You are not in control.
That statement might come as a real shock, or it might reaffirm the mindset that has been burdening you for some time.
You are not in control; but God is.
That is an easy truth to say, but it is much more difficult to live out. It requires releasing worries and attempts to control things, while at the same time taking charge of those things that God has given to you. It is a tension that is difficult for people to grasp. It is a good thing, then, that it is God who is in control.
In John 11, the Pharisees and Sadducees join forces to plot against the rabble-rouser and “self-proclaimed” Son of God. Their sin-fueled self-centeredness reveals their gods: legalism and Rome, respectively. They were unable to capture, prosecute, and kill Jesus on their own. These groups, usually at each other’s throats, made an unlikely alliance.
They thought they were in control. The Sadducees wielded political power, granted to them by Rome. The Pharisees held religious sway over the people. With their power combined, they surely thought they could squelch Jesus’ counter-cultural uprising.
But Jesus wasn’t subject to their designs or timing (John 2:4, 7:8, 7:30, 10:18). He was, and is, in control.
This theme carries over into John 12. When Jesus attends a feast at Bethany, Mary anoints Him with perfume. While the implications of this act, and Jesus’ rebuke of Judas’ rebuke, are profound, His public appearance demonstrates His control.
“The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there” (12:9). Defying the bounty that the Pharisees and Sadducees put out on His head, Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem. Surely His knowledge of the tension and the coming events weighed heavily upon Him. But His goal, His mission, and His heart were singularly focused on the Trinitarian covenant of redemption for a people made in eternity past.
Jesus was in control.
We can pretend, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, that we are in control of things. We might even see the fruits of our labors. What we are missing out on, however, is the big picture. What we do only and always exists under the sovereign hand of God. The very same God who created the universe, willfully allowed His execution, and atoned for the sins of His people is in control.
Knowing this humbles, but it also alleviates the unnecessary burden we often impose upon ourselves. Knowing this helps us understand ourselves, Him, and our relationship.
God is in control.
