Articles
Creating an Uproar
God’s people should make it their aim to peaceable individuals. Jesus declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9, NKJV). Romans 12:18 teaches us, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (NKJV). Hebrews 12:14 teaches us pursuing peace with all people is necessary if we are going to see God. God’s people are to pray for those in positions of authority for the following reason, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, NKJV). While God’s people are to be people who long for peace, Jesus makes it plain there are times where He would bring division instead of peace (Matthew 10:34-37; Luke 12:51-53). If Jesus brought conflict at times despite His desire for peace, it follows His disciples will sometimes be in the midst of conflict despite their desire for peace too.
As I recently was reading through the book of Matthew, I noticed the following statement being made by the enemies of Jesus in discussing when to take Jesus and kill Him, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people” (Matthew 26:5, NKJV). The enemies of Jesus were determining whether they would take a certain course of action or not on the basis of whether it would cause an uproar or not. In the following chapter the text tells us, “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it’” (Matthew 27:24, NKJV). Pilate, like the Jewish leaders, was motivated in his action by the fear of a tumult arising. Pilate’s actions would elsewhere be identified as evil along with the actions of others who had a part in putting Jesus to death (Acts 4:27-28). Are we like the Jewish leaders or Pilate in making decisions? Are we more focused on how people are going to respond to our action than to what the Lord commands us to do? Remember the Proverb which states, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25, NKJV). Let’s not be intimidated by a fear of man but rather be more motivated by a fear of God in the actions we take (Matthew 10:28).
Having read these verses in Matthew, my attention turned to the actions of the apostles throughout the book of Acts. For example, in the city of Ephesus an uproar arose because Paul was preaching against the idolatry of the city (Acts 19:40). Following this uproar, Paul leaves the city of Ephesus and goes on to preach in other places (Acts 20:1). When Paul goes to the city of Jerusalem and enters the temple purified with other Jews, an uproar takes place (Acts 21:34). Paul though was not truly the source of this uproar but rather it was his enemies that had caused such a fuss (Acts 24:18). Preaching the truth at times will cause people to react sometimes in a violent manner (Acts 7:51-60). We cannot view ourselves as responsible for how people react to the truth. Yet neither should we provoke and stir up people needlessly or intentionally into such a behavior (Galatians 5:26). Truth must be taught even if it results in a violent uproar among the enemies of the truth (2 Timothy 4:1-5). Our focus must be constantly upon pleasing God rather than pleasing men as we go about teaching His word (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
