Scripture/Bible: After this Jesus went
about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to
kill him. 2 Now the Jews' feast of
Tabernacles was at hand. But after his brothers had
gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. Some of the people of
Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly,
and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that
this is the Christ? 27 Yet we know where this man
comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes
from." 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he
taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I
have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not
know. 29 I know him, for I come
from him, and he sent me." 30 So they sought to arrest
him; but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30
Reflection: The
pressure of being attacked by an enemy can even make the strongest of
individuals to recoil or get stressful.
Death is a reality that can make many churn.
The
Jews were seeking to kill him and for what. What wrong did he do to them? Was
it religious fundamentalism or was it jealousy or could it be insecurity?
Sacred
ministry and popularity can bring with it its own forms of jealousy and hate
and insecurity.
Though
Jesus had not done the Jews any harm nor did he proclaim an ideology of hate or
hatred towards anyone yet the Jews saw him as a threat. The very presence of Jesus in their midst
made them insecure.
What
then could be the probable and key reason why the Jews sought to kill him?
One
needs to understand sinful human nature.
We seek our securities or make ourselves comfortable in what we like,
have and are comfortable holding on to and then seek for the more. Personal achievements, brilliance and
knowledge and beauty also make us feel accepted and secure.
One
of the things we hold on to is our pet ideas, philosophies and ideologies and
thinking; I have an opinion about things and on particular aspects of life. We judge, analyze and evaluate others through a
prism of thinking or mind set. When
someone comes and disturbs these pet ideas, with which we identify with, then
we can become insecure, defensive and or even go on the offensive and become
abusive.
Just
as building requires a foundation and the creeper a support, likewise human
nature needs something to hold on as a security. If this security is not rooted in Christ then
they have an eternity to loose and in this existence we could look at every
affront to our thinking as threat. Those who carry a different opinion and grow
in popularity or number can also become an affront or a threat to the old order.
Worst is when newness is not of Christ then it will keep building up and
growing in cyclical fashion with old and new in constant movements.
Thus
it should be like the prayer of Psalmist: “I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I
shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body
also dwells secure.” Ps 16:8-9
Prayer: he who listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of evil." Prov. 1:33
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