The Gospel of Invasion

Jesus Preaching, by Tissot

It might be held... that the ethics of Confucianism have an independent value quite apart from the story of the life of Confucius himself, just as the philosophy of Plato must be considered on its own merits, quite apart from the traditions that have come down to us about the life of Plato and the question of the extent of his indebtedness to Socrates.

But the argument can be applied to the New Testament only if we ignore the real essence of Christianity. For the Christian gospel is not primarily a code of ethics or a metaphysical system; it is first and foremost good news, and as such it was proclaimed by its earliest preachers.

True, they called Christianity 'The Way' and 'The Life'; but Christianity as a way of life depends upon the acceptance of Christianity as good news. And this good news is intimately bound up with the historical order, for it tells how for the world's redemption God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The first recorded words of our Lord's public preaching in Galilee are: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near; repent and believe the good news."

F. F. Bruce
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?



(This is a reprint of an earlier post by one of my all-time favorite Bible scholars.)

The Great Announcement - Part 3

Jesus Before Pilate

Painting by James Tissot

The story so far: In the first two parts of this series (part 1, part 2) we've seen that, despite the widespread idea that the Gospel is mainly a message of God's love and forgiveness (although it is that), Jesus of Nazareth repeatedly defined it differently -- as an announcement of the impending establishment of the Kingdom of God. As we read through the accounts of Jesus' life, this kingdom gets closer and closer until he occasionally speaks of it as actually having arrived.

So now we come to the part of the story everyone knows: Jesus' capture, execution, and return to life. This brief installment will focus on that supreme crisis moment and what Jesus' final words were about the Kingdom of God he'd been proclaiming for so long. Then, in part 4, we'll look at the very different way the resurrected Jesus -- later followed by his students -- began to talk about himself and his kingdom.

The universe changed during these few days, and his Gospel and the kingdom it announced changed too: It changed in the way that something being announced changes when it finally arrives.

Rome

Just before his crucifixion, Jesus is recorded as having made two important statements about the kingdom he's been proclaiming and his position in it, one to the roman authority in Palestine and one to the Jewish authority there.

His discussion with the roman prefect Pontius Pilate is especially interesting as we watch Jesus try to explain to a non-Jewish mind what kind of Messiah he is. Remember, the title "Messiah" carried very militaristic connotations to the average 1st century Jew or roman occupier, connotations Jesus had no use for. This is likely one of the reasons Jesus preferred to call himself "Son of Man," a more vague prophetic term that he could fill with his own meaning. But Pilate shows no sign of being familiar with that concept. So Jesus had to use another approach.

Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

Jesus answered, “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?”

Pilate replied, “Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!”

So Pilate asked him, “Are you a king, then?”

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.”

“And what is truth?” Pilate asked.

(John 18.33-38, GNB)

Jesus confesses that he has a kingdom, but not the kind Pilate means, not a kingdom that "belongs to this world" and deals in battles and bloodshed. But when asked directly (for the second time) if he is in fact a king, Jesus prefers to define for himself what being king of a kingdom that doesn't belong to the world means.

Israel

To the Jewish authorities however Jesus was rather blunt:

Again the high priest questioned him: ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?’

‘I am,’ said Jesus; ‘and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven.’

(Mark 14.61-62, GNB, and also Matthew 26.63-64)

Jesus blatantly called forth the image of the famous prophetic passage in Daniel 7 that the term "Son of Man" comes from:

I saw in the night visions,
     and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
     and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
     And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
     that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
     his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
     and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

(Daniel 7.13-14, ESV)

Yes, he affirms, he definitely is the expected Messiah, the apocalyptic "Son of Man," on familiar terms with the "Ancient of Days" and inheritor of a kingdom that encompasses all the earth and will never pass away. The Jewish authorities were familiar with these terms, and knew precisely what he was claiming.

Dregs

Jesus has one more brief discussion about his kingdom, this time not with leaders and scholars but, appropriately enough for Jesus, with the dregs of society -- a crucified criminal. “Jesus," he says, "remember me when you come in your kingdom.”

And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

(Luke 23.42-43)

One does not enter paradise with the Messiah without being a citizen of the Messiah's kingdom. Just to draw the meaning of these pregnant words out a bit, Jesus is saying, "That day when I come in my kingdom? That day is today, and you will be there with me. The kingdom starts now."

Leaving Nazareth

Christ in the Synagogue

Painting by Nikolay Ge, 1868

Nobody upvoted this response, which happens on Quora sometimes. In fact, almost nobody paid attention to the question at all.  But I didn't think it was too bad for a short answer. 


Q: Why did Jesus have to leave Nazareth to get his first followers?

A: Nazareth in Christ’s time was a tiny, insignificant village of around 400 people — not much of an audience. Also, as his quoting of a popular proverb (“not without honor, except in his hometown”) indicates, they were not inclined to see this carpenter, whom they’d watched grow up, as a possible Messiah. In fact, Luke's Gospel reports they were downright hostile! Add to that the rumor that he was illegitimate — born out of wedlock.

To expose his message to as large an audience as possible — and generate followers — it would have been necessary to base his operation in a larger, slightly more cosmopolitan town like Capernaum (population 1500+) and canvas all of Galilee, as the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) describe.

In addition, John’s gospel indicates that Jesus met his earliest and most important students (Peter, Andrew, and possibly John) in the crowds that gathered around John the Baptist, south of Galilee on the Jordan river.

To sum up, Nazareth was a small and rather hostile audience, but Capernaum, the Galilee region, and particularly John the Baptist’s hangers-on provided more fertile soil for Jesus’ unique message.

One

Irenaeus of Lyon

"There is one body and one Spirit, and God chose you to have one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God and Father of us all, who rules over everyone. He works through all of us and in all of us."

(Letter to the Ephesians chapter 4 verses 4 - 6, ERV)

___________________

Irenaeus was a leader, thinker, and writer in the early Christian Movement. He had grown up in the church at Smyrna (in today's Turkey) led by Polycarp, a legend in the early church. Polycarp had been a student of John the Apostle himself, and he passed on stories and teachings from John and other "elders" in the Movement. Irenaeus absorbed it all with the fabulous mind he had. As an adult he moved east to Lyons, France where he cared for the Movement's outpost there and handed on the 'deposit of faith' as he had heard it from Polycarp, who had received it from St. John the Apostle who received it from... Well, I imagine you can see what makes Irenaeus so important in the history of the Christian Movement.

Today, Irenaeus describes what was in the revelation Jesus entrusted his Apostles with, and how carefully it was handed on.

Now the Church, although scattered over the whole civilized world to the end of the earth, received from the apostles and their disciples its faith in one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven, and the earth, and the seas, and all that is in them, and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation, and in the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets proclaimed the dispensations of God—the comings, the birth of a virgin, the suffering, the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily reception into the heavens of the beloved, Christ Jesus our Lord, and his coming from the heavens in the glory of the Father to restore all things, and to raise up all flesh, that is, the whole human race, so that every knee may bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, to Christ Jesus our Lord and God and Saviour and King, according to the pleasure of the invisible Father, and every tongue may confess him, and that he may execute righteous judgment on all. 

The spiritual powers of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and fell into apostasy, and the godless and wicked and lawless and blasphemers among men he will send into the eternal fire. But to the righteous and holy, and those who have kept his commandments and have remained in his love, some from the beginning [of life] and some since their repentance, he will by his grace give life incorrupt, and will clothe them with eternal glory.

Having received this preaching and this faith, as I have said, the Church, although scattered in the whole world, carefully preserves it, as if living in one house. She believes these things [everywhere] alike, as if she had but one heart and one soul, and preaches them harmoniously, teaches them, and hands them down, as if she had but one mouth. For the languages of the world are different, but the meaning of the [Christian] tradition is one and the same. Neither do the churches that have been established in Germany believe otherwise, or hand down any other tradition, nor those among the Iberians, nor those among the Celts, nor in Egypt, nor in Libya, nor those established in the middle parts of the world.

Irenaeus of Lyons (early 2nd century – c. AD 202)
Against All Heresies book 1 chapters 10 sections 1 - 2 (written about AD 180)

Seeing the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God, which is the main subject of the Gospel (see here and here for more), is not a far future thing. If you are reigned over by the Messiah Jesus from his throne in Heaven, then you are a citizen of that Kingdom now. Yes, there is a time still future when every knee will bow whether they accept his reign or not, but his reign as High King of the Universe exists in the present.

____________________

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. 

Jesus: The kingdom of God comes—but not with signs that you can observe. People are not going to say, “Look! Here it is!” They’re not going to say, “Look! It’s over there!” You want to see the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is already here among you.  (Luke 17.20-21, Voice)

He says, “Do not ask about the times in which the season of the kingdom of heaven will again arise and come. Rather, be eager that you may be found worthy of it. It is within you. That is, it depends on your own wills and is in your own power, whether or not you receive it. Everyone that has attained to justification by means of faith in Christ and decorated by every virtue is counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven."

Cyril of Alexandria (AD 375-444)
Commentary on Luke, Homily 117.

If the devil has been driven out and sin no longer reigns, then the kingdom of God is established in us... St. Paul described the nature of this kingdom in this way: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” If the kingdom of God is within us and is righteousness, peace and joy, then someone that remains in these is surely within the kingdom of God. Someone that remains in unrighteousness, conflict and the melancholy that kills the life of the spirit is already a citizen of the devil’s kingdom, of hell and of death. These are the signs whether it is God’s kingdom or the devil’s.

John Cassian  (AD 360-435)
Conference 1.13.

The Great Announcement - Part 2

Hi, I'm still on vacation but as promised on Tuesday here is the 2nd installment of our series on what the Gospel truly is, The Great Announcement. On Sunday there will be the usual mini-sermon from a past champion of the Christian Movement, then next week, heaven willing, I hope to post part 3.

Jesus announces God's Kingdom

In our first installment we found that, as Messiah, Jesus himself preached the gospel (or 'Good News.' On this blog it's usually called 'the Great Announcement'). Its subject was that, "The right time is now here. God's kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News," (Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 14-15 and Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 verse 17, Easy-to-Read Version. ). 

Now, we as get into the Gospel accounts, Jesus continues spreading this message about God's Kingdom and how close it is. Please remember that, as we learned last time, the gospel we usually hear today doesn't have much about a kingdom in it.  In fact one respected site defines it this way: "There is a God, he loves you, and you can know him personally." 

Jesus announces this Kingdom in the towns and synagogues of his home district of Galilee, (Matthew chapter 9 verse 35 ERV), eventually moving into the southern Judean synagogues near Jerusalem as well, (Gospel of Luke chapter 4 verse 44 ERV). Later, he sends out his Apostles (Luke chapter 9 verses 1-2 ERV) and then a larger group (Luke chapter 10 verse 1-10 ERV) to spread the same message: "God’s kingdom is now very near you!"  (Luke chapter 10 verse 9 ERV).

And one must admit, if the Messiah were to canvas Palestine with an important message, God's Kingdom would be the most logical subject. After all, he's supposed to set it up. 

Closer

Continuing through the Gospels, we start to see the time until this Kingdom comes shrinking! Now instead of being "very near you," Jesus begins to announce that it is here. Once, after performing an exorcism, he makes this startling claim: "But I use the power of God (literally, "the finger of God") to force out demons. This shows that God’s kingdom has now come to you," (Luke chapter 11 verse 20 and Matthew chapter12 verse 28 ERV). A few chapters later a group of Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom he talks about will come. Instead of giving them a timetable or list of signs to look for, he tells them this:

“God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you can see it. People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is here with you."

 (Luke chapter 17 verse 21 ERV)

In Luke's Gospel Jesus sums it up this way:

Before John the Baptizer came, people were taught the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. But since the time of John, the Good News about God’s kingdom is being told.

  (Luke chapter 16 verse 16 ERV)

Last Days

During his last few days teaching in the Jerusalem temple, his constant theme is God's Kingdom (read Matthew chapters 21 through 24 ).  The last time Jesus mentions the gospel before he is executed is to remind his students one more time what to teach: "The Good News I have shared about God’s kingdom will be told throughout the world. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come," (Matthew chapter 24 verse 14 ERV).

(Well, not exactly the last time. Being Jesus of Nazareth, friend of babies and fishermen, he made sure that Mary of Bethany's loving and possibly prophetic act would be remembered forever whenever the Great Announcement is made. And it has been, hasn't it. Another prophecy of his come true.)

My main point this time was to show that when Jesus said "gospel" he meant "Kingdom," and that this is rather different from what we mean when we say "gospel" today. In part 3 we'll cross through the Messiah's execution and resurrection to see how that pivot of history affected -- and did not affect -- the message Jesus proclaimed.

The Great Announcement - Part 1

(I'm on vacation this week.  Since I've almost finished the 3rd installment of my series The Great Announcement (about what the gospel really is) I thought it might be helpful if I reprint parts 1 and 2 while I'm gone. Here is the first; Part 2 will follow on Thursday.)

(Photo courtesy of Hannahmw)

God has a message for us, one that is so important and powerful that accepting it can transform the very nature of your existence -- not just in a nice metaphorical way, but a real, actual change. The Christian Movement was founded in large part to spread this message. I'm talking about the Gospel, of course. Anyone who's ever taken a cursory glance at Christianity knows it teaches that to "be saved" (whatever that means) you have to believe "the Gospel."

So what is the message? What does it say? That's what this occasional series will be about: What the Gospel is.

Probably the most common answer to the question runs something like this (which I'm taking from a site that named itself after this message): "So what is it? Here it is: There is a God, he loves you, and you can know him personally. That's it."

But, not to be a spoil sport or anything, that's not really it. 'It' is in there, it's part of the gospel and it's wonderful, but wonderful as it is it's almost a side issue to the main thing God wants said. It's not the "point" of the Gospel "spear."

Just as a side point think about this: Has it ever struck you as odd that the Gospel message we usually hear is, well, rather self-centered? I mean, stripped down to its bare bones, the Gospel is often presented as, "Avoid Hell. Believe this so you can go to Heaven when you die." Jesus and his greatest champions down through history did not do self-centered. His followers do self-sacrifice.  Does it make sense then that the main point of God's message would be about getting something?

So let's take a look through Christianity's founding documents and see what Christ and his messengers said this "Gospel" (a.k.a. "Good News") was really about.

Where Are We?

How Messiahs are supposed to look (Judas
Maccabeus,  a Messiah from a century and a
half before Jesus)

First a bit of background.

The nation of Israel was set up by God so that, "All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants," (Genesis chapter 22 verse 18 CEB). But by the time Jesus showed up, they had fallen far from the heady days of of David and Solomon. For the last approximately 600 years they had been subject to other nations, the current one being Rome. Although the nation technically had some liberty the Romans kept them them on a very short leash and soldiers were everywhere.

But many Jews believed that their prophetic books promised them a "Messiah" to deliver them from their oppressors and make them an independent kingdom once again. There were a plethora of views on what exactly this Messiah would be like and do, but mainstream opinion included at least this much: That he would be a mighty warrior who would march into town, cleanse the Temple of pagan influences, defeat Israel's enemies, and set up the "Kingdom of God" (or "of Heaven," which was a respectful way to refer to God).

Meet Jesus

So now we encounter Jesus of Nazareth for the first time. He is proclaiming a message that he calls "The Gospel." How does it go? "After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” (Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 14-15, Common English Version).

Interesting. Not much like the Gospel I quoted at the beginning. I used the Common English Version instead of my usual translation so we could feel a little of the impact this would have had on the average oppressed 1st century Jew. It would have been rather incendiary!  Matthew's Gospel tells us that, "Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, (Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 verse 23).

In our next installment we'll follow this gospel message through Christ's resurrection, into the early Christian Movement and see where it takes us.

The Gospel of Invasion

Jesus Preaching, by Tissot

It might be held... that the ethics of Confucianism have an independent value quite apart from the story of the life of Confucius himself, just as the philosophy of Plato must be considered on its own merits, quite apart from the traditions that have come down to us about the life of Plato and the question of the extent of his indebtedness to Socrates.

But the argument can be applied to the New Testament only if we ignore the real essence of Christianity. For the Christian gospel is not primarily a code of ethics or a metaphysical system; it is first and foremost good news, and as such it was proclaimed by its earliest preachers.

True, they called Christianity 'The Way' and 'The Life'; but Christianity as a way of life depends upon the acceptance of Christianity as good news. And this good news is intimately bound up with the historical order, for it tells how for the world's redemption God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The first recorded words of our Lord's public preaching in Galilee are: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near; repent and believe the good news."

F. F. Bruce
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?

What Preaching Should Do

Preaching must either break a hard heart or heal a broken one.

--John Newton


Preaching (including internet preaching) is foolish, you know. The Apostle Paul said so himself:

Since in the wisdom of God the world by its own wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. (1 Corinthians 1.21)

"Preach" is something of a dirty word today: "Don't you preach at me!" Preaching today is usually assumed to be criticism.  But in reality, Christian preaching is supposed to be about the Gospel, the message Jesus sent us to spread all over the world.  And the Gospel is really an announcement -- the Great Announcement as we like to call it on this site: "The universe has a king, namely, Jesus of Nazareth! His Kingdom is here, now and will put everything right! Come join it; everyone is invited."

Oh, and as part of the bargain, every wrong, selfish thing you've ever done will be forgiven forever.

This is not criticism, it's good news.

As this blog frequently points out, Paul also said that this announcement, "is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes," (Romans 1.16). This announcement, itself, is charged with that power.

When people hear it -- truly hear it -- the hardest hearts can break with compassion for their fellow beings, and the most injured hearts can heal.

Grounded in History

Jesus Preaching, by Tissot

It might be held... that the ethics of Confucianism have an independent value quite apart from the story of the life of Confucius himself, just as the philosophy of Plato must be considered on its own merits, quite apart from the traditions that have come down to us about the life of Plato and the question of the extent of his indebtedness to Socrates.

But the argument can be applied to the New Testament only if we ignore the real essence of Christianity. For the Christian gospel is not primarily a code of ethics or a metaphysical system; it is first and foremost good news, and as such it was proclaimed by its earliest preachers.

True, they called Christianity 'The Way' and 'The Life'; but Christianity as a way of life depends upon the acceptance of Christianity as good news. And this good news is intimately bound up with the historical order, for it tells how for the world's redemption God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The first recorded words of our Lord's public preaching in Galilee are: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near; repent and believe the good news."

F. F. Bruce
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?

Questions & Answers

Favorite NT Wright quote of the day:

"It’s important that we do not reduce the Bible to a collection of true doctrines and right ethics. There are plenty of true doctrines and right ethics there, of course, but they come within the larger thing, which is the story of how the Creator is rescuing and restoring the whole creation, with his rescue and restoration of humans at the heart of it. In other words, it isn't about “do we allow this or that?” To ask the question that way is already to admit defeat, to think in terms of behavior as a set of quasi-arbitrary, and hence negotiable, rules."

Easter: "...If Christ has never been raised..."

The Holy Women at the Tomb

by James Tissot

If what we celebrate on Easter didn't really happen, says the Apostle Paul, then there is really no point in being a member of the Christian Movement at all.

True, Jesus taught very high ethics but, as C.S. Lewis showed in his book The Abolition of Man, other people taught them too. It wasn't being a great ethical teacher that made Jesus different. It was his resurrection -- and what it means -- that made him different. And if that never happened, then you might as well move along. Find an easier religion or philosophy, one that hasn't gotten people insulted and martyred for the last two millennia.

After all, "If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else."

On the other hand if this really happened, if the Messiah came back from the dead, well... That changes everything.

______________________

"I gave you the message that I received. I told you the most important truths: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day, as the Scriptures say; and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. After that Christ appeared to more than 500 other believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. Then he appeared to James and later to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to me. I was different, like a baby born before the normal time.

"If Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. And we will also be guilty of lying about God, because we have told people about him, saying that he raised Christ from death...

"If Christ has not been raised from death, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. And those in Christ who have already died are lost."

First Letter to the Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 - 8, 14, 17 - 19, ERV

The Man Who Won Ireland

Saint Patrick was never about green beer and corned beef. One of the Christian movement's boldest heroes, Patrick was by his own account a slave who escaped his harsh Irish owner only to be sent back by divine vision to evangelize his former captors.

And evangelize them he did, almost singlehandedly winning the nation's loyalty to Jesus by persuading them that the God of the Christians was much kinder than the bloodthirsty spirits they worshiped -- kind enough to die for them, rather than insisting they die for him. For more information on that exploit of Patrick's and other reasons we Irish are are so great, I heartily recommend Thomas Cahill's book How The Irish Saved Civilization.

Patrick was no myth but a real, historical man. On this St. Patrick's Day, between sips of green beer, take a listen to this reading of his autobiography.  Or read it for yourself here.

_________________________

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on the cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

But Why 40 Days?

(This is an update of an article from last year.)

Why did Jesus fast 40 days in the wilderness? Why do we fast that length of time to imitate him? Here's one reason.

Only three people in the entire Bible are recorded as fasting for 40 days: Moses (Book of Exodus, chapter 34 verse 28, ERV), Elijah (First Book of Kings, chapter 19 verse 8, ERV), and Jesus. These three men marked the most important epochs in the history of the people of God. Even Abraham was never called upon to fast 40 days, important as he was.

The Lineage

Jesus fasting in the wilderness

Moses instituted the "Old Covenant" between God and his nation and gave the Law to the children of Israel. This was the pattern of life God wanted them to follow and, we find out later, a pointer to virtually every aspect of Jesus' later work. Moses' fast occurred right at this crucial point in the story.

Elijah was seen as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. The main job of Israel's prophets, incidentally, was to call the people back to the Law God had given them through Moses. His fast came at Israel's lowest point up to that time, when it appeared (to him) that he was the last believer in Yahweh the God of Israel -- and he was about to be killed too! At Sinai, when his fast was done, God renewed and recommissioned Elijah.

As Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth was the culmination of God's plan and superseded every thing Moses and Elijah had done. He pointed this out as bluntly and plainly as possible: "The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 16 verse 16).

Moses and the Law

Jesus fasted the same length of time as Moses and Elijah to show he stood in their spiritual lineage, which he was destined to transcend. Not destroy it; there is a continuity in God's ways. But to "fulfill" it, to make it all come true (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 verse 17, ERV). From here on out the Kingdom of God was present in the person of its King and all the things Moses and Elijah -- "The Law and the Prophets" -- stood for were subsumed and fulfilled in the Messiah: "He interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 24 verse 27, ERV).

We see this pictured in a single image during Jesus' transfiguration: Moses, giver of the Law, and Elijah, the master prophet of Israel, stand in glory with their Messiah and speak of his upcoming supreme victory over evil on the cross in Jerusalem. One of them, Moses perhaps, calls it Jesus' "exodus," fulfilling the one Moses had led:

"Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. They were clothed with heavenly splendor and spoke about Jesus' departure (in Greek, "exodon"), which he would achieve in Jerusalem," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 9 verses 30-31).

What About Us?

But what about us? Why do we ordinary, everyday Christians fast (in a much less agonizing way) for 40 days like Moses, Elijah, and Jesus did? Lots of reasons, but one of the most important is this: Because we are not ordinary and everyday. The Messiah has inducted us into his Movement and we have sworn allegiance to him, which means we are now part of that same spiritual lineage as he (and they) are. He is our head and we are his body (Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1 verses 22-23, CEB). We are the Kingdom here and now, just as he was.

We don't merely act on Christ's behalf, we act as Christ -- as his personal way to permeate, transform, and eventually conquer the world. We are him to this world. Over the millennia Christ's Movement has found one of the most useful ways to become more like Jesus is to live our way through the events of his life each year, as we discussed in this post from 2011.

By imitating Jesus' 40 day fast we stand in the same line as Jesus, Elijah, and Moses did. We fast 40 days because Jesus fasted 40 days and we are his body. Doing this year by year melds the body ever closer to the head. Or, to reverse the image, keeping lent each year enables the world to see the head more clearly through the body.

Frankly, if we take it seriously, the 40 days fast prods us to stand up and openly state that, "Why yes, as a matter of fact I am part of Christ's body in this world!" With Jesus there was never any doubt what he was up to. We, on the other hand, can fit in a little too well and all unawares sink into a gentle anonymity. But when we come into work with a big smudgy ash cross on your forehead, or have to fumble for an explanation at lunch as to why we're not eating meat right now or must let all our friends know we won't be on Facebook for over a month, that can prompt awkward questions.

But that's ok because, after all, we're just the latest generation of that famous spiritual lineage.

The Great Announcement - Part 2

Jesus announces God's Kingdom

(This is Part 2 of a series I began way back in last November on just what the gospel really is. Part 1 can be found here or here.)

In our first installment we found that, as Messiah, Jesus himself preached the gospel (or 'Good News.' On this blog it's usually called 'the Great Announcement'). Its subject was that, "The right time is now here. God's kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News," (Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 14-15 and Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 verse 17, Easy-to-Read Version. ). 

Now, we as get into the Gospel accounts, Jesus continues spreading this message about God's Kingdom and how close it is. Please remember that, as we learned last time, the gospel we usually hear today doesn't have much about a kingdom in it.  In fact one respected site defines it this way: "There is a God, he loves you, and you can know him personally." 

Jesus announces this Kingdom in the towns and synagogues of his home district of Galilee, (Matthew chapter 9 verse 35 ERV), eventually moving into the southern Judean synagogues near Jerusalem as well, (Gospel of Luke chapter 4 verse 44 ERV). Later, he sends out his Apostles (Luke chapter 9 verses 1-2 ERV) and then a larger group (Luke chapter 10 verse 1-10 ERV) to spread the same message: "God’s kingdom is now very near you!"  (Luke chapter 10 verse 9 ERV).

And one must admit, if the Messiah were to canvas Palestine with an important message, God's Kingdom would be the most logical subject. After all, as Messiah he's supposed to be tasked with setting it up. 

Closer

Continuing through the Gospels, we start to see the time until this Kingdom comes beginning to shrink! Now instead of being "very near you," Jesus begins to announce that it is here. Once, after performing an exorcism, he makes this startling claim: "But I use the power of God (literally, "the finger of God") to force out demons. This shows that God’s kingdom has now come to you," (Luke chapter 11 verse 20 and Matthew chapter12 verse 28 ERV). A few chapters later a group of Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom he talks about will come. Instead of giving them a timetable or list of signs to look for, he tells them this:

“God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you can see it. People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is here with you."

 (Luke chapter 17 verse 21 ERV)

In Luke's Gospel Jesus sums it up this way:

Before John the Baptizer came, people were taught the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. But since the time of John, the Good News about God’s kingdom is being told.

  (Luke chapter 16 verse 16 ERV)

Last Days

During his last few days teaching in the Jerusalem temple, his constant theme is God's Kingdom (read Matthew chapters 21 through 24 ).  The last time Jesus mentions the gospel before he is executed is to remind his students one more time what to teach: "The Good News I have shared about God’s kingdom will be told throughout the world. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come," (Matthew chapter 24 verse 14 ERV).

(Well, not exactly the last time. Being Jesus of Nazareth, friend of babies, fishermen, and women, he made sure that Mary of Bethany's loving and possibly prophetic act would be remembered forever whenever the Great Announcement is made. And it has been, hasn't it. Another prophesy that came true.)

My main point this time was to show that when Jesus said "gospel" he meant "Kingdom," and that this is rather different from what we mean when we say "gospel" today. In part 3 we'll focus specifically on the day of Jesus' execution when he made 3 final and extremely important statements about the Kingdom of God and himself as its Messiah.

Part 3>>>

 

The Great Announcement - Part 1

This way to Part 2! >>>

(Photo courtesy of Hannahmw)

God has a message for us, one that is so important and powerful that accepting it can transform the very nature of your existence -- not just in a nice metaphorical way, but a real, actual change. The Christian Movement was founded in large part to spread this message. I'm talking about the Gospel, of course. Anyone who's ever taken a cursory glance at Christianity knows it teaches that to "be saved" (whatever that means) you have to believe "the Gospel."

So what is the message? What does it say? That's what this occasional series will be about: What the Gospel is.

Probably the most common answer to the question runs something like this (which I'm taking from a site that named itself after this message): "So what is it? Here it is: There is a God, he loves you, and you can know him personally. That's it."

But, not to be a spoil sport or anything, that's not really it. 'It' is in there, it's part of the gospel and it's wonderful, but wonderful as it is it's almost a side issue to the main thing God wants said. It's not the "point" of the Gospel "spear."

Just as a side point think about this: Has it ever struck you as odd that the Gospel message we usually hear is, well, rather self-centered? I mean, stripped down to its bare bones, the Gospel is often presented as, "Avoid Hell. Believe this so you can go to Heaven when you die." Jesus and his greatest champions down through history did not do self-centered. His followers do self-sacrifice.  Does it make sense that the main point of God's message would be about getting something?

So let's take a look through Christianity's founding documents and see what Christ and his messengers said this "Gospel" (a.k.a. "Good News") was really about.

Where Are We?

How Messiahs are supposed to look (Judas
Maccabeus,  a Messiah from a century and a
half before Jesus)

First a bit of background.

The nation of Israel was set up by God so that, "All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants," (Genesis chapter 22 verse 18 CEB). But by the time Jesus showed up, they had fallen far from the heady days of of David and Solomon. For the last approximately 600 years they had been subject to other nations, the current one being Rome. Although the nation technically had some liberty the Romans kept them them on a very short leash and soldiers were everywhere.

But many Jews believed that their prophetic books promised them a "Messiah" to deliver them from their oppressors and make them an independent kingdom once again. There were a plethora of views on what exactly this Messiah would be like and do, but mainstream opinion included at least this much: That he would be a mighty warrior who would march into town, cleanse the Temple of pagan influences, defeat Israel's enemies, and set up the "Kingdom of God" (or "of Heaven," which was a respectful way to refer to God).

Meet Jesus

So now we encounter Jesus of Nazareth for the first time. He is proclaiming a message that he calls "The Gospel." How does it go? "After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” (Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 14-15, Common English Version).

Interesting. Not much like the Gospel I quoted at the beginning. I used the Common English Version  here instead of my usual translation so we could feel a little of the impact this would have had on the average oppressed 1st century Jew. It would have been rather incendiary!  Matthew's Gospel tells us that, "Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, (Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 verse 23).

In our next installments we'll follow this gospel message through Christ's resurrection, into the early Christian Movement and see where it takes us.

This way to Part 2! >>>

God’s Bias

At first blush one might think it’s almost blasphemy to suggest that God is biased. The default God of our current culture, should one believe in one at all, does not get involved much in the affairs of Earth. He played some part when the universe(s) began, perhaps "wound it up," but since then has sat back in his throne and let everything run it's course, declining to interfere for philosophical reasons. This view has been quite popular since Renaissance times.

But if God did have a preference, hypothetically speaking of course, many assume it would lean more toward the 'condemnation' side of things. You know, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God,” and all that...

"Recovery of Joy"

Meditation for a Sunday morning

  "The kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." 

(Letter to the Romans, chapter 14 verse 17, NET)

"From its very beginning Christianity has been the proclamation of joy, of the only possible joy on earth... Without the proclamation of this joy Christianity is incomprehensible. It was only as joy that the Church was victorious in the world, and it lost the world when it lost the joy, when it ceased to be a credible witness to it. Of all accusations against Christians, the most terrible one was uttered by Nietzsche when he said that Christianity had no joy... 'For behold, I bring you tidings of great  joy' -- thus begins the Gospel, and its end is: 'And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy...' (Gospel of Luke 2.10, 24,52). And we must recover the meaning of this great joy.

Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World (1988), p. 24

"Good News" About What?

Oddly enough, I was putting together an article on what exactly this 'Gospel' is that we proclaim, when I chanced upon this video that says everything I was going to say, says more, and says it better.

To me, 'Gospel' (along with the sentiments and terminology usually associated with it) is one of the main concepts that has become ossified among Christ's followers over the years. Largely for that reason calls to believe the Gospel are no longer terribly effective in inciting people to follow Jesus of Nazareth. 'Good News' is not far behind.

Fortunately, scholar Tom Wright has posted this video (which I borrowed from the 'Near Emmaus' blog who got it from Vimeo who got it from Evangelical Alliance) that shakes loose some of the shards of ossification.


Tom Wright on What the Gospel Is