Title: Established People / Luke 20:1-8
The more chaotic society, the more people demand fresh leaders. The more people are dissatisfied with reality, the more they demand a leader capable of solving difficulties. In Japan, the Koizumi government of the Liberal Democratic Party was once again launched through this election. Everyone waited for a new person, but they didn't find much hope, and they elected the LDP members because they thought they were the best among them, but it seems that the citizens' expectations have already been lost.
That's right. the incumbents. They never want to let go of the power they've had since ancient times.
In order not to let go of the vested interests, we saw the vested interests as the 85-year-old former Prime Minister Nakasone endured until the end and was eventually forced to retire from politics.
But this story also existed in the days of Jesus. It was the religious and political establishment of the time. The high priests, scribes, and elders were very dissatisfied with the new Jesus. Moreover, after the event in which Jesus cleansed the temple in Luke 19, their discontent seemed to soar to the sky.
1. The dissatisfaction of the established interests.
The vested interests only want to maintain the power they already have for ever and ever. So, once people take power, they don't want to let it go. It is this kind of power that we want to do again even if we change the constitution. Entrepreneurs never give to others what they have worked so hard for. Either way, he wants to pass it on to his children. As a result, the younger generations who inherited the business without sweating could not do well. It is because of these vested interests that Korean companies cannot pass the third generation.
As a result, the companies did not have the strength to overcome the continuing recession, so they came to invite professional managers to be the presidents of their companies. A prime example of this is Nissan.
A young man in his 40s named Carlos Gawson was invited as the CEO of the company. In the midst of a prolonged recession in the 1990s, Nissan recently suffered its biggest loss and was in crisis. In the meantime, in 1999, it worked with Renault to cut 8,800 jobs, which is considered a 'shocking' restructuring in the Japanese climate, and is said to have succeeded in revitalization. An important factor that brought the company back to life, which had been collapsing, was the fact that he deprived those in power. Restructuring is often referred to as such.
That's right. The vested interests are those who do not play a special role and are thoroughly caring for their interests. They eventually destroy the community.
What do those who lose their vested interests do from there? They begin to harbor resentment. He sees eventually destroying everything.
After Jesus cleansed the temple, what did the religious establishment chief priests and scribes do? In Luke 19:47, we read, “As Jesus was teaching in the temple daily, the chief priests and the scribes and the heads of the people plotted to kill him.”
We know that the dissatisfaction of those incumbents leads to a detailed plan to kill Jesus, who seems to be the new reformer, in the end, and Jesus is crucified by their hands.
Dear saints!
In any community, there are vested interests. Those incumbents are old people. These are people who prefer to sit in a position to be served rather than to serve. Even if you stand still, others should recognize you. You have to admit it. When there are many such people in any community, the community begins to stagnate and eventually rot. They hate reform. They just say it's good this way. And when they touch their vested interests, they begin to unleash their powers, plan evil things, and eventually destroy everything.
Even within the church, there are such established establishments and it is a big deal. The church should give these vested rights to new members. That way, the new members feel a sense of belonging. It also makes you feel responsible.
In today's text, such established rulers come to Jesus and ask questions as if they were arguing. Verse 2 says, “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things, and who gave you this authority.”
Who gave you this authority? In other words, it is their job to teach the people, but who the hell told you to teach? is a protest.
2. Characteristics of the establishment.
What are the characteristics of the vested interests in today's text? They simply cannot acknowledge Jesus. You cannot accept what Jesus is teaching the people, and you must stop right away.
Their lack of recognition of authority is characteristic of them.
Former Prime Minister Nakasone replaced Prime Minister Koizumi's disappointment that he had no choice but to announce his political retirement because of Prime Minister Koizumi during a lecture at the Japan Journalists' Club on November 7th. He said, "Prime Minister Koizumi has no depth in national image, ideology, philosophy, etc." "It is a style that focuses on one thing by raising approval ratings. It focuses on the privatization of the Road Corporation and the Postal Service, but a general discussion is important before that. “He criticized it.
At the same time, former Prime Minister Nakasone said that he knew that Prime Minister Koizumi made an exception to the retirement age and allowed proportional representation to him. You can see the analogy to '. In other words, we see the logic of saying that one is good and the other is evil.
This is exactly the case with the chief priests and scribes. Their characteristic is that they do not admit it.
They do not acknowledge the authority of Jesus. And criticize.
Guys, we shouldn't be like this. David was being pursued by Saul, but when he was hiding in the cave of En-gedi, Saul just came in. Saul was exhausted from chasing David, and as soon as he entered, he fell into a deep sleep. But what do David's warriors who were watching in the cave say? This is a heaven-given opportunity. God has placed the enemy into your hands. What was David's answer to that? 1 Samuel 24:6 "I said to his men, "The LORD forbids me to stretch out my hand against my lord, the LORD's anointed, for he is the LORD's anointed." It is said that he was in pain. David acknowledged Saul's authority even though he was being pursued by Saul for no reason. He confessed that God had given him that authority. We believe that we should imitate David's faith.
3. Contradictions of the vested interests.
Today, when Jesus was challenged by the chief priests, scribes, and elders about his authority, what did Jesus answer? no! Instead of answering, Jesus is answering them by asking them another question.
That is, the question is, "Is John's baptism of heaven or of man?" At the unexpected question that Jesus suddenly posed, the established authorities are suddenly perplexed.
At that time, John the Baptist was recognized and followed as a prophet of God by all the people, but only the priests did not recognize John the Baptist. They were the ones who recognized no one but themselves. In other words, they were conflicting between reality and their own stubbornness. Jesus is giving a tip to the established rulers who have fallen into this self-obstinacy.
They cannot say that it came from this man John the Baptist. Because many people already believe that John the Baptist was sent by God, they could not ignore the people. People who live consciously of people will eventually perish. Pontius Pilate was a man conscious man. Even though he knew that Jesus was innocent, he was conscious of the people and if Jesus released him without sin, the people would riot, so they were conscious of people and crucified Jesus.
Therefore, in a situation where all the people believed that John the Baptist came from heaven, they could not say that John the Baptist was not a prophet, conscious of people's gaze.
They could not even say that they had come to heaven, because if they did, their position would be in trouble. Because they had not recognized John the Baptist until now. So their answer was "I don't know".
They had fallen into their own contradictions.
That's right. Those in power, those who emphasize only their own stubbornness, eventually fall into their own schemes and end up being unable to do this or that.
dear saints
What happened as a result?
Even Jesus said he would not teach them where his authority came from. What can we feel here? God's grace is given to those who acknowledge, accept, and acknowledge God.
We believe that the authority of Jesus is our authority to those who acknowledge and accept that authority.
No matter how much God tries to give us grace, God never gives grace to those who do not acknowledge it. The Lord says in Matthew 7:6, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.”
God does not give grace in vain.
Therefore, when we acknowledge the Lord and receive Him, God's work takes place in it.
So when Jesus sent out his disciples two by two, Luke 10:10-11, "If any town you enter does not welcome you, go out into that street and say, "I also shake off the dust from our feet in your town." But know that the kingdom of God is at hand."
That's right. Even when preaching the gospel, he told those who did not accept it and refused to shake off the dust from their feet. In the villages that did not believe in and accept Jesus, we can see that even Jesus did not perform any miracles.
Dear saints!
Do you want to be favored? Do you want to receive the power of the Lord? Do you want the problem to be resolved? The Bible says Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
God's grace is for those who are prepared. It is a grace given to those who believe and accept God.
God gives grace in the prepared vessel. If you turn the bowl upside down, you won't receive anything.
If those incumbents had given up their vested interests and acknowledged and accepted the Lord's authority, the way of salvation would have been open to them as well. If you are in a position where you have been given such vested interests, please put them down immediately. That way you can live. Only then can you abide in grace. Only then can you fully receive and enjoy the blessings the Lord gives you. I pray that you will become believers who live by acknowledging God in all things through faith.