Living Stones – Friday, December 15, 2017

Spoken curses

John 11:49, 50

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”

The healing of Lazarus, while bringing joy to his sisters Mary and Martha, and to those who supported them from both Bethany and nearby Jerusalem, set off a series of events that ended with Jesus hanging and bleeding on a cross perched on Calvary outside of Jerusalem. The spies and informants had rushed back to Jerusalem with breaking news, the formerly rotting Lazarus was again walking among the living, and Jesus was the culprit.

The leaders were disturbed, this Jesus was a troublemaker, almost like Elijah whom Ahab called the “troubler of Israel” in 1 Kings 18:17. Something had to be done about Him and fast. While they discussed options, Caiaphas the high priest was livid. So livid, he made a declaration that set in motion the course of history and the fate of Jesus.

Caiaphas, wanting to secure his own power and that of those in the establishment, hastily pronounced the death sentence on Jesus, but, by virtue of his authority, his words carried greater weight than he himself understood. The anger clouded his judgement and produced the fateful words.

James warns us to “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20. James, later down in his letter, delves into this matter of the tongue and the curses we utter with it, dedicating the first eleven verses of chapter 3 to its examination.

Comparing the size of the tongue to the body, just like the size of the bit to a horse, and the rudder to a ship, James declares that “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” James 3:5. He continues, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. James 3:6.

This is Caiaphas in action here after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Caiaphas defiled himself when, as High Priest, he declared that Jesus must die, and he “set on fire the course of nature” a fire that was set by hell itself. Caiaphas spoke and, as we say, all hell broke loose, sealing the fate of Jesus.

Jesus understood the power of the curse and took the necessary precautions so that it would only come to pass in His timing. “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.” John 11:53-54.

Jesus himself had spoken about the power of spoken words saying that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. … I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37. Long before this we were already warned in the Proverbs that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” Proverbs 18:21.

We have to understand the enduring power of the tongue as we speak. Many of us make declarations every day that often “set on fire the course of nature” without realising it. This is especially true since we declare things about others every day, and, in many of those cases we are like Caiaphas, we are in positions of authority over those about whom we speak. This could be as parents over our children, or our spouses, our siblings and other relatives, or our colleagues and subordinates.

Once, as a child, I was within earshot of a major family feud. Siblings, one generation ahead of mine were arguing over property and inheritance. I was too young to really understand any of it, or to even care, but I do remember hearing the eldest of the siblings involved say to the others “I will watch this house fall down with you all in it.” Many years later I observed that the house was about to fall down with those other siblings in it. I eventually remembered the words spoken by the eldest sibling when I was a child.

James teaches us that “no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, … Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.” James 3:8,9,10.

My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Think on these things:

1. Try to remember what negative words, if any, were spoken to or about you by others with some authority/power over you (parents, spouse, etc), how have these words affected you?
2. Try to remember what negative words, if any, were spoken to or about you by persons in roles of spiritual authority (pastors, leaders, etc), how have those words affected you?
3. Are there any negative words that you might have spoken over your own life or over the lives of others over whom you have some positional, functional, or spiritual authority?
4. Do you know if other persons (children, spouses, relatives or others) have been affected by the words you spoke to or about them?

Prayer focus:

Let us pray today that we would learn to be more attentive to the words being spoken over our lives by others, and to be careful with the words we speak over others.

In His Grace

Pastor Alex