John 7:31-32 (NIV)
Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus’ teachings and miracles were powerful evidence of who He was. The common people could easily see it because they had no skin in the game, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law did. Jesus’ power made their own powerlessness look like complete impotence. Jesus’ clear exposition of the Scriptures, often using charming and memorable stories, communicated so clearly and succinctly about the things of the kingdom that it made the learned lectures of the teachers of the law and their numerous quotations of ancient rabbis look like mere ramblings.
The leaders knew that they were losing power and influence to Jesus. They could clearly see that, if things were allowed to continue down this path, it wouldn’t be long before the people would all be following Him, and they would be reduced to irrelevance.
The reasonable thing to do in this situation would be to become disicples of Jesus themselves, and try to learn what Jesus clearly knew. His power and supernatural abilities were obvious, and His teachings really did have a life to them that their own lacked. Perhaps by following Him instead of trying to undercut Him, they could receive that same kind of power and wisdom themselves.
But the majority of them were completely unwilling to even consider this course of action. It would be a tacit admission that they were wrong. It would mean abandoning the traditions that were such a significant part of their lives, and that had set them apart from less “spiritual people”. And, worst of all, it would mean accepting the fact that an “uneducated” carpenter from the sticks had somehow gotten hold of the deep truths of God, while they, with their years of careful study and devotion to tradition, had inexplicably missed the boat.
All of that was inconceivable to them, so they went another way. They determined that the best way to keep Jesus from making them look bad was to take Him out of the way, arrest Him, and either convict Him, or besmirch His reputation so badly through accusation and innuendo that He would lose influence with the people. So, the sent the temple guards to arrest Him, ostensibly for causing a public disturbance on the temple grounds where He was teaching.
Father, I can see this same dynamic working in our society today – not in the arena of the church so much, but in the arena of politics. Neither side is willing to give an inch, or to admit that the other side may have a point or a plan that will work. If it is not 100% their plan, their way, their philosophy, then it must be completely rejected, impugned, and even destroyed. And so, many of the leaders continue to demonize, obfuscate, twist the truth, and attack even good ideas to satisfy their base and to protect their own turf. If only our leaders would learn the lesson of history, even Scriptural history, that those who set themselves steadfastly against the truth, and ultimately against You and Your ways, are destroyed and scattered. Help us, Lord to be healed from our nearsightedness as a nation that so quickly and thoroughly divides us, and to be unified. Amen.