The Sacred Religious Box

In the scriptures, there are at least three instances when people whose lives where tranformed by the power of Christ were actually feared because of what their testimonies meant to the status quo, the religious box. The first instance is the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gadarenes (Luke 8:26-39). This man in whom was a legion of demons was delivered by the power of Christ. Prior to Jesus casting "Legion" out of this man, there is no mention of any complaint from anyone in the region about this man. But after his deliverance, fear gripped the people.

Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. (Luke 8:37)

Why were they afraid? Were they afraid that this man would now live a normal life? I hardly think so. They would have asked the delivered man to leave. They asked Jesus to leave because He disrupted their comfort zones. They were used to the way things were, and when Jesus came along, He caused comotion. They did not care that an opressed man was just set free. All they knew was that something unusual just happened, and they were afraid of the One who caused it, so they kindly asked Him to leave.

Compared to the following examples, the man of the Garadrenes hardly qualifies as an example of a sacred religious box. The next person is the blind man whom Jesus healed by anointing his eyes with spit and dirt. Immediately after Jesus healed him, the pharisees questioned him.
　
They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. (John 9:13-34)

The third person, surprisingly, is Lazarus. His testimony of being raised from the dead caused many of the Jews to believe in Jesus. This infuriated the Jewish clergy.

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He [Jesus] was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

All of this pales in comparison to the way Jesus infuriated the religious by violating their sacred religious boxes. All throughout the gospels, the pharisees and the saducees are devising how to get rid of Jesus before it's too late. In John is a clear look at what motivated their hatred for Jesus' outrageous behavior.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." (John 11:47-48)