn’t want someone
telling us how to worship God. And so,
we fought for freedom. We still fight to
keep people from controlling our lives.
However, we are not as free as we might believe.
To think
that we are free is perhaps the greatest lie ever told, and I’m not talking about
some conspiracy theory here. I’m talking
about a bondage that reaches past handcuffs or prison. It reaches beyond ethnic and cultural
barriers. It affects people from all
races and nations; beyond wealth and influence.
It is a spiritual bondage of such magnitude that no one can possibly
break free. It is SIN. Everyone is born into sin, which means all
are enslaved to sin. And nothing we do
can possible break those chains. Oh,
there is Someone who can set us free, yet many resist because they are afraid
of losing control.
After
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, people were divided about Him. Some believed while others did not. The reason some people didn’t believe will
surprise you. It wasn’t because He
performed lousy miracles. I mean, think
about what Jesus did. He cared for
people, healed people, fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind, and brought
people back from the dead. Jesus
literally straightens a bent and twisted world. Which of the miracles of Jesus were truly
offensive? Okay, maybe the water into
wine thing, if you are part of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. But apart from that one, Jesus made life more
tolerable while He walked this earth. Do
you want to know why people rejected Jesus?
Turn with me to John 11.
(John
11:45-54) 45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they
saw this happen [the raising of Lazarus]. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high
council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man
certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to
go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will
come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
49 Caiaphas, who was high
priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You
don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people
than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on
his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would
die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but
to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.
53 So from that time on, the
Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. 54 As a result,
Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went
to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there
with his disciples.
[1]
Did you notice what the Sanhedrin
said? These religious leaders were
worried about losing control. They felt
Jesus would take away their authority, their position, and their power. So Caiaphas suggests killing Jesus. That way they would still be able to maintain
control – which is the biggest lie humanity has ever been told.
We have been deceived into
believing that we are free. I mean, look
at these religious leaders. They
honestly felt they were free. They honestly
felt Jesus would take away their freedom.
Did you see what they said? “The Roman army will come and destroy our
Temple and our nation”; implying that at present they were safe; they were
in control. Seriously? By what standard or measure were they
free? There was an entire Roman garrison
posted just outside the Temple. At
present, they were under Roman rule.
Rome had even appointed Caiaphas as High Priest. They did this every so often so one man would
not gain too much power. And they are
worried about Jesus? Talk about
deceived!!!
In the same way, we have been
deceived. We think we are free, but we
are not. We are held captive; ensnared
by Satan whose chains produce fear, doubt, anger, hate, worry, envy, lust, and
a whole list of things that haunt our soul.
Go ahead. Examine your
heart. Do you find these attitudes
lurking within your heart? If so, you
have not really been set free. Either
that, or you are still living like a captive.
Do you remember what Jesus said
about being a slave to sin? “Everyone who sins is
a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the
family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the
Son sets you free, you are truly free” [2]
(John 8:34-36). Well, if a person is a
slave, then they must have a master. In
John 10, Jesus describes that “master” as a thief whose sole purpose is to
steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
The truth is, we are either still enslaved by Satan or set free by
Jesus. Those who watched Lazarus come
back to life and believed in Jesus were set free. Those who watched Lazarus come back to life
and chose not to believe were still slaves.
They were still held captive by sin, not “free”.
The Apostle Paul expands on this
by teaching us the difference between a slave and one set free. A slave follows the desires of his or her
sinful nature. They are enslaved by “sexual immorality,
impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy,
drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these”. On the other hand, those whom Christ has set
free demonstrate “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control” [3]
(Galatians 5:19-22).
The Jewish Religious Leaders who
were afraid of losing control were, in fact, allowing their sinful nature to
control them. They were not keeping
their freedom by rejecting Jesus, they remained enslaved. They were still being controlled. On the other hand, those who accepted Jesus
were set free to live a life dominated by love.
By their faith in Jesus, sin no longer held them in its grasp.
You and I are given this same
option as well. We can resist the
message of Jesus and the testimony of His followers, or we can accept Him as
Lord and Savior. The great lie we have
been told is that Jesus makes us His slave.
That simply is not true. To
resist is to remain a slave. To accept
is to be set free.
What Caiaphas said in ignorance is
indeed true (verse 50). Jesus died so
all people everywhere might be spared – set free from sin and death. It’s important you and I know this,
especially if we have resisted Jesus for fear of losing control. As I said, to resist is to remain a slave. If you have not surrendered your life to
Jesus, you are a slave to sin and death.
And one day you will lose the opportunity to be set free. I beg you to let go and find freedom as a
Child of God.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 11:45–54). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 8:34–36). Carol Stream, IL.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Ga 5:22–23). Carol Stream, IL.
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