Misery Loves Company, So Does Sin ...

There is an old adage that misery loves company, or perhaps better stated, we seldom enjoy being alone when we are miserable.  We don’t always need others to be miserable with us, but if they do share our misery, at least we come to think we are not alone in our despair.  And it is hard to be comforted in any case when we are alone, we need the company of someone else to have even a hope of that.  It stands to reason then, that sin being pain, you might just think the reason why sin enjoys company is because it causes so much misery.  There is a certain truth in that.  Or you might think that since sin exhibits all the characteristics of a self-destructive addictive virus, you might think sin would seek out company in order to spread from host to host and thereby infect the world.  Certain truth there too, but on that score mission already accomplished.  But the context to which I refer is more akin to “politics making strange bedfellows”, in that sin can bring people together you would not expect to see, but united only because of some horrific thing they have done together.  The fallen angels after all fit more in this line.  They are not brothers of Lucifer, or have any “love” left for him.  But they do share his goal, at revenge, and hate for the source of all Love.

But what happens among fallen angels happens to us as well.  Luke recites a case study for us in his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why.  The other accounts of Jesus’ trial missed this point though they share so many of the other events.  But I think Luke may be showing us this for a few reasons.  First, just because someone else agrees with your thinking, it does not mean you think correctly.  Second, it is not only possible to unite with someone around a sin, it is sometimes a reality that sin may involve more than one or two people for the same sin.  Third, majority view is often the wrong view, especially when your conscientious tells you it is (you ignore the still small voice at your own peril).  Luke picks up this case study in chapter 23 of his gospel letter, beginning in verse 1 it says … “And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. [verse 2] And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.”  It begins with Pilate because Jesus has already been found guilty by a “united” religious leadership of crimes worthy of death.

Because all the other Pharisees or Sadducees declare something about Jesus does not make it true.  In fact it is highly likely Nicodemus, and Joseph were not even invited to the previous kangaroo trial because they may have convinced others not to convict.  So the gathering was a calculated one.  But hatred of Jesus made 2 factions that normally completely disagree with each other completely united in one overriding goal – kill this Messiah.  And these are all men who aspire to and claim to be honest.  Yet they bring Jesus to Pilate with a complete lie on their lips.  Jesus never forbid the paying of Tribute to Caesar in fact, Jesus did the opposite in encouraging the paying of taxes, giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.  So they lie to make Jesus seem like a threat to the state.  But they must all agree to this lie or it will not stand.  If some of them say it is not true, the whole thing falls apart (thus the reason why Nicodemus and Joseph have been conveniently left out).  And as for Jesus declaring Himself King, Jesus instead steadfastly refused to become King, disappearing from an adoring throng more than once throughout His life.  He was not here to become King.  He was here to serve.  If He had wanted a crown He could have had it multiple times, He did not.  His Kingdom was not of this world.  So again, this band of rival factions must now put aside their differences in order to see Jesus put to death.  They must present Jesus as a threat which they know, He is not.  Ironically if Jesus were a threat to the Romans, the Sanhedrin would have embraced Him.

So yet another lesson for us from Luke, just because the religious leadership unites around some idea, does not make it right.  Hatred and killing is never right, especially killing God.  Luke continues in verse 3 saying … “And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. [verse 4] Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.”  So Pilate does not trust Jews, especially those mired in their religion.  He questions Jesus for himself, and finds this Guy is no threat at all.  So he tells this irate mob, this Person is innocent (and hardly guilty of perverting anything let alone the nation).  Normally, the Jews would have been happy to get a potential prisoner back from Rome in something other than a body-bag.  But they did not want that for Jesus, they wanted Him killed and dumped in some mass grave.  But credit to Pilate, that is not what Pilate wanted.  Pilate knows Jesus is innocent.

Luke continues in verse 5 saying … “And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. [verse 6] When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. [verse 7] And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.”  Instead of being relieved Pilate would be merciful (he normally was not), this made the accusing band of factions even more irate.  They get animated and more furious, the kind of thing that happens when men possessed of demons get told “no” to their plans.  Have you seen that before as well?  Someone wants something from you, and if you decline their enticement they get furious in response?  You are not mad, but suddenly they are, out of nowhere.  And do we think demons have left the business of influencing our responses these days?  They have not.  Many were possessed back they who did not even know it.  I think some of us are too.  And being a religious leader is obviously no defense, that is what this whole crowd was made up of.  Yet now they howl like demons to get their way.  Declining mercy in favor of rage.

Pilate however was looking for a way out now.  Since Jesus was a Galilean, He was technically a part of Herod’s jurisdiction.  Pilate was no fan of Herod, and feeling was mutual.  But deferring the judgement of Jesus to Herod gets Pilate off the hook, while the gesture makes Herod feel more important than he actually was.  More importantly for Pilate, it gets this hate-filled crowd another leader of start to hurl their wicked plans at.  Pilate also knew that massacring the whole Sanhedrin at Passover would result in full blown revolt that Pilate would be held responsible for by Rome.  So this mob had him over a barrel.  Deferring to Herod makes it Herod’s problem.  Since Herod was in Jerusalem at this time (or close by), this would not delay the progress of the trial for too long.

Luke continues in verse 8 saying … “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. [verse 9] Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.”  Herod was happy to see Jesus in person, if nothing else to prove that Jesus was not John the Baptist come back from the dead.  Herod was still feeling guilty about John, he had let his pride and his lust result in the beheading of John.  And Herod was not over that yet.  Having Jesus here, Herod might press Him to bring back John, after all John was His cousin.  Jesus was reported to have brought back a great many others from the dead, why not His own cousin?  And if not bringing back the dead, at least doing something else.  Herod wanted a show.  He was not interested in becoming a believer that Jesus was the Messiah, Herod was not in disagreement with the Jewish leadership about what the Messiah was supposed to do.  But when Herod questions Jesus, Jesus just keeps completely silent.  He does nothing.  He says nothing.  This is a pretty big disappointment to Herod.

Luke continues in verse 10 saying … “And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. [verse 11] And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.”  The rage in the voices of the Sanhedrin just gets worse.  They accuse Jesus of all manner of crimes, trying to get Herod to agree with them about condemning Jesus to death.  But Herod is a fox.  He knows Pilate sent him this matter to dump it, and avoid having to take personal responsibility.  Nevertheless the gesture is one of respect.  Herod could have let Jesus go.  He knows Jesus is innocent, and this crowd is nuts.  But if Herod does that the mob may turn their long simmering anger towards Herod against him and attempt to kill Herod on the spot.  So to appease the mob, He gives Jesus a royal robe, then has Jesus mocked and made fun of.  We add to the torture once more.  And to show deference back to Pilate, he sends Jesus back there to the only one with enough power to actually kill Jesus legally.  Herod knew what he was doing was wrong.  But Herod was less afraid of Jesus than he was of John before.  So away with Jesus.

Luke concludes the case study in verse 12 saying … “And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.”  And there it is.  Sin loving company.  Two men who before were at odds with each other are all of the sudden united in their participation of killing Jesus, and not setting Jesus free.  This sin made them appreciate the unity of committing it.  They took comfort in the idea that they were not alone in committing it.  And they became friends over it.  And there is the lesson for us.  Just because we find others who think as we do, or act as we do, does not make what we think or do right.  In fact, it is harder to find others who are willing to think rightly, or act rightly, than it is to find others doing the wrong things.  Sin is more popular in this world than real love of others. 

When we spread hate, we do the work of the demonic throng of unseen fallen angels.  And it does not matter who that hate is directed at.  When someone says “no” to hate, those who do not even recognize the influence of the unfallen usually respond with even more hate, and more unreasonable responses – just like the crowd of religious leaders did to Jesus so long ago.  Examine your own words, if they are full of condemnation, or accusation, gossip, or lies – they are not the words of redemption, they are the words inspired by the kingdom bent on our destruction.  They are the words of the enemy of Jesus.

Imagine the testimony scriptures would tell of Pilate, or Herod, had either one of them set Jesus free.  They may not have survived it, but they would be heroes of the faith, instead of villains.  Imagine if instead of lust leading to fornication or adultery, we ran and sought the solace of our God as Joseph did so long ago.  We too might suffer the injustice of prison and lose years of our lives to loneliness we did not deserve, for often the righteous are punished by the wicked of this world.  But following the plans of our God leads to marriages that last forever.  Unity not based in sin with another, but based in sacred intimacy with another allows us to lean on each other in His way, in His path.  It is only with a partner Jesus would ordain that we can keep strong the family Jesus meant us to have. 

To think that true unity with someone else exists outside of what Jesus proscribes just because that person is willing to commit sin with us is a lie.  That is not unity at all but the deception of darkness.  It makes us Pilate and Herod, not Peter and Paul.  To bind in His way, we must bind with one devoted to His way, not in the acts of sin, but in the deeds of righteousness.  Not in the base commonality of hate speech, but in the redemptive acts of love for others as Jesus loved.  When we honor our Lord in our thoughts, our motives, our speech, and our deeds – our lives give testimony to the transformation our Lord has enacted within us.  Let history say of us, we were Peter and Paul, not Herod and Pilate.

 

Selective Listening ...

Over the course of my career, I have discovered a phenomenon thru email I would have never imagined.  I have written a great many notes, with a certain intent, as far as I could determine clear direction, and nearly universally with a positive attitude and pleasant demeanor.  But, the readers of my correspondence had reactions I could have never predicted.  What I failed to recognize, is that while I may have been writing a note in a great mood, using light humor, and just thinking to myself how wonderful the sunshine is – my reader may not be reading my note in that same frame of mind.  For the reader, everything that day that could go wrong has gone wrong.  Problems at home having nothing to do with work.  Problems with the car getting to work.  And now, the aggravation of having to read some note, from some guy who is not getting to the point fast enough.  So my email recipient reads from an angry or frustrated point of view, which may have nothing to do with what I am saying, but having everything to do with how they read it, and often with what they read.  What my reader then takes from the note, is whatever they want to take from it.  Hearing what we want to hear, is what is called selective listening.

Most of us have done this at some point or another.  We are listening to someone talk to us about some subject or another, and we just seem to tune out.  We hear a few things, but rarely everything.  And we decide how we may feel about it, based on a number of factors, most of which have little to do with the content being shared.  Attitude plays a major role.  If you talk to me when I am consumed with anger, very few of your words are likely to get through.  It does not matter that something entirely different has made me mad (nothing to do with you), the problem is, when I am mad, I listen carefully a lot less.  The same holds true for being very excited, pleasantly or not.  What I failed to realize in an office setting is that this same phenomenon holds true whether in person to person talking, or person to person writing.  Of course none of try to do this, but we seem to just wind up there from time to time.  And hearing only some of what gets said, can leave out very important things.  Things that could change the meaning of what was said, or what is needed entirely.

Should you try to read the Bible with this kind of distraction, it can get ugly quick.  If you are like me, I have to read the same text over and over and over again in order to get back to some form of what it was truly trying to say.  I have to get “me” out of the way before scripture starts to make sense again.  And if you really want to have the Bible make sense, try reading it through the lens of Jesus Christ.  Look at how Jesus lived, how Jesus loved, how Jesus did so much for the benefit of others, and nothing for Himself.  And through that lens, entire stories, or commandments, start to look a lot different.  It may be impossible to get those pre-existing distractions completely out of the way before you start reading.  Perhaps the best remedy for that is a prayer, and a request for the Holy Spirit to get all that baggage out of the picture, and allow you to see what was written clearer, to get the message Jesus intends for you to get today.  And no, I do not believe it is selective listening to get a message intended for today from scripture, followed by getting a different one tomorrow, I call that growth, and being led.

But when we are determined to get what we want to get out of a conversation, or letter, we will do exactly that.  Even if others do not share our vision, and when they look objectively at the same conversation or letter as we do, they see things entirely differently, probably more truthfully.  But a preconception colors the outcome.  And when the preconceptions are dipped in evil, evil is the only path we have left open to us.  As an example, if I decide I want to kill my enemy for what I believe they have done to me.  I can read scripture and find texts and stories that will seem to support my desired actions.  Eye for an eye.  Eternal consequences.  Killing for God that is either ordered or seems justified.  If you come at this with a preconceived evil intent.  You will find your preconceptions validated (at least in your own mind).  And no amount of objective logic will ever turn you away.  The leaders of God’s own church fell victim to this.  They fell so hard, they wanted to kill God, rather than listen to Him.  They made a choice not to believe, and so believe they did not.

Luke tells us about a case of selective listening with the worst of evil intentions, in a group of religious leaders who should have been the farthest from that phenomenon that is possible to be.  Perhaps like we should be.  People of faith who should know better.  People with the right Bible who read it all the time who should know better.  People who were physically close to God, in the Temple back then, in His flesh back then, and in His Spirit today.  But despite all this, these religious leaders sought evil, and used evil to justify the killing of God, in order to preserve the name of God.  They would stamp out the life of Christ for the blasphemy they were committing.  It was twisted irony.  And it was this group of people to show Jesus we were not worth saving anyway.  Even the best of us, were so easily twisted to be this evil.  Even the folks with the most learning would do this.

Luke starts our case study in chapter 22 of his letter to his friend about what we believe and why, it picks up at the end of the chapter in verse 66 saying … “And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, [verse 67] Art thou the Christ? tell us …”  The trauma had started Thursday evening.  They found Jesus coming out of the Garden of Gethsemane late Thursday night, bleeding from His sweat, tired, exhausted, as if He had already been through World War 3.  He had.  He wrestled with His humanity, struggling with whether He could go through with it all.  And worst of all completely isolated from His Father while He carried the weight of all our sins.  It was at His weakest that Judas comes up with the betraying kiss, and soldiers grab Him taking Him away in the night.  It is daybreak now.  The soldiers have been mocking Jesus, and smacking Him around as if He were not already down and out.  Jesus is to be taken before a select council, no sympathizers of Jesus would be invited to this shindig.  This is a kangaroo court with a specific outcome already predetermined in the minds of the participants.

The question they ask Him is not about His answer, it is only about using His words to give them the justification they need to put Him to death.  They are listening to condemn Him, not to converse with Him.  Continuing in verse 67 Jesus answers saying … “… And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: [verse 68] And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.”  Jesus points out they are not really looking to know the answer to their question, for it is not a question, it is an accusation.  And Jesus further points out the ultimate destination of this supposed court will end in no other way than His own death, for it is only for that reason they are all assembled.  No one is looking for true justice.  Everyone there is looking for death, His death.  No argument will do it.  Nothing He can say.  They will not let Jesus go, they want Him dead no matter what.  But through all of this Jesus will not refuse to speak truth to them, even if it is the last thing He may ever say to them.

Jesus continues His response in verse 69 saying … “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”  This answer is a little tricky.  Jesus has prophesied about where the “Son of Man” will be seen or found.  He gives no timeline for it.  Other versions imply these men will see this upcoming event.  But the statement is a statement of fact.  And to associate Jesus as being the Son of Man, you would have to accept that in order to condemn Him for His answer.  But that would mean you believe Jesus is the Son of Man and therefore the Christ.  Jesus has not said that He was the Son of Man in this answer, only that in the future this is where the Son of Man will be found.  Then there is the dangerous part of this sentence of Jesus.  The right hand of the power of God, implies there will be no power that Jesus is restricted from having.  To condemn Him may bring with it, a war against a power, they have no chance at winning.  It may even be a self-death-sentence they are truly passing.  But to see this, or hear this, they would have to be of mind to listen to His words.  They were only listening for one thing.

Luke continues in verse 70 saying … “Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. [verse 71] And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.”  Selective listening.  Jesus says and I am quoting - “you” say that I am.  Talk about poking the bear.  Jesus essentially repeats the idea that they are angry enough to kill Him because deep down they know He really is the Son of God, but they refuse to accept it.  Jesus still did not actually state that He was the Son of God.  As pointed out earlier what good would it have done.  They would not have accepted it or believed it, just because He said it.  So those bent on His death now attempt to use words He said to make that happen.  What difference does it make that He may not have actually given them what they were looking for.  Other versions describe a great deal of frustration during this purported trial as previous witnesses would disagree with each other making it impossible to convict Him.  But Luke does not discuss that.  He zeroes in on how those bent on evil will find a way to do evil, no matter what is said or how it is said.

But I ask once again, are we any different.  We may not have been present at the sham trial to convict our Lord, but do we still read the scriptures with intent, with preconceptions, with a notion to do what we want to do instead of what Jesus would actually ask.  Do we ignore the life and ministry of Jesus, in order to create and promote a judgmentally based religion that makes me feel holy because you are less holy?  That makes me feel better about my sins, because I know your sins are worse?  Do we scorn and avoid forgiveness of each other while still craving the forgiveness of God?  People do sin against us.  It happens.  That is why they need forgiveness, and why we need to offer it.  To choose not to, because we are still mad or hurt about what they did, is to put chains on our own experience instead of embracing the freedom Jesus longs to offer us in the form of forgiveness itself.  What slight, what sin, what hurt, is worth throwing away your own life because of what someone else did to you?  And worse to take up a course of vengeance masquerading as justice, and try to use the Bible to justify what you want to do, is to become a member of that ancient Sanhedrin, a guest of honor at the murder of Jesus.  I would rather instead be uninvited to an event like that, wouldn’t you?  Better to forgive.  Better to read with a mind to be led.  Better to let go any preconception, and allow the Holy Spirit room to show you something new.