Jesus remained focused on his goal

As disciples of Christ, we must be careful not to fall into Satan's favorite trap: to get entangled in the versatile cultural and political spirit that is common in our world. While Satan makes the world furious against Christians, he tries to make us angry and vengeful. In other words, he wants to replace our deep peace in Jesus with litigation, pushing us to resist the onslaught of persecution rather than endure it for the good of the gospel.

The Church is not involved in a chess game with the world, moving plays strategically with one goal in mind : to win the war of culture. But if we are not careful, we risk being dragged into the "game" and being drained of the salt and light that God has given us to fulfill His purpose on Earth.

This cultural fight is not new. Think of the horrible genocide that took place in Israel when Jesus was born : "We heard cries in Ramah, weeping, and great lamentations" (Matthew 2:18). Jesus grew up in a culture where there were no boys his age because they had all been slain. He could have grown up in a spirit of vengeance, thinking, "Herod will pay for what he did to my Jewish brethren. One day, I will slaughter it !"

Instead, when Jesus turned thirty, he chose to proclaim good news, heal the sick, perform miracles, and even resurrect the dead. To summarize, He was doing the work of the Father. He remained focused on his goal ! Even when the Pharisees told him that Herod Antipas wanted to kill him (see Luke 13:31), he told them to let the king know that he was going to continue what he was doing. He knew that Herod was a threat, but he did not want to get distracted and fight against him, because he was focused on fulfilling his mission: free the captives !

Gary Wilkerson