And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
Mark 3:22
The new person or thing always gets attacked. At first, everyone wants to learn about it. It used to be cell phones, then the internet. As I write these words, the new things are electric vehicles (EV’s), cryptocurrencies, NFT’s, and the metauniverse.
Tomorrow, who knows what it’s going to be. And whenever someone or something new comes along, the world quickly gets split into those who think it’s a good idea and those who attack it and want nothing more than to crush it like a bug.
I recently posted something about my Tesla on social media. I was really surprised about how many people were so outraged and negative about EV’s. Not to be too sensitive, they accused me of everything from destroying the planet to being a Communist sympathizer. Something similar happened to Jesus.
Jesus had stirred up the spiritual landscape. He came out of nowhere, from a place that had a really, really, bad reputation. He had none of the normal qualifications; he didn’t have diplomas from any of the local or national schools, he wasn’t recognized by any of the big names of his day. He didn’t even have any financial backing.
And yet, this Jesus was attracting lots of attention and crowds. People were willing to drop everything just so they could hear him[1], see him[2], touch the hem of his cloths[3]. No one had attracted this kind of attention before, so the leaders of the day wanted to find out who this guy was and what he was doing in order to control him. And if they couldn’t do that, they’d attack and destroy him.
They didn’t go after what he said, or even what he did. Because they didn’t understand him, couldn’t use or control him, they tried to smear him, his name, and his reputation through association. They said that Jesus could not be trusted or believed because of who his secret friends and coworkers were, his leader behind the scenes.
But it’s worse. They spread the unbelievable dirty and hateful accusation of being part of Satan’s plan and army. They started and grew the rumor that he was demon possessed and was being used by the prince of demons.
Without saying another word, they were able to label Jesus not just as being evil, but their rumor would totally destroy his claims about being God’s anointed and special messenger, the son of God, and God the son.
Now that’s being attacked. Do you remember the last time you were attacked? How’d it make you feel?
Thinking back on the times that I’ve been attacked, they were all different, all unique, had different twists and turns. But there was one common thing about how they made me feel.
Alone. No one else was going through what I was going through. No one else could understand. And because no one could help, I was out there all alone against this seen and unseen enemy.
And when I let myself feel this way, the enemy had won. By myself there was no way that I could stand against the flood of attacks and overwhelming fear that was about to drown me and my emotions.
But that’s not how we’re supposed to respond. That’s not the right road to recovery and restoration. As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite of how we’re made.
We need to immediately turn to God with a cry for help and strength. No matter who or what it is, it’s going to be bigger, stronger, faster, smarter than we are. They’re like a giant wave that’s crashing over our heads, burying us under tons of water.
The only thing to do, our only hope, is to turn to God.
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
God was faithful to Jesus. He’s been faithful to us in times past, and will be faithful today, and tomorrow. Actually, turning to God is the only reasonable, logical thing to do. He has all the power, knowledge, and smarts to defeat our enemies. We’re way too weak. We don’t see the whole picture.
But God does. And he’s ready to save. He’s mighty to save. He’s willing to save. All he’s waiting for is the invitation to save.
Starting today, when attacked, let’s start to immediately ask him to save and protect us. And you know what? That’s one prayer he’s always ready to hear and respond to.
Comments