Power is everything (part 2)
March 1st, 2010 by David Entwistle Posted in Uncategorized
Jesus is all about power.
He hung around with prostitutes, touched people with leprosy, washed his disciples’ feet. But the first Christians didn’t tell everyone how nice he was. They told everyone how powerful he was. They said he was the ruler.
Paul to the Philippians: “He has been exalted to the highest place, and given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Ruler).”
It was this message that got the first Christians killed. They were saying Jesus was in charge, not Caesar. And one day he would come back, bring justice, and rule everything. He would reward right, punish wrong, vindicate the oppressed, destroy the oppressors. And it was pretty clear who that was going to be.
And if there’s one person you would want to have power, wouldn’t it be Jesus? Some people have a lot of power: dictators, CEOs, celebrities. Some people have none: the uneducated, the unemployed, the poor. And people without power always get a hard time from the people with.
But not any more. There’s only one person we can trust to care for the poor instead of exploiting them. And now that he has all the power – the power to protect and provide for the vulnerable, the power the punish the oppressors – he’s going to do it.
Love without power is useless; power without love is tyranny. That’s why it’s such great news that Jesus has the power. He’s the only one who’s loving enough to use the power for good, and powerful enough to make the world right.
