Monday, April 14, 2014

The Jewish Leaders and the Modern Media

First off, I don't consider this to be, nor do I have plans to make this, a "religious" blog.  I just happened to have a thought that I wanted to put into words and share with the world.  I want to know what you guys think.  Oh, and this is a pretty off the cuff posting.  Please don't expect a doctorate level thesis presentation including references, word studies, cultural context and all that jazz... it's just my thoughts and some paraphrasing.

Whether you agree with me and my view on the Bible or not, there is profound truth that you can see looking back in history (assuming it has not been re-written to meet an agenda).  So as I was sitting in church yesterday, something I typically do on Sunday mornings, I listened to the sermon as the pastor spoke about Jesus' grand entry into Jerusalem as well as his crucifixion and how that came about.  While going over the chain of events in my mind, a thought came to mind.... but let me provide the context first.

Background

On Good Friday Jesus came into the city, riding on a colt, while the people waved palm branches, threw their coats on the ground for the colt to walk on and praised him as the new king of the Jews.  Three days later he had been arrested under false charges, flogged, and presented to the people to see if they would want a well known robber (and general bad dude in general) to be released from prison or if they wanted Jesus, innocent of any wrongdoing, released.

I'm paraphrasing all this by the way.  Maybe I can provide reference later on...

The Bible says that the leaders of the Jews stirred the crowds and, when asked whom should be released, they cried out to release Barnabas (the bad cookie).  When Pilot, current Roman appointed leader over the Jews, asked what should be done with Jesus, they cried "Crucify Him!"

What happened isn't new

As I was sitting there thinking about all this, I couldn't help but be caught by the parts where it said that the leaders of the Jews stirred them up against Jesus.  What do you mean they stirred up the people?  How did these people go from waving palm branches one day and shouting crucify him a few later?  Only one word seemed, and seems, to be able to explain this...

MANIPULATION

Manipulation of me people - In the Bible it states that the Jewish leaders (Sadducee's, Pharasee's, Sanhedron, etc - sorry about the spelling, I'm sure it's wrong) were always looking for a way to trick or trip up Jesus, looking for reasons to have him arrested, etc.  In short, THEY HATED JESUS!

Now at one point Jesus was brought before Pilot, who sent him over to Herrod.  Herrod only wanted to see a miracle and sent him back to Pilot when Jesus wouldn't do one.  At the end of the second interview, Pilot brushed off Jesus, asking "What is (the) truth?"  This statement seemed to indicate that Pilot was going to decide what truth was, as he had the authority to do so under Roman law.

The irony here is that the truth was not brought into the light.  It was suppressed to meet the agenda of those who were in power.  The Jewish leaders hated Jesus.  Pilot, who determined that Jesus had committed no crime, just wanted to maintain the peace and get out of a sticky situation.  So where does that leave us?

The People

In an event that took place nearly 2000yrs ago, the people were manipulated, given non-truth, in order to accomplish the will of the leaders.  This is not a new method that leadership uses to accomplish their agenda's.  As a result, the people cried out "His blood will be on us and our children."  As a result, His blood is in fact on the people. 

Here's where this goes... the next time you get a piece of information from the internet, TV or newspaper, think about what agenda might be being pushed behind the information you have been given.  Don't think that just because we have technology doesn't mean that the media isn't being used by the leaders of government and industry to accomplish their agenda at the cost of innocent men and women.  There are a lot of wolves out there in sheep's clothing and there are a lot of efforts being taken to conceal the truth.  Sometimes it is hard to determine what the truth really is, sometimes it is obvious, and sometimes it takes faith in the person providing information to you to believe that really is the truth. 

Just remember, there is typically a small bit of truth in most things you read, watch or listen to.  You job is to determine and discern what that the truth is.

His Blood...

Lastly, His blood is on our hands.  I believe everyone has sinned and they only way to Heaven is to accept His blood on your hands, that you have sinned, and to also realize that the blood that was shed was done so in payment for your sins.  But based on my understanding of scripture, acceptance of Jesus as the savior of the world is the only way that God will accept payment for your sins. 

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