Sometimes You Have to be Tough
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” (John 2:13-16)
Say you’re a police officer on an armed robbery call. Those are scary. You get the suspect description and tour. You see a guy fitting the description walking. Now it’s scarier. You stop the police car quietly and sneak up from behind. The closer you get, the scarier it gets, but you must do this. You’re the police.
You tell him to stop. He turns, sees you, and runs. Now it’s really scary, but you must go after him. Citizens depend on you. Fighting off the fear, you chase him through yards and over fences. Suddenly you’re in a back yard. All is quiet. No rustling of bushes or jingling of fences. He may have gotten tired and hid. You check the area. You look under a back porch and see him curled up behind a brick pillar.
Now what to do? Keep your gun in the holster and ask meekly, “Please come out with your hands up”? Better not! If he’s your guy (and why else would anyone hide under a porch?) he’s dangerous! If he has his gun, you must assume he’s willing to shoot you to get away. Bark orders with your gun aimed at him!
This approach may seem harsh, especially to those who have never done police work or been victims of violent offenders, but it’s necessary. Violent offenders understand the fear of violent death. It is a tool they use to terrify citizens into giving them what they want. That is why they’re called VIOLENT offenders. One highly effective way for police to deal with violent offenders is the way they deal with their victims. Make THEM fear violent death so they’ll do what you want, which is to surrender peacefully.
Criminals do what they do because they don’t fear being caught: “They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?” (Psalm 64:5) This is why police must go aggressively after criminals. The Bible also says decent people should not need to fear the police, but offenders should: “For he [police] is the minister of God to thee [citizen] for good. But if thou [criminal] do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword [weapon] in vain:” (Romans 13:4)
Now to our passage. The Lord was not exactly nice by flipping tables, pouring out money, and kicking the sellers out of the temple. Yet He always did the right thing the right way, to the right degree, for the right reason. The sellers had committed a terrible wrong and turned a house of worship into a market.
Jesus did not do what He did because He hated them, but He hated their sin. They needed to be dealt with in this way. Sometimes the Lord was harsh. On one occasion He openly called the religious leaders hypocrites, vipers, and children of hell. Yet while He hated their sin, He loved and wanted to save them.
When dealing with offenders, be nice if you can be but tough when you need to be. As for the guy under the porch, taking a hard line is really tough love. You don’t do it because you want to shoot but because you don’t want to shoot. Similarly, Jude 23 says, “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” This passage is about explaining to people about receiving Jesus as their personal Saviour. If fear of being in eternal hell convinces them to receive Jesus, so be it.
Do you want to see how to have forgiveness of sins and eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour? Please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 11/17/2024
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822