A Quieter Storyline
Our culture is very noisy right now. The 24/7 news cycle and our social media feeds shout at us. They tell us to get busy and minimise the virus threat by being vigilant and running away from the invisible danger.
The main show in town at the moment is the coronavirus story. It is the loudest and the most urgent, but only to the untrained eye. Those who are attentive will be tuned into another story, a story much quieter and much more subtle.
At any one moment in time you can see multiple storylines running in parallel with one another. Our storyline, other people’s storylines, the culture’s storyline, political storylines, and of course God’s storyline.
Historically, God’s storyline has tended to be the one which is less noisy, less flashy, less ‘now’, and as a result has been the one which has been most neglected. But don’t let that fool you. God’s storyline is the oldest, the longest lasting, and is unstoppable.
Matthew’s telling of the trial, death, and resurrection of Jesus bears some similarities to our current cultural moment – important people flapping around, people concerned with self-preservation, manoeuvring, lots of noise, and a quieter unstoppable storyline in progress. Let’s take a quick stroll through Matthew 26-27 so you can see this dynamic more fully.
Matthew 26:1-2: Jesus tells his disciples He is about to get crucified. He forewarns them. His death is not a tragic accident. The storyline is clear to Jesus and He makes it clear to His disciples.
Matthew 26:3-5: The religious leaders get busy and enact their stealthy plan to take Jesus out. They want Him out of their storyline.
Matthew 26:14-16: Judas gets busy and offers his services to the religious leader’s cause. Jesus is dispensable to his storyline, and money is preferable.
Matthew 26:47-56: It gets busier and louder. A mob comes at night with clubs, Jesus is arrested, someone’s ear is cut off, the disciples flee.
Matthew 26:57-68: Jesus is put on trial by the important people, the religious leaders. They work hard to find something to pin on Him so they can kill Him, but they come up with nothing.
Matthew 26:69-75 – It gets noisy for Peter. He’s in the mix (which is more than can be said of the other disciples), but he fails the test. A servant girl breaks him, and he denies Jesus. The internal noise of the fear of others is too much.
Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26 – Jesus is delivered to Pilate. Pilate is curious about this Jesus but is more concerned about his own power. His wife has had a dream and as a result tells him to stay away from this Jesus. The religious leaders get the crowd noisy by turning them against Jesus. Pilate doesn’t want a riot and he hands over Jesus to be killed.
These two chapters of Matthew are noisy chapters. So many plot lines and sub-plot lines. The religious leaders have their agenda, Judas has his, Pilate and his wife have theirs, and Peter has his. And to make matters worse, many of these storylines are connected to the people in charge, the ones who have authority, the ones who can hurt Jesus.
What is Jesus doing in the midst of all this racket?
He is ‘steady as she goes.’
‘Steady as she goes’ is a nautical term used to describe a ship heading in the same direction, at the same speed, in spite of the wind and waves. This is Jesus. His answer to the High Priest in the midst of His trial highlights the quieter unstoppable storyline He is part of.
The high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Matthew 26:63–64
Jesus is executing the plan, getting it done, and it is going largely unnoticed. It isn’t the loudest or the flashiest storyline in the moment, but it is the most important one. Easter is happening. The salvation of the world is taking place.
Not much has changed.
Whilst God’s great story climaxed on the cross, it didn’t end there. God is still at work bringing about His plans and purposes. The untrained eye won’t notice His work, but those who are His children will see Him sneaking around bringing His good plans to pass in midst of our current trouble. This is what He does. But if we stay tuned into the racket and become too busy externally or internally, we will probably miss what He is up to, and will end up living an alternate storyline out of sync with true reality.
God’s story has power and momentum the coronavirus knows nothing about, but it is unconventional. It looks different to what we expect. His work is often smaller, sneakier, and counterintuitive. It operates more like yeast than Hollywood.
So, keep your eyes peeled.
He has never shied away from getting amongst the mess and the trouble.
His plans are being worked out right now.