Don’t Fear People
We've been talking about Judas betraying Jesus this week, but remember, it wasn't just Judas involved in this little plot. It was the Jewish leaders too.
These were men who were meant to be trustworthy leaders of the people - but look at what Luke wrote about them in verse 2: "The chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people." (Luke 22:2)
They were afraid that the followers of Jesus were going to make Him King. They were afraid that if Jesus became King of Israel, it would ruin everything!
We can't let Jesus take the throne - they thought. We need to get rid of Him. He's got too great an influence on the people. So, if we can get rid of Him, His values will die with Him - the people will calm down and become normal Jews again.
The Fear of Man's Opinion
Some people walk away from Jesus because they fear people. They think: what will people think of me if I become one of those Jesus freaks?
When we were growing up one of the great Christian songs was by DC Talk: it said:
What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus Freak?
What will people do when they find that it's true?
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak
There ain't no disguising the truth
How about you? Maybe you fear what people think of you. Maybe you quite like coming to church because of some nice music and some nice people – but you wouldn't want to really commit to Jesus. Because then your family and your colleagues and your friends might look at you differently, and you like the life you have.
Judas went to the chief priests and teachers because he knew: they'll never follow Jesus. Their reputations mean too much to them! They care too much about what people think!
So betraying Jesus was easy.
I don't want to betray Jesus by caring more about the crowds than about His truth.
Refusing to Withhold Your Reputation
John Wesley was kicked out of the Anglican church in the 1700s because he preached the gospel truth instead of the tradition of the church.
His friend George Whitefield told him to start preaching in the fields of England, but this was seen by the Christian society as a terrible thing to do. So he refused - for a while. But some time later he came around to this idea that he could preach to the masses in fields instead of churches, and he started to do it.
A friend was upset by this, and came to him and tried to talk him out of it because it would affect his standing in society.
But Wesley replied: "When I gave my all to God, I did not withhold my reputation."
Let's get honest with ourselves. Have we withheld from God our reputation? The chief priests and the teachers cared more about their position, their status, the people's opinions - than truth itself. So they got rid of Jesus.
We too can 'get rid of Jesus' in our own lives. Keep the Bible closed. Never pray. Hold onto our sin. Embrace all the same stuff everybody else does. Retain our standing.
OR: we can stick like glue to Jesus, and find life, and love, and peace and joy, even if we lose our reputation.
The religious leaders were scared of the people, and so they sent Jesus to his death. Not so John Wesley, who did not withhold his reputation when he gave His all to God.