When Disobedience Is Justified In Following The Lord

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(1) <The Lord said through Isaiah,> Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, (2a) to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people…’ (Isaiah 10:1-2a); ‘Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good..’ (Titus 3:1)

Why was Jesus crucified?  Being the Holy Week or Passion Week, we celebrate Jesus our Savior through His sacrifice on the cross, becoming our Redeemer through His death and Resurrection in defeating death.  We often refer to the Crucifixion as necessary to Jesus fulfilling prophecy, and that is why He needed to die in such a manner. 

That answer is true, but what made the Pharisees demand such a death for Jesus?  The answer, in the eyes of the Pharisees and the mob they whipped up, was that Jesus was disobedient.  He was not following their rules or their interpretations of the Mosaic Law (and all that they added to it).  The act of chasing out the moneychangers of the Temple grounds with a whip likely upset the Pharisees (among other affronts to their authority), and they allowed those vendors to be there (possibly with perhaps some kickbacks that lined their pockets).  In short, Jesus was a rules-breaker, and troublemaker; He was also to them a heretic and treasonous toward their authority.  How could Jesus be seen as Holy & Righteous and Perfect, yet also seen by the Pharisees as such a law-breaker in their eyes?

Jesus is perfect in His stances against their rules; but in doing so appears to violate Titus 3:1, though He did pay taxes and honor other laws the Pharisees and the Romans had implemented.  Yet, in deeming the rules of the Pharisees and Romans as unjust and oppressive He is covered as Righteous under Isaiah 10:1-2.  Why was Jesus’ Crucifixion, though by man’s law justified, wrong under God’s precepts?  When is it possible we may be in disobedience to our government or to our leaders, yet in harmony with our Lord?  Should we obey the laws of an unjust and oppressive government at all?

These two verses appear to be in conflict; why would we still need to be obedient to oppressive rulers who God said he would ‘bring the smackdown on’?  The answer is quite simple, until the line is crossed on them attempting to subvert God’s Will we need to comply.  We here in Florida are fortunate to have a leader in Governor DeSantis who is balancing freedoms with what is needed for public health and safety; in other states or nations, there are varying forms of oppression or policies that are not in line with Christianity, but they do not restrict God’s Word or attempt to overrule His edicts and commands to the Christian. 

In Jesus’ day, the Romans limited the Jews from many freedoms but did not close the synagogues and allowed Jesus to preach His Gospel message (even if the Pharisees wanted them to shut Him down).  Even Pilate didn’t seem to have an appetite to crucify Jesus as there was no ‘legal’ merit, but did so only after the Jewish people rejected Jesus for Barabbas, more to appease the Pharisees and the crowd than for anything Jesus did or did not do.  The Romans, like the Egyptians and Babylonians before them, were eventually brought down because of their unjust actions against the Jewish people.  However, if God was not oppressed, then the people were to be subject to the law, even if that law was suppressive.

There are righteous occasions, however, when God’s people, oppressed in worship, have become ‘disobedient’ and have fought back for the Cause of Christ and God.  The Pilgrims sailed to America in an act of defiance so they could worship freely in a new land; the American Revolution was fought as our Founding Fathers saw repression by the English as an affront to God’s Will and the King’s increasing demands starting to go against God and His will.  Communism in Eastern Europe fell in great part due to the pressure of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches having the courage to hold worship services despite governmental interference or having its permission. 

If a church is closed by authorities, does the government have a valid reason to do so?  If the roof or walls are in imminent danger of collapsing, yes – it needs to ensure the safety of the people from visible harm.  If it is closing the churches due to an edict to control and subject the Gospel to restrictions, then it does not and can be resisted.  There are many ways to resist without a great show of disobedience (meeting outside the building, meeting online).  A pastor leading his flock to circumvent such an edict would not be wrong in this case, especially if the Lord placed it upon him to do so despite the edict to keep it closed.  The pastor is being obedient to the edicts of God, though it may place him and his congregation in opposition to the government.

When we need to cross that line between obeying repressive leadership or resisting it, this is something each of us must pray to our Lord about to show us when.  I’m certain George Washington, Lech Walesa, and even Peter, Paul, Daniel, Moses, and others had to have prayed deeply to our Lord before.  I pray we never have to face that dilemma here in our lifetime, but we know one day such repression will come.