Mark Chapter 11: Verse 18 (NIV-UK)
The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
Many of those who held positions of authority in Jesus’ day did not like Him. He exposed hypocrisy and spoke with proper authority and with clarity. He explained that there was a way for everyone to come into a relationship with God the Father, so He broke the barriers that suggested these in authority were elite or special. What struck me in this verse is that Mark tells us that the chief priests and leaders feared Him. They couldn’t perhaps have fully explained why, but deep within they recognised the holiness and authority that they lacked. But acknowledging that would mean that they too would have to make changes in their attitudes and in the way they lived. They were not prepared to do so. Thus, because He threatened their way of life, it seemed they felt they had only one course of action and that was to get rid of Him permanently.
Sometimes people will take a dislike to us that we can’t fully explain. It may be because they feel threatened by the way we conduct ourselves, and perhaps, if we are genuinely doing our best to live as ambassadors for Jesus, they don’t like that either. If we are doing so, we don’t always even have to say anything. If we allow God’s Holy Spirit to move through us, His very presence in and on our lives can make people uncomfortable if they are not living as they should. I remember hearing a story about the preacher Smith Wigglesworth who was simply sitting on a train. The only other person in the carriage told him. “Your presence convicts me of sin”. But it was not Smith Wigglesworth, it was the presence of God that he carried.
That same presence was the very thing that drew, and still draws people who want to put their lives right with God, and Jesus will never turn them away. But He does expect us to change with His help. Sadly, most of the scribes and pharisees were not prepared to, and likewise so today are many people. But plenty will be drawn to Him, even through our example, as long as we do as He bids.
Dear Lord,
Even though You are holy I am grateful that through Jesus I am invited to be a part of Your family. Sometimes I recognise that You say things that I find difficult to hear because I am not living as I should. When that happens help me to put things right rather than to feel threatened and to stay away from Your presence. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.