Suggested Reading: Matthew 27:32-50
In the Superman prequel
series Smallville, Lex Luthor caught
Lana Lang at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable and manipulated her into
a romantic relationship and then into marriage. Before he married her, however, he
wanted to know if he could trust her. So he arranged for her to overhear a
compromising conversation to see how she would react. Lana responded by working
to protect Lex from what she perceived as a threat to him. Lex
tested her but in a way that showed no respect for her.
Reading through Matthew’s
account of the crucifixion, I recently noticed what might have been another
test. Jesus was hanging on the cross and had cried out to God saying, “Eli,
Eli, lema sabachtani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And
some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” And
one of them at once, ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put
it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us
see whether Elijah will come to save him” (Matthew 27:46-49, ESV). When Jesus was in emotional agony on the
cross, feeling the separation that the sin of the world created between him and
the Father, he cried out. One man wanted to take pity on him, giving him
something to drink that might deaden the pain but the others wanted to wait to
see if Elijah would come.
Some were likely mocking
him as one might mock a guilty criminal still hanging onto the pretense of
innocence. But others must have been watching this man, knowing that he claimed
to be the Messiah and that Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah made
himself known. According to Jesus, John the Baptizer had fulfilled the function
of Elijah, but no one had recognized him. So I wonder, how many of these people,
uncertain whether or not they were crucifying the Messiah, wanted one last
test to see if Elijah would respond before completely labeling him a false
messiah.
Whether anyone was
actually using these events as tests or not, we often engage in very similar
behavior. We let something “slip” at just the right moment to see how a friend
responds. We create a situation designed entirely to determine whether or not
we can trust someone without thinking about the betrayal of manipulating them.
Sometimes, we test God, putting God in a position of doing what we want or
threatening to stop believing (or at least to stop trusting), whether that
thing is really what we need or not. We test people and God in ways that are
selfish and demonstrate a lack of respect and a lack of love.
Watching how people
respond to natural situations is good and healthy. But manipulating people and
forcing them into sometimes painful situations just for our own peace of mind
is cruel, no matter how we justify it. Deciding whether we will trust God or
anyone else based on artificial criteria or self-created tests is childish and
immature.
Are you testing someone
at the moment? Are you thinking about doing it? Creating a test for someone may
not give you an accurate reading of their character, but it does create a very
definite image of who you are. Before you do anything, make certain you are
treating the person in question with love and respect. If your test pushes the
boundary of that standard, think twice before seeing it through.
