I have certainly been part of churches where someone like
Absalom arose to attempt to steal the hearts of the people. I have seen in happen in churches where I was
a staff member and I have seen it with subordinates in the church I serve as
senior pastor. It is painful and always
ends badly one way or another. Absalom made
himself available, first thing in the morning, to anyone who walked through the
gate of the city to assist them. He was
obsequious in his manner towards all and sundry in order to curry favor but
also to make David look inaccessible. Church
splits are frequently the result of this very behavior. Absalom ultimately got critical mass of
support and went out and proclaimed himself king with many in his train. David realizes too late what has happened and
can do nothing more than flee. David failed
to keep an eye on Absalom and trusted him when he knew he could not. In the church it is easy to do the same and
fail to call that person into account. The
real issue is that the person is collecting people for their own purposes and
not attaching them to Jesus.
By this point, the disciples knew better than to challenge
Jesus when He predicted His death. They didn’t
understand it, it didn’t fit with their eschatology, but they were unwilling to
ask or question Him on the matter any longer after Peter was so profoundly
chastised. James and John don’t directly
challenge the issue, they ignore it and ask for special favor to be on the
right and left of Jesus when He ascends to the throne. It is hard to imagine the presumption and gall
of these two disciples in making this request.
It would have been breathtaking to hear it from Jesus’ perspective and
in retrospect you have to believe the two disciples themselves were heartily ashamed
of themselves. No wonder the others were
indignant. Can we ever get to a place
where we are truly serving for the sake of others rather than for what it might
ultimately do for us?
Paul’s submission to the Jerusalem elders caused him to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time. He
was in the temple with the four men who had taken the vow and Jews from Asia
came accusing him of speaking against the Jews, the law and temple and of
taking Greeks into the temple, flaunting his disregard for that place. That this was untrue no longer mattered, the crowd
had become a mob, enflamed against Paul in the same way they had turned on
Jesus. Fortunately for Paul, while they
were beating him the Roman soldiers came to stop the madness. We should never seek to be popular, only to
be obedient. Paul certainly knew that
truth and it cost him dearly time after time.
In the end, however, he is a true hero of the faith.
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