The establishment, yesterday and today
March 26 2016 By Abiodun Giwa
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the chief priests and the scribes were part of the Establishment in those days in the land of Jesus Christ's birth. They exercised great authority over acceptable standard manners and behaviors and they saw anything different from the set rules as against the law. After they accused Christ of blasphemy for saying that he was a child of God, they accused him of breaking their code of conduct, for having done certain things they said were against their ethics.
Why did he ate with sinners? Why did not he washed his hands before eating? If it were just these questions alone about manners and behaviors, it would have been better, because Christ's answered the questions with stocks of better ethical lessons. But the accusation that Christ came to challenge their Emperor for calling himself a child of God and a prince and the Emperor's palace accepted it as the truth and a challenge to the authority and flung into action showed the length the establishment can go in the protection of the status quo.
Manifestly, Christ's teachings were new to the land of his birth. The miracles he performed were never seen before his time. Mixing with the poor and the less privileged was rare among people that exercised authority. He came with what seemed like a change to the ways things were done. People saw the newness in his teachings and that his miracles of healing the sick and exorcising evil spirits were rare and they followed him. But there was one phenomenon that he could not control - he could not stop people from announcing his miracles.
Though he told people not to announce his miracles, yet people could not hide them and they went out and talked about the new things they saw Christ did. If it were in a political setting, Christ had gained the crowd and the establishment lost the crowd. The establishment would not feed the poor, but Christ did with the little resources at his disposal. What the world witnessed in the Christ's emergence was the fight by the establishment to scuttle anything that would threaten their members position. It was what the establishment did in the time of Christ. It is what the establishment still does today and it is what the establishment will be doing all days before Christ will come again.
According to Wikipedia, the Establishment generally denotes a dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation or organization. They will do everything in their power to discourage a change that will threaten their position, no matter how good the new idea being propagated. If they cannot kill the idea outright, they will frustrate or kill the owner of the idea. This brings us to the celebration of Good Friday, preceded by Christ's entry into Jerusalem with shouts of Hossana, blessed be he that came in the name of the Lord, blessed is the Kingdom of our father, David.
The miracle of cursing a fig tree to death for finding no fruit had a meaning against the Establishment that failed to provide for the people and the judgment upon such an establishment. Thereafter, he went into the temple sent out people he said bought and sold and changed money in the temple, which he said they had turned into the den of thieves. And the Bible says that the scribes and the chief priests heard what Christ said and began how they could destroy him, because they were fearful for all the people followed Christ. They got Christ and visited untold suffering on him before nailing him on the Cross. The Bible said it was part of God's plan for renewal.
Though, the Bible said that Christ rose from the grave on the third day, and powered to heaven through the sky after anointing his disciples with the Holy Spirit for them to continue propagation of his ideas. In truth, there may be few unknown people still propagating Christ's teachings, the lamentation today should that the temple has again become the den of thieves, where millionaires and billionaires are made using Christ's name. It is why the Good Friday, the day that Christ was nailed to the Cross should be a sober day for reflection for the few true believers in contrast with fake miracle workers that abound.
The establishment will collect taxes, use the tax money to provide lavish lifestyle for themselves and tell the people to exercise patience, always patience in hunger and deprivation, and the establishment saying it is what God has ordained that cannot be changed. Socrates taught people in Greece to learn to ask questions. The authority saw him as a threat and they dispatched him off to the land of the unknown. Is Socrates idea still alive. Well some people still ask hard questions, but worldliness like those of the money changers in the temple pervades the atmosphere today.
Why did he ate with sinners? Why did not he washed his hands before eating? If it were just these questions alone about manners and behaviors, it would have been better, because Christ's answered the questions with stocks of better ethical lessons. But the accusation that Christ came to challenge their Emperor for calling himself a child of God and a prince and the Emperor's palace accepted it as the truth and a challenge to the authority and flung into action showed the length the establishment can go in the protection of the status quo.
Manifestly, Christ's teachings were new to the land of his birth. The miracles he performed were never seen before his time. Mixing with the poor and the less privileged was rare among people that exercised authority. He came with what seemed like a change to the ways things were done. People saw the newness in his teachings and that his miracles of healing the sick and exorcising evil spirits were rare and they followed him. But there was one phenomenon that he could not control - he could not stop people from announcing his miracles.
Though he told people not to announce his miracles, yet people could not hide them and they went out and talked about the new things they saw Christ did. If it were in a political setting, Christ had gained the crowd and the establishment lost the crowd. The establishment would not feed the poor, but Christ did with the little resources at his disposal. What the world witnessed in the Christ's emergence was the fight by the establishment to scuttle anything that would threaten their members position. It was what the establishment did in the time of Christ. It is what the establishment still does today and it is what the establishment will be doing all days before Christ will come again.
According to Wikipedia, the Establishment generally denotes a dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation or organization. They will do everything in their power to discourage a change that will threaten their position, no matter how good the new idea being propagated. If they cannot kill the idea outright, they will frustrate or kill the owner of the idea. This brings us to the celebration of Good Friday, preceded by Christ's entry into Jerusalem with shouts of Hossana, blessed be he that came in the name of the Lord, blessed is the Kingdom of our father, David.
The miracle of cursing a fig tree to death for finding no fruit had a meaning against the Establishment that failed to provide for the people and the judgment upon such an establishment. Thereafter, he went into the temple sent out people he said bought and sold and changed money in the temple, which he said they had turned into the den of thieves. And the Bible says that the scribes and the chief priests heard what Christ said and began how they could destroy him, because they were fearful for all the people followed Christ. They got Christ and visited untold suffering on him before nailing him on the Cross. The Bible said it was part of God's plan for renewal.
Though, the Bible said that Christ rose from the grave on the third day, and powered to heaven through the sky after anointing his disciples with the Holy Spirit for them to continue propagation of his ideas. In truth, there may be few unknown people still propagating Christ's teachings, the lamentation today should that the temple has again become the den of thieves, where millionaires and billionaires are made using Christ's name. It is why the Good Friday, the day that Christ was nailed to the Cross should be a sober day for reflection for the few true believers in contrast with fake miracle workers that abound.
The establishment will collect taxes, use the tax money to provide lavish lifestyle for themselves and tell the people to exercise patience, always patience in hunger and deprivation, and the establishment saying it is what God has ordained that cannot be changed. Socrates taught people in Greece to learn to ask questions. The authority saw him as a threat and they dispatched him off to the land of the unknown. Is Socrates idea still alive. Well some people still ask hard questions, but worldliness like those of the money changers in the temple pervades the atmosphere today.
