Authority

John 7

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” (John 7)

The chief priests and Pharisees had sent officers of the temple police to arrest Jesus. I am sure that the charge would have been blasphemy, a crime punishable by death by stoning. But as you can read, the police came back empty-handed.

Why were these leaders of our faith so hostile to Jesus? Why did they feel so threatened by him? Why would they go so far as to say that those who listened to Jesus were “accursed?”

Let me try to answer that for you. I’m sure that you, reading so long after these events, might not sense the serious nature of what was happening. Actually, my hope for you is that by your time, those in positions of authority will act with more of a sense of equity and with more regard to the value of each person, regardless of pedigree.

Oh, and who am I? I am an officer of the temple police, given the authority to arrest and detain, under the instructions of our elders and chief priests. I was one of those sent to arrest Jesus.

As you might imagine, I am a firm believer in authority. I believe everyone needs to respect those in positions of leadership. Without it, our lives would be little more than constant chaos. So, once I was ordered to arrest Jesus of Nazareth, I fully expected to carry out my orders.

But before I explain why I did not, let me give you some background.

In our day, we live under two sets of laws. First of all, are the laws of Rome. We did not ask for these laws and we very much resent the authority of the Roman legion that occupies our land. But if we violate that authority, the punishments are, as you might imagine, severe.

Then, there are the laws of our faith, as spelled out in the Torah. These laws have been with us for many generations and they are held as sacred by our people. Their authority comes from our YHWH God himself and they cannot be questioned. Our structure of priests, elders, councils and Pharisees all guard their authority as keepers of these laws. And our scribes are meticulous in interpreting them in countless real-life situations.

As you probably know, it didn’t take long for Jesus to run afoul of our laws. Any work on the Sabbath was prohibited (with a few extreme exceptions). So, what did Jesus do? He healed on the Sabbath, his disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath, and they all were guilty of not washing before a meal.

While those were not major infractions, they did put our leaders on notice. And the responses of Jesus to their authority seemed to threaten their positions, which were closely guarded. In fact, Jesus claimed that he took instructions from his “father” and not from them! What’s more, he called out their hypocrisy, instructing his disciples to follow what the Pharisees said, but not what they did.

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’s seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it, but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” (Matthew 23)

Can you even imagine their reaction to him? And as time went on, Jesus became even bolder. Entering the temple during Passover week, he turned over the tables of the money changers and drove out all who did business on temple grounds. Again, the authority of our leaders was threatened by this uncredentialed rabbi from Galilee. And worse, in public, for all to witness.

Expulsion of the Money Changers

Giotto

That’s when the questions started, as they confronted Jesus.

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21)

And so began a game of cat and mouse, as the increasingly alarmed leaders grew more and more hostile, and as they unsuccessfully tried to catch Jesus in a trap of open defiance.

But it isn’t just about what Jesus did and what he said. It’s more, much, much more. Because, as I reflect on Jesus, and the hate expressed from our religious leaders, it is clear that they despised him most of all simply because of who he was. Let me explain.

First you must understand the power of our religious leaders, the elders, Pharisees, scribes and others, including, of course, the priests. Those who hold those positions of power protect them jealously, even passing them down from father to son. In addition, wealth has accrued to them, so that they also exert economic influence in addition to ecclesial authority. 

All of this is centered on the temple, which is, in our faith, the literal dwelling place of our YHWH God. And since the temple resides in Jerusalem, our entire power structure is based here. Any activity or movement outside of the holy city is regarded as inferior to what happens here. And if such activity or movement gains popular support, it is seen as a threat to the authority of Jerusalem’s leadership.

Jesus, unfortunately, stepped into this system of authority as a complete outsider. First of all, he was not of a prominent family, as are our established leaders. Actually, he was from Galilee, a place viewed as a backwater, far from Jerusalem. He had no education, no pedigree, and he was poor, basically an itinerant rabbi. Some have even questioned who might be his father. In a patriarchal culture like ours, not having an identifiable father is a very serious charge.

Honestly, I cannot imagine how Jesus could possibly be more outside the accepted boundaries of leadership in our Jewish faith. So perhaps you can understand why he was so often questioned about the source of his authority. And maybe you can also understand why his response was so appalling to our leaders.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28)

So, back to the question of why we did not arrest Jesus. By all accounts we should have, and we risked censure (or worse) from those who sent us.

There were three of us, sent to arrest Jesus, not knowing how he would react, nor knowing about the reaction of the crowd. We assumed that it could become violent.

Really, there was no opportune time. In their haste, our leaders sent us into a crowd, mostly Jesus supporters. Perhaps they should have waited; in fact, on their second attempt, they did wait until several days later, when they were able to arrest Jesus, with no crowd, and at night.

So, for a while, we listened, seeking an opening and perhaps waiting until Jesus finished. Maybe then, the crowd might disperse. But with the frenzied words of our leaders ringing in our ears, we knew that we couldn’t wait too long.

We talked it over among ourselves.

“I don’t see how we can do this, short of a riot,” I offered. “I know that we must act, but personally, I don’t wish to be at fault for causing violence, especially since Roman officers are also present. They will surely come down hard to prevent an uprising.”

My companion officers agreed. From one: “Anyway, I really like what Jesus is saying. I know we have a job to do, but for me, I’d like to hear more of what he has to say.”

“So do I,” I responded. “I don’t understand what they find so objectionable about Jesus. I’ve heard that he has given sight to a man born blind, and that he has even raised someone from the dead. Maybe he is worth listening to.”

“What should we do?” asked the other officer. “If we come back empty-handed, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

We decided that we had no choice but to return to our leaders without Jesus. And yes, you can read how they raged at us. I don’t know what would have happened had Nicodemus not spoken up. He really saved our skins, and I must thank him for that.

And what happened next? I’m sure you know. I was not with the party who arrested Jesus several nights later. Our leaders clearly no longer trusted me to carry out their orders. But in the meantime, I listened more to what Jesus had to say. And I found myself deeply attracted, even to the point of aligning myself with his followers. My fellow officers did the same.

Was the arrest and execution of Jesus, several days later, within the law? Was the authority of the law, and of those who are our leaders, respected as they should have been? Or was the law misused, frankly, to satisfy the hatred of those in authority? All of that gave me much to ponder.

I mean, could I go against the authority of my superiors?

Perhaps I came to believe in a third law. Not the law of the Romans, and not the distorted law of our religious leaders, but actually, a law faithful to the original intent of our Torah, a law that Jesus himself respected as given by his father.

And so, I joined the disciples of Jesus, Peter, John and the others. And surprisingly, I began to speak out for the Risen Christ. I did so knowingly, understanding that those who arrested and saw to the death of Jesus could come after me as well. They would use the law as a weapon against me, just as they did against Jesus.

And so, they ordered us to stop. You can read about that in your Bible, the book of Acts.

“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” (Acts 5)

Where is this going? Will I get in trouble? Will I be arrested? I don’t know. All I do know is that I must speak. Remaining silent about Jesus is something that I cannot do. I just can’t. Then what is left for me to do but to be faithful to him and him alone?

Isn’t it strange? I mean, God has chosen me, a person who has respected authority all my life, and who has obeyed without question, to choose to follow someone who was arrested and executed by that very same authority.

My hope for you, in your time, is that you’ll never need to make such a choice. But if you do, I hope you will follow your heart to Jesus, as I did. I have never looked back and hope that you do not as well.

P.S. Before, I was a respected officer of the temple. No longer. Now, I am an outsider, just like Jesus. And you know what? If following Jesus means we must be outsiders, then count me in!