Clashing with God’s Will

Robert Wurtz II

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. (Luke 11:52-54)

And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)

The religious leaders exhibited a brazen disregard for God’s will, obsessively clinging to their control and obstructing others from understanding and doing His will. They acted as self-serving gatekeepers, becoming formidable barriers to God’s plan. In contrast, Jesus embodied complete submission to that will, even in the face of unimaginable suffering. His prayer revealed unwavering trust and profound commitment to God’s purpose and stands as the ultimate example for all who follow Him.

Let Us Make Man

Before the foundation of the world, God decided with unwavering resolve to create earthly children in His image, reflecting His unalterable will. From the Garden of Eden until his final destruction, Satan, the Dragon, the Devil, or the old Serpent (whichever name you prefer) determined to thwart God’s will because he wanted earthly children, too.

Therefore, through the initial fall of humankind and the pervasive influence of Satan and his demons, human nature itself was bent toward opposing God’s will. People are born into and live walking in the lusts of their spiritual father, the Devil (John 8:44). Functioning as the father of lies and the original murderer, Satan has historically harnessed the people’s lusts, filling their hearts to do his will (2 Peter 1:4, Acts 5:3) unwittingly. As Ananias and Sapphira found out when Satan filled their hearts, personal ambitions and deceptions are a recipe for God’s judgment. Why? Because they were moving in their own will in the very Church Jesus shed His blood to purchase.

Opposing God’s Will

In our text in Luke 11, Jesus delivers a sharp, searing rebuke to the religious leaders of His day. He charged them with taking away the key that would unlock eternal life for both themselves and others seeking to enter (Luke 11:52; Matthew 23:13). It’s as if they were saying, “We’re not doing God’s will, and neither is anyone else.” Instead of receiving this rebuke in humility and brokenness, they responded in pride and bitter hostility. Why? They were of their father, the Devil, and the lusts of their father they performed.

Not knowing Jesus is the King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16), they concocted a strategy. They planned to lay a trap by provoking Him to speak about many things and wait to catch Him in something He might say (Luke 11:53-54). In modern times, we would say they were baiting Him into a “gotcha” moment. Their goal was to murder Him, justifiably. Better yet, get the Roman government to do the dirty work.

In Mark 8:31-32, Peter set a trap for Jesus almost immediately after declaring Him to be the Son of God. Flesh and blood had not revealed it, but the Father in Heaven had. Nevertheless, when Jesus spoke of being handed over to the religious leaders, dying, and rising again, Peter, under the influence of Satan, rebuked Him. Satan challenged everything coming out of Jesus’ mouth—even if he didn’t know the purpose. One minute he challenges Jesus dying, the next minute he’s orchestrating it. We don’t call him the Adversary for nothing.

When Satan Provokes

Jesus didn’t fall into their evil traps. They questioned him on a variety of points (Matthew 22:15-40), believing they were clever strategists, not knowing that it was amateur night at best. They hoped that, by the multitude of foolish questions and provocations, they would frustrate, confuse, or irritate him. Once he was fully provoked, they hoped he would speak impulsively, that they might find a sufficient accusation to warrant putting Him to death (Mark 14:55).

Sound familiar? The Devil and his people love to provoke God’s children to anger so they will react in a way that discredits both their words and their person. They are accusers of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). What they are not is knowledgeable. Had they known the truth rather than their worldly knowledge and wisdom, they would not have wanted to murder Him (1 Cor. 2:6-8).

Tools of Satan

What drove the religious leaders was a desperate, calculating ambition: from the very beginning, consumed by their own greed (Matthew 23:25), titles (Matthew 23:6-7), power, and authority, they worked tirelessly to preserve their positions (John 11:47-48), unknowingly acting directly against Jesus, who was the embodiment of the will of God. Every scheme, every trap, and every whisper assisted the Adversary who sought to silence God’s Truth and stop the Son of God from fulfilling His mission.

Selfish ambition is among Satan’s greatest tools (James 3:14-16). When a person uses God and the things of God as a means to their own ends, they are dangerous. It is one of the reasons Jesus said that every believer must take up their cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23). The cross is an instrument of death. The crucified life (Galatians 2:20) means you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). God’s will is paramount (Matthew 26:39).

However, Satan misconstrues all of these truths, deceiving a person into thinking that their selfish ambition is actually spiritual and in accordance with God’s will. In public, they are preachers of righteousness, but in private they are Satan’s agents (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). They thunder in the pulpit, but clash with God’s will in a back room or under the radar. These are the most dangerous people of all.

The King’s Chess Table

From the beginning, Satan has leveraged the selfish ambitions, pride, and hidden desires of men to attempt to derail the eternal counsel of God (Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 4:3, 1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8). Satan and the corrupt leaders of the early first century threw everything they had into stopping Jesus and the Apostles, laboring night and day to derail God’s sovereign plan.

Yet, at every turn, the enemy and his earthly collaborators discover a humbling, irreversible reality: human beings, demons, principalities, and powers (Ephesians 6:12, Colossians 2:15) are not elite players on a chessboard, nor is Satan the master strategist he thinks he is. Jesus Christ is the Grandmaster of all Grandmasters (Revelation 1:8), and Satan himself is merely a pawn on the King’s table.

Their Death Strategy

This reality was never more obvious than when the powers of hell influenced the Sadducees, Pharisees, Lawyers, and Scribes to put Jesus to death. In the minds of these religious leaders, they were finally crushing their rival and protecting their own religious empire (John 11:48). Jesus had threatened their social status, exposed their spiritual bankruptcy (Matthew 23:27-28), and stripped away their influence over the people. And in typical satanic fashion, when they couldn’t keep the relationship with the people together in a biblical way, they resorted to threats of banishment and other strong-arm tactics. (John 12:42-43).

By orchestrating His execution, they believed they were getting even, protecting their institution, and securing their control, completely unaware that they were fighting God Himself (Acts 5:39, Acts 7:51 CEV). Yet they fulfilled the scriptures (Luke 24:44; Acts 13:27), accomplishing God’s eternal purpose through Christ’s death for the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 2:2).

The Root of All Evil

To carry out their evil plot, Satan inspired them to leverage Judas Iscariot’s greed, bribing him with thirty pieces of silver. Satan entered Judas (Luke 22:3, John 13:27), convinced that by murdering the Son of God, he was securing a final defeat against Heaven. Jesus said regarding the traitor, “Good for that man had he not been born.” (Matthew 26:24) He also told Herod that the one who turned him over to the authorities had the greater sin. (John 19:11) Yet Satan’s desperate attempt to destroy God’s plan was actually his complete undoing. (John 12:30-32)

The religious leaders worked tirelessly to eliminate the Messiah, all the while completely blind to the fact that their frantic efforts were the exact vehicle God used to bring about salvation (Acts 2:23). As the author of Hebrews reminds us, it was precisely through death that Christ defeated the one who held the power of death, that is, the Devil (Hebrews 2:14). Satan and the conspirators played right into the divine plan they were trying so hard to ruin.

Agents of Divine Will?

Every individual and group involved in the betrayal, trial, and execution of Jesus acted out of their own sinful lusts (James 1:14-15), political ambitions, and personal anxieties. And while pursuing their own plans, they were ignorantly and actively accomplishing God’s will.

Paul tells us that had the rulers of this age truly understood what they were doing, they never would have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). They operated in total spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:4), completely unaware that their relentless crusade to protect their own legacy and destroy the Son of God was fulfilling every jot and tittle of the Scriptures. (Matthew 26:54-56)

Jesus and Joseph

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27-28 ESV)

God did not force these men to become evil, nor did He author their sin (James 1:13, 1 John 1:5). Instead, in His absolute sovereignty, He used their voluntary wickedness to bring about His redemption. Just as Joseph told his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20), so too God took the enemy’s most vicious attempt to thwart His plan and turned it into total victory on the cross (Colossians 2:14-15).

The Things Which Happened to Me

Joseph and Jesus were not the only ones to suffer at the hands of their own people. Paul went to Jerusalem knowing that trials and afflictions awaited him (Acts 20:22-23, Acts 21:11-13). The unbelieving Jews and religious leaders who always resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51) also resisted Paul (Acts 13:45, Acts 14:19). When he appeared before Festus, Felix, and Agrippa, he gave testimony along these lines (Acts 24-26). Their relentless persecution put Paul’s life at risk, so he appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11).

Once he finally arrived in Rome in chains (Acts 28:16, Acts 28:20), it would seem that the Gospel had been thwarted and that Satan, who often hindered Paul (1 Thess. 2:18), was behind it. In the same way he influenced Judas, he had inspired the unbelieving Jews. Once again, it backfired.

“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Phil. 1:12-14)

The unbelieving Jews intended to snuff out Paul and the Gospel, but ended up spreading it and emboldening other Christians to share their faith. Their actions accomplished God’s will, but it did not absolve them of their guilt before God. In fact, Paul said that this behavior brought upon them God’s wrath to the uttermost (1 Thess. 2:16).

A Sobering Warning

This reality carries an extremely sobering implication for anyone living today, especially those who claim to be Christians, pastors, or spiritual leaders. You can chase your own selfish ambitions, maneuver for religious prestige, manipulate others, and walk in the envy and pride of your own heart (Proverbs 16:18, Galatians 5:19-21). You can obsessively build your own kingdom with zero regard for how your actions impact God’s people and the true kingdom of God. But God will reveal the hidden counsels of the hearts on judgment day and reward everyone according to their works.

Some obstructive leaders self-deceitfully believe that their own personal will and God’s will are the same (Jeremiah 17:9, Galatians 6:3). But make no mistake: while Satan deliberately seeks to wage war against Heaven (Revelation 12:7-9), human beings often fight against God unawares (Acts 5:39), driven simply by the blind pursuit of their own agendas, power, and self-preservation.

Sovereign Victory

Yet, as Saints, we can be encouraged to know that people’s personal aspirations and self-absorption will never derail God’s ultimate will (Job 42:2, Isaiah 46:10). It may appear so in the early stages, but, like Joseph and Jesus, we find the truth in the end. God will always accomplish His will- either through people’s humble obedience (Philippians 2:8) or by sovereignly overruling their self-serving motives (Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 21:1).

However, do not be deceived into thinking that because God used a person’s actions for good, they are innocent (Galatians 6:7). The religious leaders, Judas, and every self-serving leader who walks in their own will are to be held strictly accountable. He will bring all counsels of the hearts into judgment (1 Corinthians 4:5, Ecclesiastes 12:14). Unless they truly repent (Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19), they will stand before a holy God and face His judgment for their evil intentions, their arrogant personal aspirations, and the way their self-will collided with God and His people (Hebrews 10:30-31).

Final Judgment

God’s judgment is real, inevitable, and absolute (Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:11-15). As Jesus solemnly warned regarding His own betrayal, “The Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed” (Luke 22:22). Fulfilling a role in God’s broader providence confers no immunity from divine condemnation. God will render to every person according to their works (Romans 2:6).

The message for every person, and especially for leaders, moving in self-will and pride, is clear: stop living for your own agenda while you still can (Isaiah 55:6-7). Wake up from the delusion that your personal success is synonymous with God’s glory. Turn away from your wicked motives, lay down your self-centered aspirations, and humble yourself in sincere repentance before the King (James 4:6-10, 1 Peter 5:5-6). If you do not repent of the hidden lusts and ambitions that drive your actions, you will face the terrible weight of His judgment, not because you succeeded in stopping God, but because, in your pursuit of yourself, you stood directly in His way.

 

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