The âchief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the eldersâ (v. 1) had earned their positions, or so they thought. They are, therefore, asking Jesus to, âProve it!â They want to know why Jesus gets to say and do the things He says and does.
Jesus had every right to flex on them! But He knew that His words and deeds spoke for themselves. He âknew that the Father had put all things under His powerâ (John 13:3) so there was nothing for Him to prove to anyone.Â
In my book When Sheep Bite, I have a chapter about sheep questioning the authority of their shepherd. In that chapter I wroteâ
   When our conversation with criticizing sheep hasnât gone well, and when those unhealthy sheep begin to gossip and then slander, itâs inevitable that they will eventually began to question your authority as a shepherd. Perhaps they think youâre too young and naive, or too old and out of touch. They may question your motives, or the vision youâve imparted for the church, or your ability to follow through on what you have already shared. Whatever the case, these biting sheep seem to be implying that they know better than you do how this pasture should be run. During times like these, it is tempting to want to âproveâ that we are qualified, that we do know what weâre doing, and that we can indeed successfully pursue the vision weâve articulated for them. Once again, itâs natural to want to say, âIâll show you just how qualified I am!âÂ
   Before we respond, we need to recognize the source of our authority. ⊠Far greater than positional authority is moral authority. This is authority that comes not merely from a title or position, but from who conferred that title or position on the leader. If God has called us and appointed us to this pasture, that is all the authority we need.
Jesus didnât answer the âProve it!â demand, but went right on teaching and serving. We need to remember that there is only One to whom we must give an answer. There is only One who can say to us either, âDepart for Me,â or âWell done, good and faithful servant!âÂ
A mark of a godly leader is one who is quietly confident of his moral authority.Â
As a result, that leader no longer feels the need to prove anything.Â
This is part 78 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.Â
In January 1647, Oliver Cromwell captured King Charles I during the British Revolution. Within just a few months, Charles escaped and was able to raise another army. A year later, in August 1648, Cromwellâs forces once again defeated the army Charles had raised, and once again Charles was taken prisoner.Â
Oliver Cromwell put Charles on trial for his crimes, and after the guilty verdict was pronounced, Charles I was executed. A total of 59 people signed the former kingâs death warrant.Â
Fast forward eleven years and Oliver Cromwell had died and his son Richard had taken his place as Lord Protector of England. Unlike his father, there was great discontent with Richardâs leadership. As a result, the Loyalists were able to sweep Charles II into power.Â
After assuming the throne of England, Charles II wanted the 59 death warrant signers put on trial, but fifteen of them had already died. That little fact didnât stop King Charles II. He ordered that their bodies be exhumed, placed on trial, convicted of their crimes, and then hung.Â
Iâm no psychologist, but I think itâs safe to say that Charles II might have had a slight problem with unforgiveness! Â
This is from a chapter I entitled âThe ties that no longer bind.â The insidious nature of unforgiveness is that it ties us to the one who injured or offended us.Â
Jesus taught us to pray, âForgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtorsâ (Matthew 6:12). The word He uses for âdebtsâ means something justly or legally due, or an offense or sin that has been committed. So a debtor is one who morally or legally owes another for the wrong committed.Â
So for these debts, we are taught to ask for forgiveness of God and to give that same forgiveness to others. Jesus uses the same root word for both âforgiveâ and âforgiven,â but there are nuances that make the picture quite clear.Â
When we ask God to forgive our debts, it is the active voice (I have to ask for it) and it is stated in the second person (I have to receive it). When I ask my Heavenly Father for this, my offense has been paid-in-full because the legal and moral requirements arenât due any longer. I couldnât pay this debt on my own, but Jesus paid it for me (2 Corinthians 5:21). Â
When I forgive someone who has wronged me, it is again the active voice (I have to give it), but it is now in the first person (I donât wait around for the other person to ask for forgiveness). I let it go. I donât hinder the other person or myself with waiting for the penalty to be paid any longer.Â
This is the only part of this model prayer for which Jesus gives a commentary afterwards (in Matthew 6:14-15). With this, Jesus is teaching us that to say, âIâm forgivenâ is also to say, âIâm forgiving.âÂ
Unlike Charles II, when we are forgiven and forgiving, the inevitable result is freedom for both ourselves and our offenders.Â
If we practice this relentlessly, we are both freed ourselves and freeing others!Â
When we pray, âForgive as we also have forgiven,â we are both acknowledging His power to forgive us and requesting the faith need to be forgiving people. As C.S. Lewis noted, âTo be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.âÂ
The Bible describes satanâs activity as stealing, killing, and destroying. Heâs called the father of lies, so he uses slander to try to steal, kill, and destroy. His slander is: âGod canât forgive thatâ and âYou shouldnât let them off the hook for what they did to you.âÂ
These two thoughts are linked, just as âIâm forgivenâ and âIâm forgivingâ are linked. If I begin to think that what someone did to me was too big for me to forgive, then I can also believe that there is a sin I have committed that is too big for God to forgive. But when I live both receiving and giving forgiveness, I can tune out this lie from hell.Â
After I wrote the best-selling book Shepherd Leadership, I started naturally gravitating toward anything shepherd related. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 was the perfect fit for me! But I think anyone will enjoy these beautiful insights on Psalm 23. Check out my full book review here.Â
Here are some quotes that especially caught my eyeâ
âSheep do not âjust take care of themselvesâ as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care. ⊠From early dawn until late at night this utterly selfless Shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. ⊠Above all, He is very jealous of His name and high reputation as the Good Shepherd. He is the Owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very âlife.â He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His. He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed, and clean water. He will spare Himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.âÂ
âA flock that is restless, discontented, always agitated and disturbed never does well. ⊠When one startled sheep runs in fright, a dozen others will bolt with it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them.âÂ
âIn the course of time I came to realize that nothing so quieted and reassured the sheep as to see me in the field. The presence of their master and owner and protector put them at ease as nothing else could do, and this applied day and night. ⊠When my eyes are on my Master they are not on those around me. This is the place of peace.â
âOnly those intimately acquainted with sheep and their habits understand the significance of a âcastâ sheep or a âcast downâ sheep. This is an old English shepherdâs term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself.âÂ
âSheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. ⊠No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detail direction, than do sheep.â
My Patreon supporters had early access to these quotes, plus I have shared many more quotes from this book with these friends.
My newest book When Sheep Bite is releasing soon. You can pre-order a copy for yourself here.
Writing Shepherd Leadership opened the door for me to have a lot of conversations with pastors, and I discovered just how beat up so many of them feel. As a result, I am working on a new book called When Sheep Bite as a way to help these pastors not just survive, but thrive in their ministry. I am self-publishing this book, and I could really use your financial investment in this project. Iâve got some special offers for you. Please check out this link and prayerfully consider helping me help these hurting pastors.
I love learning more about the historicity of the Bible! If you do too, check out this archeological biography of King Jehoram. And if you would like to keep the history of the kings and prophets straight, this side-by-side chart is one of the most downloaded resources I have ever produced.
âI can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I canât accept not trying.â âMichael Jordan
This is a weekly series with things Iâm reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type âThursdays With Oswaldâ in the search box to read more entries.
Venting In PrayerÂ
   When you are worked up to a pitch emotionally, read some of the Psalms, and the Spirit of God will gradually teach you how to form a spiritual nous*, a mind whereby you will not only understand but will slowly and surely get to the place where you can express your spirit, you will have a totally new language.Â
* To read what Chambers means by the Greek word nous,click here.Â
Sometimes weâre too timid in our prayers. We think we need to hold back, or not really say whatâs on our mind. We probably think that some of the language we use might be too offensive for Godâs ears.
Have you ever read some of the Psalms? As Oswald Chambers suggests, this is a great place to form your prayer vocabulary. David really âlets looseâ in some of his prayers, calling his enemies all sorts of names, and basically saying, âGet âem, God!â
So you donât want to say those kinds of things to God? Donât you think He already knows what youâre thinking? Wouldnât it be much more effective to âventâ in prayerâin the safe presence of your loving Heavenly Father? Itâs really only after you âget it outâ that the Holy Spirit can help you work it out.
Express yourselfâvent in Godâs presence instead of the presence of those who are troubling youâand then listen to how Godâs Spirit will help you slowly and surely get a brand new perspective on your situation.
UPDATE: I have a whole chapter called âYour Emergency Release Valveâ about these types of prayers in my book When Sheep Bite.
Craig T. Owens 