Role Reversals
Luke 8:4-9
Think about it for a moment. If you knew nothing about all the stories of the Bible, especially the New Testament stories about Jesus, who would you expect to be the most enthusiastic and welcoming to the idea of God visiting planet earth? Who would be those most eager, expectant and longing for God to visit his people? Would it not be those who were the religious leaders? Wouldn’t it be those steeped in the Scriptures, which they memorized, and the great traditions of the faith they claimed to follow? Shouldn’t it have been those who claimed to love God and were most familiar with the prophets who foretold what God would do in sending his Messiah?
Conversely, who would you least expect to welcome God’s arrival in the person of his Son? I would think that notorious rebels and sinners would head the list. I would certainly think that truly evil people filled with demons would have done all they could to oppose, attack and seek to destroy him.
If you thought about it, before you actually read what happened, you would probably expect that those who knew Scripture best and claimed to love and follow God most closely would be exuberant about the idea of God’s Messiah finally arriving, and those who appeared to be in rebellion against God would be hostile to his arrival. But you would be wrong. As I keep reading the Gospel stories about what really happened, I keep being shocked by the role reversals I read about there. In point of fact, it is sinners who seem to welcome Jesus most, while the religious leaders are not just un-welcoming and unbelieving, but actually oppose him and even plot his death. How can this be?
I’m always surprised by who “got it” in the stories of Jesus’ life and teaching and who didn’t “get it.” From the start we are confused about some foreign astrologers who arrive from distant lands and different religions, but who seem to be aware of what God is doing in the world by sending his King into it, while those in Jerusalem, who should know, are clueless. These foreigners travel a long distance to bring gifts. They actually come and worship. How is it that they are better at reading stars than the priests are at reading Scripture? And then there are shepherds, pretty much the nobodies of the culture, but angels come and announce the arrival of the Messiah, and they come to worship as well. I’ve always wondered why the angels did not announce the arrival of the Messiah to the High Priest, or the religious hierarchy of the day. Is it possible it would not have done any good? No one from the religious establishment ever visits Bethlehem. They do not even notice Jesus until his parents bring him to the Temple at age twelve, and even though they are impressed with his understanding, they seem to ignore him until he inaugurates his public ministry. Then the trouble begins.
It concerns me greatly since I am a religious leader. This calls for humility, introspection and honesty. As a religious leader who has felt the sting of sin and hypocrisy in my own life, it calls for diligence and self awareness. Sometimes being involved in the role of the church can get in the way of one’s relationship with God. Religion can become a substitute, or even the enemy of God. You make assumptions about yourself that are not true. And I have known enough bishops, theologians and religious scholars who have been enemies of the Gospel of Christ to make me very wary. It makes you wonder if Christ tried to come again today, as he did two thousand years ago, where the church would actually stand? I suspect it may not be too different, because God never comes the way we expect. He doesn’t look like we want him to look, say what we think he should say, or do what we want him to do.
So as we read the Gospel accounts we constantly read about the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus and turn him over to the political authorities. They try to discredit him, they plot against him. The Bible says, “Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him” (Luke 19:47). On the other hand, the Bible says the sinners “listened to him with delight” (Mark 12:37), and “hung on his words” (Luke 19:48). Role reversal. I would have expected that it would be sinners who would hate him. Weren’t they living in rebellion against God? Wasn’t it they who hated rules and people telling them what to do, even if it was God? But they were shocked that God’s Messiah was not like what they expected. He was not judgmental and condemning like the religious leaders. He talked of God’s love and forgiveness and reconciliation. Prostitutes gave up their old profession to become Jesus’ disciples, finding wholeness, self-respect and new life. It was not the Scribes, but a sinful Samaritan woman who believed he was the Messiah. The Samaritans believed in him and asked him to stay with them, while the people in his hometown of Nazareth did not believe and tried to kill him by throwing him off a cliff. Sinners hung on his words, wanted to be near him and washed his feet with their tears (Luke 7:38). Tax collectors willingly became honest in their dealings.
I was reading two stories in the Gospel of Luke the other day. One was the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus wanting to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. And Jesus did a quick run through of the commandments. But the man said he had kept them all since he was a child. He was a righteous, religious guy. But then Jesus said, “Well and good, but you still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). This brought the young man to a sudden halt because he had a lot of possessions, and he just quietly walked away from Jesus.
But in the very next chapter we find the story of Zacchaeus, a very sinful and devious tax collector whom everyone hated. He was wealthy too, because he was a chief tax collector. But Jesus is passing by Jericho and Zacchaeus very much wants to see him. Jesus shocks everyone when he asks if he can stay at Zacchaeus’ house. (Good people did not stay at the homes of notorious sinners.) There is no lecture from Jesus about Zacchaeus business practices or the commandments, and it says that Zacchaeus welcomed him gladly. And then Luke writes, “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount’. Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost’” (Luke 19:8-10). Now that is very interesting. Jesus never asked Zacchaeus to give up anything. It was all Zacchaeus’ idea. That speaks of a change of heart. Old sinful Zacchaeus “got it” when the good, religious, rule-keeping guy did not. The religious guy would not give up his possessions when asked by Jesus to do so, and the sinful guy gave them up and without being asked. Role reversal.
Again, the religious crowd had such fixed ideas of what the Messiah would be like and do. It is appalling that the religious leaders of the day went so far as to say that Jesus was actually the devil. The Bible says, “And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons’” (Mark 3:22). Dennis Kinlaw observes: “They said he had a demon! Isn’t it interesting that we can meet God and think we have met the devil? And some in the world can meet the devil and think he is God?” Role reversal.
Now think of the man possessed by a legion of demons and listen to what he says. Luke tells the story: “They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’” (Luke 8:26-28). We are shocked that these are always the kinds of things the demon possessed people say about Jesus. In fact, the clearest statements we have about the deity of Christ come from them. The Bible says, “Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ” (Luke 4:41). They are always submissive and reverent, never threatening or attacking him. Mary Magdalene who had seven demons became a disciple of Jesus (Luke 8:2). Role reversal.
Another rather puzzling group of people in their response to Jesus are the Roman soldiers. Yes, they can be cruel. They have no problem carrying out orders to flog and crucify people — even Jesus. They mock him, beat him and spit on him. They obey orders like millions of soldiers after them — for good or ill. But what is surprising is their response to Jesus during his public ministry. Even as early as the ministry of John the Baptist, when John told people to repent, it says that soldiers came and asked him, “What should we do?” I don’t remember the Pharisees asking that question. The Gospel of Matthew tells this story: “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will go and heal him.’ The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,”’ and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’” (Matthew 8:5-10). And other soldier narratives could be cited. It was at the crucifixion that Matthew writes, “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54). No religious leader came even close to a declaration of faith like that. Role reversal.
Even Pilate, who had the most to lose, proclaimed Jesus innocent and tried to release him. The Bible says, “Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ For the third time he spoke to them: ‘Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him” (Luke 23:20-22). Pilate’s wife also tried to get Jesus released. Pretty amazing when you think about it. He could have easily given into their demands, satisfied them and convinced Rome he was dealing effectively with revolutionaries.
Who else didn’t “get it”? Astonishingly, the disciples. Sometimes they do, but they often turn children and people away from Jesus. They never seem to get the idea of his coming suffering, death, and certainly the resurrection – even when he repeatedly explains what is coming. Several times we read things like this: “But they [the disciples] did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it” (Luke 9:45). On another occasion the Bible says, “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’... From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:60-66). “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind’” (John 9:39). Role reversal.
So what is the “take away” in all this? Two things really. The first is, never be too sure you know who is “lost”. They may be more “found” than you think. The second is, never be too sure you know who is “found,” especially when it comes to yourself. Humility, self-examination and honesty are always the order of the day. You may be surprised that some whom you consider lost may be more found than you. Both heaven and hell will contain great surprises.
A wonderful story of a religious leader who really does “get it” is the new Pontiff of Rome, Pope Francis. It is the story of role fulfillment. One reporter wrote: “Last night, in a break from tradition the Pope, Pope Francis, did not celebrate what is called ‘The Mass of the Lord’s Supper’ in St. Peter’s Basilica. Instead, he spent Holy Thursday at Casa del Marmo, a juvenile detention center in Rome. Rather than washing the feet of retired priests, he chose to wash the feet of young criminal offenders. His decision, which as one commenter put it, ‘turned Vatican protocol on its head’ is in keeping with his own tradition of spending Holy Thursday ‘in a prison, hospital or hospice for the poor or marginalized.” The prisoners included women and people of other faiths. He did not worry about who was lost or who was found. He did not categorize people into those who were in and those who were out. How wonderful to see someone actually imitate what the humble Christ does who simply came to seek and save the lost.
My prayer is that I will “get it”, practice it and live it. It is my prayer for you as well.
Rodney J. Buchanan
April 21, 2013
Amity United Methodist Church
rodbuchanan2000@yahoo.com
