Hammer on Anvil '

A recent Lenten reading from Reliving the Passion was my inspiration for today's blog. To say it gave me food for thought is an understatement.

The reading was about when Jesus stood before the high priest Caiaphas, after Judas had betrayed Him. Caiaphas demanded to know if Jesus thought He was truly the Son of God -- the Messiah. And finally Jesus answers quietly, "I am. And you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:61-62). At this Caiaphas becomes dramatically indignant, tears his robes and accuses Jesus of blasphemy.

Walter Wangerin, the author of Reliving the Passion, focuses on an aspect of this scene that I had honestly never thought about. He wonders at how Jesus picks this time (of all times!) to publicly declare that He is the Messiah. "From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus charged those who experienced His power to say nothing about it."

True enough. The following are examples of Jesus telling people to be quiet about His identity:

• And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And He strictly ordered them not to make Him known (Mark 3:11-12).
• And they brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged Him to lay His hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one (Mark 7:32-36). 
•  And all were weeping and mourning for her, but He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand He called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And He directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened (Luke 8:52-56). 

In other words, says Wangerin, 

When He was at the height of His ministry (as the world assesses height, as the world assesses greatness), He demanded that no one say He was the "Christ." When He was dazzling crowds, confuting enemies, causing shepherds and lepers and kings to ask, "Who is this man?"; when masses were "astonished beyond measure, saying, 'He has done all things well, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak!"; even when Simon Peter explicitly confessed, "You are the Christ" -- Jesus commanded them "to tell no one about Him." Apparently none of this was the real work of the "Christ."

This is the part that got me:

The world might have expected a warrior-king, someone triumphant in its own terms. A winner, you know. A number-one, against-all-odds, pride-inspiring, tear-in-my-eye, flat-out, all-round, good-guy winner! A hero. Only when that characterization is rendered absurd and impossible does Jesus finally accept the title "Christ."

Only when all human ideals of who Jesus should be are hopelessly abandoned does Jesus claim, "I am." Not when He is being surrounded by crowds and everyone is oohing and aahing about His miracles, but when He is standing before Caiaphas. Beaten, stripped naked, and in chains.

My dear friends, we must remember that Jesus came not as a militant, in-your-face hero. He came to die. And He didn't come to die so that you could live in the lap of luxury and claim that He wants you to be rich. He is our example, and we are to follow in His footsteps. That's why Jesus says in Luke 9:23 that if anyone wants to come after Him, they must deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. We are to be identified with Him in His death if we hope to be united with Him in resurrection (Romans 6:5).

Proponents of the prosperity gospel are way off base, my friends. Don't believe their lies and get sucked into that abominable mind-set that Christians should have an abundance of material wealth. Search the Scriptures for yourself, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth.

In this holy season of Lent, may we all remember this:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Let us pick up our cross and follow Him.