Understanding “Umbrellas of Protection”: Embracing the Biblical principle of authority

 

An umbrella is designed to provide protection from various elements of nature: rain, hail, snow, wind, or sunshine. As long as a person is under an umbrella, he finds shelter from harsh weather conditions. If he steps out from under the umbrella, he exposes himself to the environment.
God-given authorities can be considered “umbrellas of protection.” By honoring and submitting to authorities, you will receive the privileges of their protection, direction, and accountability. If you resist their instructions and move out from their jurisdictional care, you forfeit your place under their protection and face life’s challenges and temptations on your own.

Jurisdictional Umbrellas

God is the ultimate umbrella of protection over all people. He rules over the universe and governs in the affairs of nations. He defines the parameters of His umbrella of protection by the commands in His Word, the Bible. When you honor God’s authority, obeying His Word, you will enjoy the protection of living within His jurisdiction.
Under the overarching umbrella of His protection, God has established significant jurisdictional structures:

• Family: husbands and parents (See Ephesians 5:21–29, 6:1–4, and Colossians 3:18–21.)
• Government leaders (See Romans 13:1, Titus 3:1, and I Peter 2:13–17.)
• Church leaders, elders, and other believers (See Hebrews 13:7, 17; I Peter 5:5; and Ephesians 5:21.)
• Employers (See I Peter 2:18, Titus 2:9, Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, and I Timothy 6:1–2.)

God works through these areas of jurisdiction to train up and protect children, to restrain evil and protect citizens, to stand against Satan and advance the Gospel, and to provide necessary resources for life. We are responsible to submit to these authorities in order to receive their protection and the blessings of living in submission to God’s authority.

Consequences of Rebellion

The concept of an umbrella of protection is illustrated in what the prophet Samuel said to Israel’s King Saul when Saul disobeyed God’s instructions: “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (I Samuel 15:23). Those who participate in witchcraft directly interact with destructive, satanic influences. Rebellion is similar, because through disobedience you remove yourself from God’s full protection and are therefore far more susceptible to the attacks of Satan.
For example, when God created Adam and Eve, He commanded them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As long as they honored His instructions, they enjoyed ideal living conditions and freedom from pain and death. When Adam and Eve resisted God’s Law, they resisted His protection and succumbed to Satan’s temptation. God held them responsible for their rebellion and brought on the consequences of sin, suffering, and death, which plagued their lives and affected all their descendants. (See Genesis 2:16–3:19.)
If you resist God-given authorities, you will experience God’s judgment.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake” (Romans 13:1–5).

Responsibility of Those in Authority

Individuals in authority need to embrace their God-given responsibilities by protecting, leading, and providing for those in their jurisdiction. If an umbrella is torn or broken, it can’t provide the protection it was designed to give. In the same way, when leaders fail, the people “under” their jurisdiction often suffer the consequences along with the leader.
When a leader fails, he is no longer protecting those under his care, and therefore they are exposed to the attacks of Satan. Those under authority may feel the impact of the leader’s failure so acutely that they notice the problem even before the leader himself is aware of it. The attacks of the enemy can be manifested in many forms, including health problems, overwhelming temptations, unusual cycles of doubt or depression, nightmares, or unexplained conflicts.
This cause-and-effect sequence should motivate leaders to make wise decisions and live uprightly, because even their “hidden” sins can bring harm to those under their care. It also motivates those under their authority to know their leaders and to help them make wise decisions by offering encouragement and making appeals when necessary.
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17).

Jesus Wept by: David Mathis

He seemed composed as he approached the town. The sister of his dead friend met him outside. He consoled her with truth and grace. But then he saw the other sister, manifestly more emotional. And he burst into tears.

Jesus wept.

Just two simple words, and yet they carry a world of significance. John 11:35 is the shortest verse in all of the Bible, but one of its most powerful, and insightful. Rightly was this tiniest of sentences assigned its own number.
Here we find a remarkable glimpse into the glory of the Lord of the universe.

His Human Emotions

“A man of sorrows,” the prophet foretold, “and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Yes, he was a man of sorrows, but not his own. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Because his love is great, he made our pains his own.
It’s not inherently impressive to have a king that cries. But it is a great comfort to have a sovereign who not only knows our frame (Psalm 103:14) and what is in us (John 2:25), but also shares in our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14).
God himself has taken on our humanity in this man. And with it, our feelings. And with them, even our sorrows. We are finite and frail. But God gave us mighty emotions. We celebrate. We grieve. We rejoice. We weep. And we do so with Jesus as one of us.
“Christ has put on our feelings along with our flesh,” writes John Calvin. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus clearly manifests human emotions. When he heard the centurion’s words of faith, “he marveled” (Matthew 8:10). And he says in Gethsemane that his “soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). Hebrews 5:7 says he prayed “with loud cries and tears.”
But no one shows us the truly human emotions of Christ like his beloved disciple John — whether it’s love or anger.

From Love to Tears

That he loved dead Lazarus and his two sisters could not be any more clear in John 11. Verse 5: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” Verse 36: The people say, in response to Jesus’s weeping, “See how he loved him!”
Jesus wept not because he lacked faith, but because he was full of love. In love, he weeps with those who weep. “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (John 11:33).
And this even when he knew that Lazarus would rise. He had said to his men, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). And again, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (John 11:11). And yet, Jesus wept.

From Anger to Tears

But his tears are not only from his love. He has righteous anger at death and unbelief. John says he is “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” — literally he is outraged and unsettled. He is indignant and disturbed.
The same word that is “deeply moved” here is a stern warning elsewhere (Matthew 9:30; Mark 1:43), even a scolding (Mark 14:5). It’s a serious term. “In extra-biblical Greek, it can refer to the snorting of horses; as applied to human beings, it invariably suggests anger, outrage or emotional indignation. . . . It is lexically inexcusable to reduce this emotional upset to the effects of empathy, grief, pain or the like” (D.A. Carson, John, 415–416). And Jesus is thus “deeply moved again” when he comes to Lazarus’s tomb in verse 38.
But he is also “greatly troubled.” He is shaken up, unsettled. As he stands face to face with death, he knows what it will take to conquer this foe. This time he will take back Lazarus from its jaws. Next time he will lay down his own life.

Here Comes Trouble

And he will be troubled again. As his own hour comes, he prays, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” (John 12:27). As he recognizes the traitor, and what it will mean, “Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me’” (John 13:21).
This is a trouble that is his own to face. His disciples cannot do this with him. Indeed, he does this for them. And so he tells them, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1), and again, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (verse 27). He will face this fear so they will be spared it.
But the love of verses 5 and 36, and the outrage of verse 33, leads then to the tears of verse 35. Because he loved, and because he stared death in the face, outraged at its evil and determined that it must not endure, he burst into tears. They had been crying. But Jesus wept.
Such tears stem from no lack of faith. This weeping is precisely the response of faith. “The same sin and death,” says Carson, “the same unbelief, that prompted his outrage, also generated his grief. Those who follow Jesus as his disciples today do well to learn the same tension — that grief and compassion without outrage reduce to mere sentiment, while outrage without grief hardens into self-righteous arrogance and irascibility” (416).

From Tears to Action

Jesus’s weeping comes not from despair and resignation. These are not the tears of one who has realized himself powerless and is ready to give up. Rather, these are the tears of mingled affection and anger, leading to action. He will raise Lazarus.
This death will be overcome, but that doesn’t mean it will not be mourned. And his own death will be the great overcoming, but it will not be without excruciating pain. He will walk through the greatest of sorrows. He will cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
When Lazarus has been raised, he will return to the Calvary road for his final showdown with sin and death.

He Wipes Away the Tears

Jesus wept. And in these tears we see that God does not stand aloof to the pains of our existence. He has drawn near. He has taken our flesh and blood. He has not called us to a humanity that he himself was unwilling to take. We have not been abandoned to a world into which he was unwilling to enter. We suffer no pain he was unwilling to bear. We have no grief he was unwilling to carry.

Jesus wept. He did not consider himself above our agonies, but emptied himself of privilege by taking our form, being born in our likeness (Philippians 2:7). The very heart of the Christian message is that the happy God so loved our weeping world that he gave his own Son to weep with us, all the way to the place of utter forsakenness, that whosoever believes in him will not weep forever, but have everlasting joy.
And one day, when he wipes away our every tear, it is not because he is suppressing our sadness. The one who wipes away our tears has shed his own. And he has triumphed.

This is our gospel in two words. Jesus wept.