[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] FW: [CWWC] FIVE EXTERNAL TACTICS

Tue May 4 16:25:01 UTC 2021

From: committed-walk-with-Christ at groups.io
[mailto:committed-walk-with-Christ at groups.io] On Behalf Of Mr. Ed via
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Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 12:19 PM
To: Mr. Ed
Subject: EXT: [CWWC] FIVE EXTERNAL TACTICS

FIVE EXTERNAL TACTICS

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace
of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest
Jesus in some sly way and kill him.
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9TWF0dC4yNi4zLU1hdHQuMjYuNA/5ef562bd102223
74f46b6174Bdde26c7b> Matthew 26:3-4

In the New Testament we see Satan using five external tactics against the
church: rulers, priests, merchants, mobs and families-and of course, these
often occurred in combinations. The followers of Jesus tend to unite the
enemies of Jesus, so that quite unlikely alliances can be created. Jesus
himself saw this when the Pharisees and the Herodians-two groups that never
spoke to each other-got together to plot his assassination after he healed a
man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9TWFyay4zLjY/5ef562bd10222374f46b6174C458c
e43e> Mark 3:6).

It is surprising to some that the rulers are not the biggest persecutors of
Christians in the New Testament. That dubious honor falls to the Jewish
priestly caste. But there is no doubt that strong opposition came from the
rulers. Pontius Pilate was complicit in the death of Jesus; Herod Agrippa
killed the apostle James in Jerusalem (
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9QWN0cy4xMi4y/5ef562bd10222374f46b6174Dc53
3cbd5> Acts 12:2); and of course Nero initiated a terrible persecution
against the Christians of Rome in AD 64-the community most think Mark's
gospel was written to encourage.

Though it was Pilate's order, it was really the Jewish high priest who
pushed Pilate into giving the order for the crucifixion when he was inclined
to let Jesus go (see
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9Sm9obi4xOC4zMQ/5ef562bd10222374f46b6174Ec
8d9bb1b> John 18:31), and tried to accomplish this by arranging a crowd
clemency scene. All throughout his ministry, Jesus' bitterest enemies were
the priests. And so it proved for the early church. The first flogging of
Christians was administered under the auspices of the Sanhedrin (
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9QWN0cy41LjQw/5ef562bd10222374f46b6174F6fb
ef471> Acts 5:40), and the first martyrdom of a Christian (Stephen) was
carried out by enraged clerics (
<https://link.biblegateway.com/click/23735152.2243/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlibGVnY
XRld2F5LmNvbS9wYXNzYWdlLz9zZWFyY2g9QWN0cy43LjU0LUFjdHMuNy41OQ/5ef562bd102223
74f46b6174Gebb25759> Acts 7:54-59). And so it continued also for Paul, the
main character of the early church, ironically a former Pharisee and a
witness to the stoning of Stephen.

But it is a sad fact that the class threatened most by radical Christian
faith is the clerical class, whether of one's own religious persuasion or of
a rival one. This is not to say all clerics are persecutors. Many Pharisees
became followers of Jesus, and some, like Nicodemus and Simon, were the very
model of courtesy and open-mindedness. Nevertheless, in the history of the
church, other "believers" have perpetrated most violence on Christians.

RESPONSE:

Satan uses external as well as internal tactics to attack the advance of the
Kingdom of God.

PRAYER:

Lord, help me show love to other "believers" who do not hear Your voice but
are used as tools of the enemy.

Provided by Bible Gateway:

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