Whose Will?

Whose Will?

Mark 14:32-36

            “Never confuse the will of the majority with the will of God”

We’ve just passed Palm Sunday.  Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter are approaching.  I mention them all because the above quote applies to all—and to each one individually.

            On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem.  He rode on a donkey, a sign of peace; but the crowd didn’t see it that way.  When people spread their coats and palm branches on the ground, they were proclaiming him the conquering King, the one who had come to free them from Roman rule. 

            We cannot imagine how oppressive the Roman Empire was.  Someone has said that the influence of the Empire can be felt on every page of the New Testament.  Nothing we know is as pervasive.  For the Jewish people freedom from Rome meant freedom to live and breathe.  In Jesus, who had demonstrated his power by healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons—as well as standing up to their own religious leaders—they saw One who could cast out what was for them the ultimate demon—Rome.

            The will of the majority was for Jesus to conquer Rome.  That was not God’s will.

            On Holy Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his closest followers.  It was their will that Jesus not only overthrow the double tyranny of Rome and the Jewish religious leaders, but install the disciples as the new authorities.  This is why they argued behind Jesus’ back about who was the greatest.  They would rule.  They would decide who got voted in and who got voted out.  They would occupy the thrones nearest to Jesus in his glory.

            Jesus knew this vision was wrong.  He knew what awaited him the next day, and wished that it didn’t have to happen.  Still, he knew that this was the reason for which he had come.  In the garden he prayed to his Father, “not my will, but your will be done.”

            The will of this little majority was for Jesus to honor his followers for their devotion.  Jesus knew that was not God’s will.

            On Good Friday Pilate tried to extricate himself from a difficult situation.  He asked the crowd whether he should release Jesus or Barabbas.  The Jewish leaders persuaded the crowd to shout for Barabbas.  Had the crowd been left to make their own decision, they might have chosen Jesus; but that was not to be.

            The will of the majority might have been for Jesus’ release.  That was not God’s will.

            On Easter morning the world awoke to a new reality—even though only a few had any knowledge of it.  Jesus, the Christ—the Messiah—had been raised from the dead.  His suffering was over, his reign of glory begun.  First a small group, and eventually the whole world was called to follow the risen Lord.  His closest companions followed joyfully.  Soon, followers of this new way began appearing all over the Empire.  This fledgling religion, like a tiny flame, caught hold and blazed into a force that has changed the world.

            Still, many—most—refused to accept Jesus as Lord.  They turned their backs on this new way and followed their old familiar paths.  This is still true today.  Even in our own country, which many think of as Christian, there are many who do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

            The will of the majority is to control their own lives.  The will of God is that we dedicate our lives to God’s service.  Whose will do you follow?