Anger Against the Truth

From the moment Jesus came into the world the spiritual hostility against Him was very evident, demonstrated not least through the vicious response of Herod, king of Judea, who ordered the slaughtering of innocent children in the vicinity of Bethlehem. Herod clearly felt extremely vulnerable at the thought of his assumed right to rule being threatened by a potential rival.

When Jesus matured into His calling and began to teach the truth about Himself and about the errors of false religion, the teachers of the law felt threatened in the place that they had established for themselves as directors of religious practice at that time. I’m reminded of someone saying to me, some while ago, that you’ll always know the idols of belief in a person's life when you see the disproportionate anger that comes to the surface if those beliefs are challenged.

Jesus never had to press home His teaching in an angry way, railing against opposing voices, because He was absolutely confident in the truths He was sharing. In contrast, when a person is not quite sure, in their hearts, of the truth of the stance they’ve adopted, defence of that position can seem to them like a fight for survival. How often today do we see the latest trending creed being aggressively presented. In fact, the expression of any opposing views is often just not permitted, for example in the cancel-culture prevalent, even in our universities, towards voices that are seen to dissent from the so-called ‘progressive’ standpoint.

As followers of Jesus, we can share our beliefs without aggression or anger, for we can be filled with the same confidence that Jesus had as He walked the earth, because of the truths made known to us in God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit.