The Master of Disaster!

This last week in the life of our Lord covered in Scripture possesses a wealth teaching, and lessons we all can learn from. During this week the enemies of our Lord continued to endeavor to trap Jesus in any way they could. One incident is found in Matthew:

Mt 22:15–22 “Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. ”

There are two great lessons in this passage that I want to focus on. First, understand the power of hatred. When one is under the influence of this emotion some very strange things can take place. You can find yourself allied with your enemy simply because the emotion of hatred has become a unifying factor. We see this here in Matthew where the Pharisees are now working alongside the Herodians, a group of Jews that had compromised with King Herod. These two groups had a mutual disdain for one another, yet now were in partnership solely due to their hatred of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, we find the same situation in Luke between Herod and Pilate.

 Luke 23:6–13 “When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other. 

Be careful what you allow to unify you with someone else, if your agenda is evil, you might be surprised whom you end up calling your friend. This is why it is always important to do a heart check when we get involved in an “emotional movement”. We underestimate the power of emotion; we convince ourselves that we can control what we feel; yet before we realize it that feeling is controlling us. So many times that is the case when it comes to “falling in love”. People stop thinking with their mind and their common sense, having come under the influence a strong emotion called infatuation, which they have mistaken for love. No matter what obvious problems there are in the relationship, i.e. the person is married; worships a different god; lives on the other side of the world…You get my point, the person refuses to see the problem or even listen to the counsel of friends because everything they see or hear is filtered through the emotion of infatuation. Only after the dust has settled and the emotion has subsided does common sense now awaken and the individual is wondering why they either dated, had sexual activity or even married this other person. The damage is done and even though it is now recognized the consequences remain. Hatred works exactly like infatuation, and it will drive you to do things and partner with individuals that you would never do if you slowed your life down and thought about what you're doing. The Jewish leaders, which would not go into Pilate’s quarters because he was a Gentile, driven by hate, appealed to Pilate based on his friendship with Caesar and then claimed that they had no King but Caesar, all because they were under the control of hatred!  

Jn 19:12–15 “As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

The commitment of Love drove Christ to sacrifice Himself for us, while the emotion of hatred was the tool the adversary used to kill Him. Let’s make sure what is driving our life this week – commitment to Him, or emotions that can become Masters very quickly.

Questions to Ponder?

* When I feel something, what do I do with those feelings?

* The last time I was very emotional what did I do? Was my mind in control or was the emotion?

* When someone warns me about how I am behaving, do I take time to consider what is said or do I react emotionally? What does my answer show me? 

There is another great truth in this passage that we will consider tomorrow.