Fear and Power
John 7:10-13 But when [Jesus’] brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
Matthew 21:46 But when [the chief priests and Pharisees] sought to lay hands on [Jesus], they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.
Growing up, I imagine most of us had a healthy dose of fear of our parents. That fear came from the fact that we knew that if we did something wrong (and got caught), we could be punished for it. And that fear continues with us throughout the rest of our lives, but in different forms. For example, that little bit of unease when we see the police officer on the side of the road shooting radar, and we are speeding. Or how we don’t say exactly what is on our mind to our boss because we don’t want to get fired. Those under an authority fear the power and control of those in authority. To some degree, this is good. It helps keep people in line (1 Timothy 5:17-20). The first passage (from John 7) exemplifies the fear people have of the authority. They feared the Jews (i.e., the leaders) and so they wouldn’t talk openly about Jesus. That fear is reiterated over and over again, such as the parents of the blind man (John 9) or Nicodemus (John 3:1-21). But at the same time, have you ever stopped to consider the fear those in authority have of those under their care?
Over and over again, the members of the Sanhedrin wanted to take Jesus and kill Him. However, over and over again, they did not because they feared the people. It wasn’t until the hearts and minds of the people were turned against Jesus that they finally were able to crucify Him. In other words, during Jesus’ life, both sides were afraid of the other. The authority was afraid of the people, and the people were afraid of the authority, causing a sort of paralysis that kept either side from making big moves. The people didn’t completely rally behind Jesus and become believers (Luke 11:45-52), nor did the Sanhedrin murder Him quickly.
Convincing the pastorate or church leadership that something is right is not enough. Unfortunately, something being Biblical, correct, and God-pleasing is not the sole determining factor for whether or not the leadership will push for or encourage something. Rather, it is often one small part of the calculations, especially for leadership. To illustrate, I’ll tell you a story of a former pastor, my father. It was decades ago when a certain denomination was putting out a new statement of belief about the role of women in the church. After reading the document, my father was extremely disheartened by the statement because of its unfaithfulness to scripture. As such, he wrote out his own statement and presented it to the next higher-ups in the hierarchy of his denomination. That hire-up’s response was this, “Well, I can’t disagree with anything you wrote, but I wouldn’t preach this in my church because the women would crucify me.” That was one of the major turning points in my father’s time as a pastor that caused him to leave the ministry.
It would be one thing if that was a single example. But the truth is that I’ve experienced the same sentiments time and time again in my experiences with many pastors over the years. However, none of them were as clear as that response. Rather, they were a lot more subtle about it. And by subtle, I mean they would agree with me in private, but in public, they did and said nothing. In effect, their response was exactly the same as what my father experienced. Those in authority really do fear the people. That fear is often more powerful than their desire to speak or act on the truth (even if they won’t admit it). Keep in mind, too, that a leader's fear is not necessarily just from the bottom up. In hierarchical denominations, there is also the fear of discipline, removal, and excommunication from the denomination itself for dissent. (Martin Luther being one such example who had an enormous amount of pressure placed on him to recant and not tell the truth.)
The fear of losing one’s position probably isn’t the way leaders would describe it. Rather, I imagine most would describe their decision-making process as one that tries to do the greater good. By avoiding conflict and controversy, they believe they are achieving the greater good by removing barriers to people coming to church and staying at church. And, if they are coming to church, there is the assumption that they are hearing God’s Word and are believers. Therefore, if some things are less important, even if they believe them, they aren’t going to speak or act publicly on them. That applies both to the people in their care and the authorities above them. In other words, they aren’t interested in challenging and directing the people in the Biblical way because it might disrupt the current membership or the flow of new members. They are also disinterested in disputing with the hierarchy because at least they are doing right by their congregation. Or, the leader believes doing some good by being a part of the system is better than doing no good because they were kicked out due to disagreements.
Just as children have a fear of their parents, parents also have fears. Fears of the police coming and taking their children away. Or they fear their children growing up to hate them or not wanting to talk to them anymore. Or they simply fear the time when their children won’t need or want their help anymore. It is the same reason why parents will compromise their beliefs about their children living together before marriage or their children living out homosexual behavior. They would rather be in their children’s lives than risk having their children cut them out completely.
Understanding the fears and motivations of both the people and the leadership is important. It is important for those trying to encourage the Christian church to work together and even effect changes within their individual churches. Those who are not in positions of leadership are not without power or influence. The people of any organization can affect change if they work together. The fact that those in authority fear the people demonstrates that. In addition, those in authority who see what the good and Godly thing to do is must also not shirk from their responsibilities either. God has given them authority, and they are to wield that authority appropriately (Romans 13:4 and Hebrews 13:17).
That being said, my encouragement here isn’t to exploit and oppress each other by using our positions or strengths against the other party. Rather, to recognize that it is natural to be worried about doing the right and God-pleasing thing no matter what side you are on. Moreover, no matter whether you are a leader or under a leader, fear and other factors can encourage you to disregard what God has to say for the sake of peace, comfort, or other benefits. And that is exactly what Peter did on the night Jesus was betrayed.
Peter, having told Jesus he would not abandon Him, denied Him three times (Matthew 26:69-75). Why? It wasn’t because He didn’t believe Jesus was God. Therefore, it is most likely that Peter was afraid. And who wouldn’t be? Having just seen the people drag Jesus before the court, where He now stood. Plus, Peter had been warned over and over again that Jesus would be put to death. Therefore, it isn’t unreasonable to expect Peter to fear what could happen to him, too. So what did he do? He did what every reasonable person would have done: he lied. He lied to keep himself alive. He lied for the greater good. And Peter committed this denial, even though he had been warned about it ahead of time (Matthew 26:31-35).
Likewise, we should not be surprised when we keep silent or deny one aspect or another of our beliefs due to fear or other reasons. Moreover, we shouldn’t be surprised when our leadership does the same at times. In those times, we should remember how Jesus responded. Did He respond with anger? No. Rather, all it took was one look from Jesus, and Peter felt shame (Luke 22:61). Therefore, whether it is us or leadership who succumb to fear, we should pray for a heart of shame and repentance. One that is ready to be forgiven by God (John 21:15-19). Also, we should desire a heart of courage and confidence to not repeat the same mistake twice.
Have you ever been afraid to speak up about something or take a particular action because of the problems that might happen? How has that fear helped you make both God-pleasing and sinful decisions? Is it easier for you to justify your fearful actions or feel shame over them?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission.
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