Jesus is one of, if not the most divisive, individuals in human history. That is an interesting concept to ponder. Why is that so? In the Western World many people follow his teaching and values, such as equality, the value of women and children, concern for the poor and the disabled, compassion and the importance of forgiveness. These are just a few values that trace their origins to Jesus. So why would anyone who appreciates the values that Jesus taught and instituted, values that have transformed the Western world be offended by Jesus? Well, Jesus also taught other things.
Jesus taught that he was the only way to God and claimed the authority to forgive sins, something that the religious Jews of Jesus’ day clearly recognized as an action only God could do. This statement alone was sufficient to offend the first century Jews, leading some of them to plot and orchestrate Jesus’ death on a cross. By claiming to be the only way to God, Jesus claimed exclusivity, a concept that some in the 21st century find offensive and contrary to the concept of inclusiveness.
Jesus also claimed authority, actually all authority, making him the King of kings and Lord of lords. The New Testament teaches that a Christian is not someone who agrees with the majority of what Jesus taught, but someone, who believes Jesus was raised from the dead, and confesses him as Lord. That means a Christian is someone who voluntarily submits to Jesus’ authority. For those of us living in the United States celebrating 250 years since our Declaration of Independence, we struggle with authority. Actually all men struggle with authority to a certain extent, but independence and shall we say a discomfort with authority, to put it mildly, is something that is woven throughout the fabric of American history and culture. Our nation was founded on a rejection of monarchy, specifically the rule of King George III of Great Britain, whose taxes the founding fathers found offensive. During the Civil War the policies of President Lincoln were offensive to many Americans. Eighty years later some were offended by the policies of President Franklin Roosevelt and his conduct preceding the United States’ entry into World War II. Historical facts that have been forgotten by many. This tendency grew in the 1960’s during which the young baby boomer generation rejected the establishment with the cry of ”don’t trust anyone over 30”. A cry that was no longer uttered after 1980 as many baby boomers reached the age of 30 and beyond and became part of the establishment they had rejected a few years earlier. Recently we have seen “No Kings” protests in cities throughout our nation protesting the policies of our current President. The history of the United States is littered with evidences of rejection of authority.
What does this have to do with Jesus? If we struggle with submitting to human authority, then is should not surprise us that many struggle with Jesus’ ultimate authority and are offended by him, even though they may agree with some of what he taught. The reality is that until Jesus returns, we as followers of Jesus find ourselves in the middle of a war, which the New Testament refers to as a spiritual war. Jesus warned us that we will find ourselves facing tribulation if we choose to follow him. We should not become disillusioned or discouraged when we see difficult circumstances, wars and rumors of wars, taking place around us. We should not be surprised that some vocally reject authority; it is nothing new. Our job is to continue to proclaim what is right and true: honor those in authority, whether the current occupant’s of the White House is named Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden or Trump. Giving honor to a leader doesn’t mean we agree with a particular leader. Clearly Paul did not agree with the Emperor Nero when he instructed Christians to give honor to those in authority. However, it does reflect Jesus, who recognized and submitted to Pilate’s authority to crucify him.
As followers of Jesus we must continually resist the urge to fit in with the current age and choose to live by heaven’s values even when it results in sacrifice, difficulty and hardship.
David Freitag 