John chapter 12 reports Greeks coming to the Jerusalem Passover Festival, asking to see Jesus. He replies that his “hour” has now come, like grains of wheat which remain unproductive until they are sown in the earth and “die”. This all means the “judgement” of this world, when the “ruler of this world will be driven out” (verse 31).
But what does this mean? And who is the “ruler of this world”? The Roman Emperor? Some would say it is “Satan”, the “Adversary” or “Accuser”, who, according to the Book of Revelation (chapter 12, and verse 9) has been “thrown down”. But that simply states the question in different Biblical language.
Walter Wink, the US Methodist theologian who died in 2012, suggests that all human institutions and communities can develop a “personality” and strength of their own, which, if they are revered and “idolised”, can dominate and “imprison” the people who depend on them (see his 1998 book “The Powers that Be”)- “principalities and powers” which the New Testament letters discuss (for example Ephesians 6, verse 32).
Jesus asks his disciples to follow his example, to “hate” their lives- not to despise the ordinary life of their humanity, but almost forcefully to put that on one side in order to share in the vital task of challenging those “powers” and their dominance. “Hate” may be a stark and very Hebraic/Aramaic way of expressing it- but the reality is sometimes stark.
How do we known that all this is in fact the actual “words of Jesus”, written as they were in books a generation (or even two generations) after the event? The answer, of course, is that we cannot know that. We only have the memories and records of those who were witnesses to what Jesus did and taught. But the memories and reflections of that community are in no way inferior to some imagined “certainty”- and they challenge us to accept the same task of discernment and interpretation for our own day.
So who “rules the world” today? Certainly not a universal Emperor (though some may think of themselves as candidates for that role). If Wink is right about “semi-divine” institutions, perhaps free-market capitalism. Or the “military-industrial complex” (so described by President Eisenhower in 1961)- in power whichever President is in office. Or the bond market (James Carville in 1993).
Climate change and the extinction of species. Theologies which claim that God still has favourite nations today. Aggressive reactions to feminism and sexual justice (referred to sometimes as the “Manosphere”). Megalomaniacs who think that the risk of making pre-emptive strikes is worth taking because the price is acceptable.
All these- and perhaps others- might be described as “Satans” of our times. And will need to be “driven out”. But those who accept that task will need to know that the price they may be called on to pay will not be less that that paid by Jesus.
Weblinks:
Walter Wink: The Powers that Be https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=32430568148&dest=GBR&ref_=ps_ms_391300534&cm_mmc=msn-_-uk_shopp_used-_-naa-_-naa&msclkid=150960a82d7d11a4b2f8095f62a92277
Eisenhower: 1961 Farwell Address: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address
James Carvill: The Bond Market: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-james-carville/116810444/ https://tisegroup.com/news/2025/the-power-of-the-bond-market/