‘In the Presence of Mine Enemies’

An appropriate title for the book “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” is the story of Navy pilot Capt. Howard E. Rutledge and the seven-year nightmare he endured as a POW in North Vietnam after getting shot down Nov. 27, 1965.

More important than the title is the source from which it was drawn. As those of you familiar with your Bible will readily attest, it is Psalm 23:5 that says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

Through those harrowing seven years of imprisonment, Capt. Rutledge gives God the glory for being with him, and sustaining him.

Capt. Rutledge’s story is particularly of interest to us today because it illustrates God’s ability to use us in situations we would not naturally involve ourselves, taking us to places where perhaps we would rather not go — even into the very midst of our enemies. Yes, God does know that we have enemies. Even Thomas Jefferson, icon of unbelief, recognized that every man of character must have enemies.

God’s power is such that he can glorify himself in us despite our enemies.

With this thought, let us return to John chapter 8 and the story of the woman taken in adultery, and see that even Jesus had enemies. As we examined the relationship between the woman and her accusers last week, today we examine that between those accusers and Jesus Christ. In doing so, we find that an adversarial relationship existed between them. This is brought out in verse 6, where it says “that they might have to accuse him.” Thus, we see that the woman was only the lure; Jesus was the prize.

Why did Jesus have enemies?

I submit to you today that Jesus had enemies because of who he was and who his enemies were not. Because of who he was, the multitudes paid attention to him. But because of who he was, his enemies felt threatened and so envied and hated him.

So, who was Jesus? As almighty God robed in human flesh, we should not be surprised to find the Bible say of him as being one who possessed authority.

Perhaps the very first place we see this is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, where it says, “He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Whereas Jesus spoke with authority, part of the very group that brought the adulterous woman before him is said here to be without authority. What they were referring to were all the “but I say unto yous” as opposed to the traditions of Talmudic Jewry which were so prevalent in that day. While the scribes reached back into the Talmud for the authority behind their teachings, Jesus swept that all aside and said, “But I say unto you.” Thus, he established his authority to the disdain of his enemies.

What we need to understand here is that Christ-rejecting man has always attempted to establish his own authority in opposition to God’s Word. In Jesus’ day we see this in Mark 7 and the issue of Corban, where children were allowed to violate the Fifth Commandment through the giving of a gift to the temple, and thus by tradition overthrow God’s Word.

But in our day, it is the same. Christ-rejecting man still wants to do what is right according to himself rather than submit himself to what the Bible says. Jesus says of them that they “strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” Peter calls them “unlearned and unstable” and says they twist, extort and distort the scriptures “to their own destruction.”

And this leads to one more thing — the duration of their adversity. Though the scribes and Pharisees would leave Jesus one by one on that day, they did not leave him as his friend. They remained enemies till the bitter end, and the truth is that some will never be his friend.

May I ask, who are your enemies? It is clear to me that if we are to accomplish anything for Christ, it will come at a price, and that will be of having enemies. Could it be that to fear and avoid being offensive will be at the cost of being unproductive and worthless as a servant of the Lord? My friend, Jesus bore his cross for you; will you bear yours for him?

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.

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