Trolling Jesus

Two-year-old Halston wanting his own way
with the manger. Seems like some of the 
religious officials in Jesus' day had a hard time growing up, 
and continued wanting their own way. 

Scripture:

Luke 20:1    One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders ² and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” ³ He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: ⁴ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” ⁵ They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Observation:

The religious leaders were eager to catch Jesus saying something wrong. They looked for every opportunity to use his words against him, and when they couldn’t find him doing something wrong spontaneously, they thought that they would set a trap. I’m guessing they had probably worked on this question together and thought it would be a good way to test him. They had refused to accept anything that Jesus had said as truth, and would not be taught by him. 

They put the question before him, and waited for his answer, only it wasn’t what they had expected. This “uneducated” man from the region of the Galilee had a superb response. He answered their question with a question, one which the could not answer. They realized that they had been caught, and their true motivations revealed. They had been trolling Jesus for months or even years, always looking for ways to catch him doing something wrong, but he was not interested in their trickery. Even when they behaved in unseemly ways toward him, he continued to minister and point them to the freedom they could find in the kingdom of God. 

Augustine preached on this passage about 1500 years ago:

The Jews, to discredit him, said to the Lord, “By what authority are you doing these things? If you are the Christ, tell us openly.” They were looking for a pretext, not for faith. They wanted something by which to catch him, not something by which to be liberated. Notice what answer the one who could see their hearts gave to confound them with the lamp. He said, “I will also ask you one question. Tell me, John’s baptism, from where is it? Is it from heaven, or from men?” They were immediately sent staggering backward. Although the daylight was only shining gently, they were forced to fumble and blink, since they were unable to gaze at that brilliance. They took refuge in the darkness of their hearts, and there they began to get very agitated among themselves, stumbling and falling about. We might say that they said this to themselves where they were thinking, yet where he could see. If we say, “They said, ‘It is from heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why did you not believe him? He testified to Christ the Lord.’ If we say, ‘From men,’ the people will stone us, because they regarded John as a great prophet.” They said, “We do not know.” You do not know, because you are in darkness and are losing the light. After all, is not it much better, if darkness is occupying the human heart, to let the light in and not to lose it? When they said, “We do not know,” the Lord said, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. You see, I know in what mind you said ‘We do not know,’ not because you wish to be taught, but because you are afraid to confess.” (SERMON 293.4)

Application:

The Lord can see into our hearts where our motivations are revealed. Jesus knew full well that these individuals had no desire to know more about him, but to catch him in doing something wrong. They were so preoccupied with finding him doing or saying anything wrong, that they became blinded to the truth. They were trolling Jesus, but he refused to take the bait and the argument died. 

The “Urban Dictionary” gives us this definition of trolling: “as it relates to internet, is the deliberate act, (by a Troll – noun or adjective), of making random unsolicited and/or controversial comments on various internet forums with the intent to provoke an emotional knee/jerk reaction from unsuspecting readers to engage in a fight or argument.” 

We now live in a season where “trolling” has taken on a life of its own, but little may we realize that Jesus gives us an example as to how to respond. Far too many people, even those within Christian circles want to engage in fights or arguments on-line. Christian brothers and sisters are spending time looking at social media in an effort to catch someone doing something that they consider “wrong.” Then, they jump at the chance to become a “troll.” 

As we continue to absorb the lessons from Luke’s gospel, we have to remember that these are for disciples. Jesus is mentoring his inner circle and teaching them how to live and respond in the world. He is now nearing the end of his life, and he is still teaching them through his example. The world will be filled with those who are “trolling” Jesus’ disciples -- those who are more interested in the argument, than they are with real answers. Jesus responds in a thoughtful way which questions their underlying assumptions, and then, he simply refuses to play their games and doesn’t answer their question. 

These days we need to pray for wisdom for there may be times when we need to question the underlying assumptions that come with the questions. Then, it may be the most appropriate thing to simply keep quiet and not respond. Jesus could have lectured the religious officials and told them all kinds of things to prove his point, but he knew that this would not have helped the situation. He wanted to get back to preaching and teaching the good news. The “trolls” were simply a distraction from his mission, and he would not allow them to win the day. 

Prayer:

Lord, help me to follow you and your example in my life. Please, guide me to continue to focus on your mission and on sharing your good news with the world. Amen.