Impure Motives

1 John 2:26

          While traveling with some friends in Italy a few years ago a funny thing happened. Our friend gave us some very good advice; never follow a stranger who wants to lead you away from the group. This makes so much sense. We are in a foreign country and we don’t know the language. We know some of the culture, but there are so many things we don’t understand. And Italy, like so many places where tourists gather, has gathered those who want to take advantage of the lack of knowledge and gullibility of tourists.

          So we are outside of Pompeii, after spending much of the day walking around in this well-preserved ancient ruins. If you remember history, Pompeii was rapidly buried in volcanic ash in 79 AD. The city was frozen in time until it was rediscovered about 1700 years later. So it is a contrast of these ancient ruins and a city built next to it that was unaware of its existence for much of it development. And like a typical tourist town, the tacky shops and over-pricing are standard.

          My wife and I are talking with his wife about lunch plans. Then it happens. We notice that our friend is talking with someone. He starts to walk away with this unknown man. Then the shouts come, “Come on, he knows a great restaurant.” So off we go, ignoring his advice. We survived, but the rest of the story involves running to our car in fear of the police.

          It can be easy to be led astray. Even the best of us can walk away without really realizing that we are walking away. The charm and apparent trustworthiness of the individual can trick us. But con artists are good at what they do, otherwise they would be lawyers.

          But tourist locations are not the only places and times when deception is active. We are bombarded by carefully packaged deceptions every day. So the words of John in our text can hit home with us. For him, the people who were teaching this alternate theory about Jesus and His nature were a real danger to the genuine faith. If their teaching was believed, everything of value would be stripped from what these believers had been taught and experienced. They would end up empty-handed.

          And what these people were doing was not accidental. That man who led my friend and eventually all of us astray that day in Italy knew what he was doing. He was not innocently talking to my friend, being a kind and generous man. He was working us. He had a goal and he achieved it. After we were seated in the restaurant we notice our new friend standing at the bar receiving his finder’s fee in liquid form. He wanted a drink, and we were his paycheck.

          John’s audience was in danger of being led astray. And the consequences of that deception would be eternal. But religious and spiritual deception didn’t stop in the first century. We have an abundance of deceivers alive and well today. They have the outward garb of Christianity, but they lack the substance. They remove Jesus from His place as fully God and fully man. They water down the meaning of sin and obedience. They promise not to mess with our neat little lives. They make us feel good about ourselves. They accept anyone, except those of us who would challenge their view of the world.

          So heed the words of John. They are trying to lead you astray.

Final Consultation

Mark 15:1

      Imagine all the religious leaders of the United States getting together and planning the death of a fellow religious leader. That would be a pretty sad day, don’t you agree. It would speak volumes about the depth of their spiritual life, and the height of their hatred for that individual. For all of them to agree on anything would be a miracle of the devilish type. They would have to put aside years of mistrust and skepticism about motives to even get them in the room together. To get them to view one person as worthy of death boggles the imagination.

      Do you think Congress, both House and Senate, the Supreme Court and the President all agreeing on the same issue and moving it forward? This is in essence what happened when all the various parties got together before sunrise on that fateful day. Sound possible? I can’t see it happening, can you?

      I also hate backroom deals. I know it is often easier to come to a decision without the cameras and microphones catching every nuance of negotiation, but I always get the feeling they are hiding something. I want to know the motives of the people reaching the decision, to hear their inner mental workings. I want to make sure they thought through all the various options. I want to know who wins and who loses.

      And in our world today, where every small statement gets pulled out of context and used as a sound bite, it makes sense to have parts of the process out of earshot. Our political correctness has run amuck. We can’t have open, honest conversation. We must carefully couch our language. To offend someone is tantamount to murder. And we have developed a very thin skin as a people. We have become ‘intolerant’ of opposing opinions. We label them so, and then tout our intolerance of their views as ‘civilized, progressive’ thinking. Everyone believes in manmade global warming, except those people who believe in a flat earth. Everyone supports the right of everyone to get married, and if you don’t, you are backward and bigoted. And so the attacks go on.

      The religious leaders of Jesus’ day gathered after the religious grand jury hearing. They heard Jesus declare that He was the Messiah, God in the flesh. They weren’t happy. Now they must consider the best approach to get Pilate to agree to allow them to kill Jesus. Only Rome had authority to kill someone. It was one of many powers that Rome held for itself across its territories. Rome gave some authority to local governments to allow flexibility. It also made Roman rule a little less oppressive.

      So these religious leaders must agree on a strategy. They oppose Jesus for different reasons, but they all oppose Him. They must put aside their theological and political rivalries and unite if they want to clear the stage of this Jesus.

      Remember, they had earlier met and agreed to pay for the chance to kill Jesus. Judas had cashed in on their offer. Now their dream had come true, the moment for which they had been waiting. But they had planned for the capture and murder of Jesus to take place at a different time. They didn’t want the crowds of festival goers to mess up their plans. They wanted to do it quietly and on the down low.

      Watch out for those who want to cash in on some else’s demise. When someone is attacking another person, it is a good idea to follow the money to see who benefits from the negative activity. What power shifts will take place if they are successful? Who will be on top after the dust settles? Who is pushing from behind the scenes? Who else will lose out if they win?