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In the 7^th chapter of John, the Jerusalem crowd tells Jesus that he must be demon-possessed because he has accused them of “looking for an opportunity to kill” him. They emphatically deny his accusation, saying, “Who is trying to kill you?” (vs.19-20) A few verses later, they say among themselves, “Is not this the man they are trying to kill?” (v.25) By the end of chapter eight, they actually try to kill Jesus, but he slips away (v.59).

Confronting lies and murder is risky business. Not confronting such evil is, however, also dangerous and, in the long run, may result in even greater destruction. Left unchecked, the spirits of deceit and murder will corrupt and overwhelm whole societies.

In these days of endless war and its multiplying justifications, we find ourselves battling these same spirits. The worldly powers that wage war and injustice have always relied on sophisticated systems of deceit to perpetrate their crimes, but we have witnessed in these last few years something more brazen: The lies are more blatant, their speakers more arrogant. A quick search on Youtube will produce multiple videos (such as this one) showing clips of administration officials flatly contradicting themselves as they deceive a whole nation to wage war.

Against such an assault on truth, we must continue to stand firm. In John 7-8, Jesus models for us how to stand firm. He does not allow the deception to define reality but persists in reframing reality according to God’s truth.

Jesus moves according to God’s schedule rather than when others think that he should: He does not go to Jerusalem when his brothers urge him to but instead goes in his own “time” (7:1-10). He does not let the authorities arrest him because it is not his “hour” (7:29).

Jesus also redefines his death as going somewhere that the Judean leaders “cannot come” (7:32-36). He refers to his crucifixion as a victorious event in which he is “lifted up” (8:28).

Throughout all of this, Jesus stubbornly sticks to his message, shining his light in the darkness, even though he is ridiculed and even attacked.

In these times of mass deception, let us also define our reality according to God’s truth. Let us move in God’s timing, not merely reacting to events. Let us discern in the Spirit what our lives are about rather than allowing them to be shaped by nationalism, materialism, and militarism. And let us continue telling the truth, relentlessly confronting lies and murder. The truth we speak, the lives we live, and the actions that we take are the seeds that we sow in the world, and their fruit will be born in God’s time.