Christus Victor

The Jesus Scandal

2011-11-22T12:27:00.004-06:00

Jesus offended lots of people. He repulsed Israel’s leaders. Sometimes even his sympathizers found him disgusting. His actions embarrassed friends and enraged critics. On the Judean gossip vine, you were bound to hear the horrified gasp—“He did what?” Outrageous! Scandalous!

But what, exactly, was it about Jesus that kept stirring up a hornet’s nest? Oddly enough, it was love. We don’t usually think that love is particularly controversial. The people of Israel certainly believed that love is a good thing. The Law of Moses taught them to love God with their whole heart, and to love their neighbors as themselves. All Israel agreed with Jesus regarding these ideals. But the manner in which Jesus loved God and his neighbor was controversial, even explosive.

Let’s scan the Gospel of Matthew to understand the uproar that surrounded Jesus. He is remembered as both a great teacher and a great healer: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them” (Matt 4:23-24). Jesus proclaims good news (the announcement of long hoped for but now realized events) of the kingdom (the restoration of God’s rightful rule over a disordered world), and he exemplifies this right-now manifestation of God’s gracious presence by curing every disease (the oppressed are now reconciled to God).

Jewish belief commonly associated illness with sin and healing with forgiveness. Good health was seen as a mark of God’s blessing, and illness as an indication of his disfavor (Deut 7:15; 1 Sam 5:9; Ps 38:3; 41:1-4). So when Jesus heals the multitudes, including those outside the pale of Jewish respectability and thought to be under the divine curse, he is indiscriminately and controversially expanding the boundaries of God’s favor. It is significant that the earliest documented healings performed by Jesus (Matt 8) highlight an unclean leper, the servant of a despised Roman centurion, and exiled demoniacs.

Matthew’s most revealing account of Jesus’ healing ministry is recorded in Matthew 9, the cure of a paralyzed man. It is representative of the many healings that would follow in both the merciful action of Jesus and the hostile response of Israel’s leaders. When the paralyzed man is brought to Jesus, the first thing Jesus says is “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Immediately, the experts in the Jewish law declare, “This man is blaspheming.” What right does Jesus have to offer forgiveness outside the official rite of God’s temple and (even worse) to give such assurance to a physically accursed and ritually impure individual? Jesus responds that God has given him authority on earth to forgive and then cures the paralytic on the spot to prove it.

This miracle story is immediately followed by further controversy. Jesus and his disciples are mingling promiscuously with “tax collectors and sinners” at communal dinners. Shocked by this breach of religious etiquette, the Pharisees—who call themselves “separated ones” in reference to their strict social boundaries—challenge Jesus about his bad habit of keeping company with the unrighteous. Ignoring the scandal, Jesus replies, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (9:10-13).

After Jesus heals still others who are shunned by Israel’s guardians of purity (a dead girl, a woman with bloody discharges, blind beggars and more demoniacs), the Pharisees erupt. They are not willing to grant that their righteous God would side-step the Torah-certified Temple to bestow forgiveness on odious sinners. Such outcasts undoubtedly brought sickness upon themselves through wicked deeds. Therefore, they say, it must be by a demon power that Jesus works his miracles (9:34).

But Jesus is undeterred. The movement of divine reconciliation and healing will now expand as Jesus directs his disciples to participate in the mission. He sends out the twelve, saying: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Jesus is sending them out “like sheep into the midst of wolves” and they will experience persecution just like their master. They must not shrink back from the scandal of divine mercy without borders. God’s kingdom is appearing here and now among the poor! The outrageous generosity of God will cause conflict and endanger the lives of the messengers. But they must not be afraid, for “whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (10:1-39). In Matthew’s Gospel, this is the first mention of the cross that will cast its ever growing shadow across Jesus’ path.

John the Baptist, imprisoned by King Herod, now sends messengers to Jesus. John has heard about the controversy that surrounds the Galilean who many believe to be the Messiah. Perhaps John, who proclaimed a message of fiery judgment against sin reminiscent of the prophet Jonah, is himself chagrined (again, like Jonah) by the seemingly liberal attitude Jesus takes toward sinners. John’s emissaries ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” And Jesus answers, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the dead are raised and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (11:2-6). In his reply, Jesus recounts the very actions that have sparked public opposition, he acknowledges the scandal, and he encourages his listeners to replace offense with belief in a God whose mercy excludes no one.

The Jesus Scandal continued to shake the nation. Even in Jesus’ hometown, his vision of a generous God was rejected as the townspeople “took offense at him” (13:54-58). The Gospel of Luke supplements Matthew’s account by providing the text from the Torah which Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk 4:16-21). When Jesus went on to describe the history of Gentiles who were open to God’s mercy in contrast to Israelite blindness, “all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill . . . so that they might hurl him off the cliff” (vv. 24-30).

The controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees over religious rituals are really, at bottom, about the character of God. In one conflict, the Pharisees and scribes criticize Jesus and his band for not washing their hands before eating (Matt 15:1-2, 10-13). The Pharisees believed that all who were truly religious would maintain the conditions of purity required of priests ministering in the Temple, as described in the book of Exodus (30:17-21). Non-practicing Jews and Gentiles did not ordinarily observe the hand-washing rituals. So this controversy apparently arises from the fellowship meals Jesus and his disciples shared with “sinners” for whom ritual purity was not a concern. Likewise, the frequent confrontations Jesus had with religious authorities over his healing on the Sabbath revolve around the question of whether God’s mercy trumps the strict enforcement of the fourth commandment (Matt 12:9-14; cf. Lk 13:10-17; 14:1-6; Jn 5:1-18; 9:1-16). These controversies are part and parcel of the Jesus Scandal.

Even the stories Jesus told were inflammatory. Many parables in Matthew’s Gospel represent the interpretation Jesus offered of his own ministry. These stories of grace point to a reversal of normal reality, just as God’s “unfair” generosity is displayed in Jesus’ deeds of reconciliation and healing:

· The one lost sheep that receives more attention from the shepherd than the 99 who are safe in the fold—justifying Jesus’ preference for outcasts (18:10-14);

· The servant who is released from an impossible debt but then treats a fellow servant harshly and is punished for his lack of mercy—driving home the limitless forgiveness God offers and also expects from his people (18:21-35);

· The farmer who gives a full day’s wage to those who worked only the last hour in his vineyard, and the all-day workers who protest such generosity—like the Pharisees who resent a merciful God (20:1-16);

· The rebellious son who in the end is more righteous than his outwardly dutiful brother—suggesting that “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you [Jewish leaders]” (21:23-31);

· The wedding banquet where the expected guests of distinction fail to show up and are replaced with riffraff off the street—just like the unwashed seekers who are blessed by Jesus while the guardians of Judaism stand aloof (22:1-10);

· The Gentile nations who show mercy “to the least of these” among the poor and sick are unexpectedly rewarded by God in the final judgment, while others are punished for their lack of mercy (25:31-46).

Such upside-down parables are disturbing. They invariably cause offense and exacerbate the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities: “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them” (21:45). Meanwhile the unseemly bestowal of God’s grace upon the “unworthy” rushes onward as Jesus heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman (15:21-28), provides a miraculous banquet for 4,000 Gentiles—mirroring an earlier miracle for 5,000 Jews (14:13-21; 15:32-39), exorcises a demon-possessed boy (17:14-20), and heals more blind men (20:29-34). And the scandal reaches a crescendo when Jesus drives out “all who were selling and buying in the temple,” making room in the temple court so that he could receive the “blind and the lame” who “came to him” for healing. Jesus justifies his radical act of temporarily halting the Temple sacrifices by quoting the prophets: “My house shall be called a house of prayer [for all peoples]; but you are making it a den of robbers” (21:12-17; cf. Mk 11:17; Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11).

The scandal of Jesus’ love for sinners has reached a climax and the authorities will now act to destroy him. As the plot to kill Jesus unfolds (26:1-5, 14-16), Jesus gathers his disciples for a final fellowship meal. Anticipating an imminent death, Jesus breaks a loaf and gives the pieces to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he gives them the cup, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (26:26-29). It is clear to Jesus that the divine favor bestowed on the multitudes through his mission of forgiveness and healing will now cost him his life. He will struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane and cry out to God for deliverance. He might still avoid the cross were he to make amends with religious leaders by bowing to Jewish prejudice. But he cannot conform to their restricted view of God’s mercy. He will continue loving the God who Saves with his whole heart and mind and strength, and his neighbor as himself, to the very end. And after the end, which is really the beginning, God will vindicate his vision and his cause by raising him from the dead.

A New Communion Song

2011-08-20T19:17:00.020-05:00

I've written a new hymn for celebrating the Lord's Supper. In the lyrics, I emphasize the presence of the risen Jesus in our worship. To share bread and cup is not just to memorialize a man who lived long ago and far away, but to experience personal communion with the living Savior of the world. Eventually I hope to record the melody and post it here.

Gathered with Christ

Christ gathers his own to share in the feast,

Welcoming all from greatest to least;

The bread of his love, the wine of his grace,

Risen on high, he dwells in this place.

The Lord of creation is here,

The kingdom of heaven is near.

Remember his life, remember his death,

Trust in his word, be filled with his breath;

Surrender yourself, count all things as loss,

Lay down your pride at the foot of the cross.

The humble heart God always hears,

In brokenness Jesus appears.

So doubt all your doubts, cry out all your tears,

Jesus rules o’er our quivering fears;

His Spirit will blow, our faith to renew,

Leading us on to all that is true.

Together we offer our prayer,

Together we rest in his care.

Christ gathers us here to share in the feast,

Welcoming all, from greatest to least;

Rejoice in the Lord, draw near to his heart,

Host at the table, Jesus takes part.

Allelu, Allelu, Allelu!

Alive to God

2010-06-30T13:37:00.002-05:00

        Alexander Solzhenitsyn (photo right), in recounting his experiences as a prisoner in the Russian Gulag, tells how at a certain moment he almost gave up hope. Performing slave labor twelve hours a day while receiving a starvation ration, he had become very ill and felt that death was near. That day, while shoveling sand under the scorching sun, he became so despondent he stopped working, even though he knew the guards would beat him to death. He simply could not go on. Suddenly he was aware that someone was standing near him. Turning, he saw an old man who used his shovel to make the sign of the cross in the sand. That simple gesture by a fellow prisoner reminded Solzhenitsyn that he need not fear death. The crucified and risen Lord had defeated death and brought into the world an imperishable hope.  Solzhenitsyn took courage to persist in his resistance to tyranny.

        Paul writes, “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:8-11).

        Paul says that the sting of death is sin (1 Cor. 15:56). As we observed previously, Death stings us by stirring up all kinds of sin within us--violence, despair, false religion, greed, sensuality, and much more. Death, or the fear of death, gives evil its greatest power of intimidation. It's as though the Devil has thrown a net over us, and the more we struggle to escape, the more entangled we become.

        The Son of God became human to share our mortality, so that “through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14,15). On the cross Jesus tasted death for every person. His stark cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) shows that he identified himself with us fully as he experienced our God-forsaken lostness. He was abandoned to suffer the full force of human sin even though he had committed no sin. But in doing this he destroyed death and gave eternal life to those who trust in him.

        Christ's resurrection is the breakthrough from the old age of darkness to the new age of light. Now we are citizens of God’s domain, alive to God and dead to the powers that once held us. Jesus lives on the other side of the cross, the man who abolished death. He frees us from every false belonging so that we may belong to God alone. That is why the Bible says that God’s love for us casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

        During an early stage of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther was summoned to appear before the papal legate and answer for his faith. The legate urged him to retract his teachings and warned him, “Don’t you realize that if the pope excommunicates you and puts you under the ban, you have no hope? If the pope wiggles his little finger, you will be a dead man. And where you will be then?” It is said that Luther calmly replied, “I will then be exactly where I am now, in the hands of Almighty God.” Luther was aware that he lived under a new dominion where death was already defeated. He had no reason to be afraid.

        When disciples of Jesus realize that they belong to the Lord of Life, they are imbued with a daring freedom. Why not risk their lives for Christ if Christ is already their everlasting life? Why not give freely of their possessions if their future existence is guaranteed by the risen Jesus? Why should they resort to violence to protect their lives when Jesus held the keys of death? Why give up hope, even in the most distressing circumstances, when the ascended Christ has received all power in heaven and earth? As G. K. Chesterton once noted, “A hopeless Christian is an oxymoron.”

        Some years ago a long-haired man with a pistol invaded the office of a friend of mine in Arizona. The intruder pointed the loaded gun at my friend’s head and said, “Tell me there is no God or I will pull the trigger.” My friend thought about the situation for a moment and then replied, “Now is the most important time for to assure you that there is a God.” The man dropped his gun and wept. He said, “I just wanted to find out if there is anyone who really believes there is a God.”

        Since Christ abolished death, the sins that death produced in us have been neutralized. No longer must we be the puppets of death, manipulated by despair, materialism, or violence. Even though we live for a while in a world where the old age and the new age collide, and though the tension is always difficult, we can already see in our risen Lord the final outcome of the conflict. The Spirit has set us free to belong only to him who was dead but is alive forevermore (Revelation 1:17,18). The Living One embraces us, and nothing can snatch us from his arms. We stand under the protection of the Risen Lord!

Escape to Samara

2010-06-20T20:59:00.003-05:00

Legend says it happened on the streets of Damascus. One day a merchant sent his servant to the market. When the servant returned he was shaking with fear. He said to his master, “While I was at market, I was jostled by someone in the crowd. When I turned I saw Death looking intently at me, and she made a threatening gesture. Master, lend me your horse. I will escape to the city of Samara where Death cannot find me.”

Later that day the merchant himself was at the market and spied Death in the crowd. The merchant went over to interrogate him. “Why did you make a threatening gesture toward my servant?” he demanded. “That was no threatening gesture,” Death replied. “It was simply a start of surprise. I was startled to see your servant in Damascus, for, you see, we have an appointment tonight in Samara.”

Only a legend. But like many folk tales, it contains a profound psychological insight. The fear of death is the motivating force behind much human behavior. Psychologist Ernest Becker, in his book The Denial of Death, points out that humans continually create strategies to keep death at bay. It turns out that the tyranny of death is not limited to life’s end, but permeates deeply into life itself.

What are some of the ways we try to run away from death? They include philosophies that deny the finality of death--such as spiritism, with its comforting claim that all who die automatically graduate to a higher plane of life where there is no such thing as divine judgment and from which they can communicate happy messages through channeling to those they left behind. The main message is: “Death is nothing to worry about!”

Another strategy to repress the fear of death is materialism. Like the rich farmer in Jesus’ parable, we build bigger barns to secure the future. We think our growing investments and insurance policies will be a hedge against the undertaker by protecting us from recessions, unemployment, medical emergencies, and natural disasters. We hope our fat pension plans will even buy us time when we retire. But human history has proven time and again that such material security is fleeting.

To avoid the skull that keeps peeking in through the window, some turn to drugs, or become engrossed in a sensual lifestyle. We live for the moment because we have no assurance of the future. We pickle our brains with loud music and one-night stands and video games. In popular movies and novels, death-defying heroes offer us another strategy to mask the fear of death. The modern preoccupation with entertainment is a vain attempt to anesthetize us from the pain of mortality.

The obscene problem death poses for human aspirations is illustrated by a lengthy mathematical calculation that is finally multiplied by zero. Why go to the trouble if the calculation ends in zero? Anything that ends in nothing is itself nothing. If we don’t repress our fear of death it leads to absolute despair. The French painter, Gauguin, once painted the cycle of life. He began with a beautiful young girl in the bloom of youth and continued until he pictured an old, emaciated and decrepit woman about to die, with a vulture circling overhead. Struck with the seeming futility of existence, the artist attempted to commit suicide after completing the picture.

Without God’s intervention, death influences everything we do, hiding in depression, in hopelessness, and in the feeling that the universe is without purpose. The power of death affects not only individuals, but whole societies and nations. It leads nations to try to preserve themselves by pursuing insane and perpetual warfare. All such attempts to flee the tyranny of death only prove that we are hopelessly dominated by it. Regardless of the route we take from Damascus, it is ironic that death is controlling us like puppets.

But Jesus has brought immortality to light through the gospel. He has good news for all who are fleeing on the road to Samara, and that is the theme of my next post.

Christ Our Righteousness

2010-06-03T10:40:00.004-05:00

“Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are no longer under law but under grace.” --Romans 6:14

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . . . For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.” --Romans 8:1-4

God's law is the standard of righteousness, but cannot produce righteousness. Ironically, it has the opposite effect. The law as a condemning power stirs up sin by pushing people either into despair (“I’m so messed up now there’s no use hoping for anything better, so I’ll just go deeper into sin”) or legalism (“I'm sure I can get a grip if I only try a little harder”). When people realize their lives are not what they ought to be, they also feel a throbbing need for atonement. Sometimes they try to satisfy this need by punishing themselves, and sometimes by blame-shifting and punishing others. Either way, the law only makes sin worse.

The story of Martin Luther illustrates the bondage of guilt and the liberating power of God’s grace. Luther was a religious neurotic, so curved in on himself in a vain attempt to establish his own righteousness that he had no time or energy to enjoy God and love his neighbor. As a monk fasting in his cell, he literally almost killed himself trying to atone for his guilt. Only the truth of justification by faith alone could liberate him to fulfill his God-given destiny, to become truly human.

His Commentary on Galatians reveals the new consciousness that released him from self-absorbed and law-focused religiosity: “When we truly see Christ, we have full and perfect joy in the Lord with peace of mind, and we think: Although I am a sinner by the Law and under condemnation of the Law, still I don’t despair, still I don’t die, because Christ lives, who is both my righteousness and my everlasting life. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine and in my own righteousness, as a child of Adam, where the Law accuses me, death controls me and eventually would destroy me. But I have another life, another righteousness above this life which is in Christ, the Son of God, who knows no sin or death but is eternal righteousness and life.”

Luther is saying that internally we are sinners condemned by God's law, but that externally we have a complete righteousness before God in the person of Jesus who intercedes for us. This paradoxical truth produced a famous slogan, “simul justus et peccator” (at the same time righteous and sinful), which has been a balm for many a struggling conscience. Since Christ our righteousness is in heaven and we have peace with God through Christ's perfect atonement, we escape the bony clutches of legalism and despair and religious sado-masochism.

Christ’s death and resurrection has set us free from the Law as a condemning power. The new consciousness that comes by faith sets us free from crippling guilt. The power of the old age would cause me to say: “I’ve sinned. Again. For the umpteenth time. I’m trapped in my problem. I hate myself” or “This is all someone else's fault, and I'll make sure they pay the price.” But the power of the new age that I appropriate by faith enables me to say: “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. I am righteous because of his sacrifice. I am not defined by my sin but by my relationship with Christ. God accepts me by grace alone and gives me strength to overcome all obstacles. Even in the midst of my struggles and failures, I am set free to love God and others.” Paradoxically, it is only when we abandon our efforts to satisfy God's law that God fulfills his law within us.

The New Age of the Spirit

2010-05-14T11:00:00.004-05:00

The kingdom of God is like an eccentric old man who lived in a broken down shack on the edge of town. The shanty lacked central heating and indoor plumbing. The paint was peeling, broken windows were covered with sheets of clear plastic, and the roof was patched with scraps of tin and tar paper. His family became concerned for his welfare and urged him to move out of his decrepit quarters, but he adamantly refused. Then the city condemned the structure. But when they tried to force him out, he met them at the door with his shot gun! Eventually, his family built a new house next door with a gas furnace and vinyl siding. When the old man saw it going up, he started imagining what it would be like to live there. Would he give up everything that had given him comfort in exchange for this modern home?

If we forget about the place Jesus has prepared for us in his Father’s house (a new age of the Spirit we may experience even now, not just after we die), it will be impossible to transcend the old age of the flesh under death's dominion. On the other hand, now that Jesus has inaugurated the reign of God, why would I keep hugging the hollow thrill of sin when I can have the ultimate thrill of being eternally embraced by God? Why should I cling to the fleeting treasures of earth if I have an unchangeable, immeasurable treasure in heaven? Why would I want to hang on to the paltry comfort of any earthly attachment when I can be filled with the Holy Spirit? (Gal. 5:16-25) Since the alluring artifacts of the old age still surround us, it is easy to lose sight of the mansion and barricade ourselves in the shack. That's why we repeat the gospel to each other: The Kingdom of God is at hand—let us no longer live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit!

For the Bible, “flesh” does not mean simply the body, but the mortal body, the creatureliness, finitude, and weakness that humans experience apart from God. “All flesh is like grass . . . that withers” (Isa. 40:7,8; cf. Ps. 78:39). Mortality is inevitable apart from God, because God created us as contingent beings, dependent on his goodness and power for our existence. In other words, immortality for humans is always conditional on our relationship with the Immortal One. Having been separated from God, the mortality we now experience is an unnatural power that controls us like slaves. The “desires of the flesh” (Eph. 2:3; 1 Jn 2:16) are the desires for food, water, air, security, sexual satisfaction, money, companionship, political power and whatever else enhances human existence. When I am living in the flesh, only my own destiny concerns me. I am the central thing in the world and all my energy is devoted to securing my crumbling future. But ironically, “to set the mind on the flesh is death” (Rom. 8:6).

On the other hand, living in the “Spirit” (the kingdom of God) means that I no longer have to grab for happiness because happiness has grabbed me. I live out of the abundant existence God continually provides, knowing that everything I need for a fulfilling life will be provided by divine grace. Liberation from the flesh means liberation from self-centeredness. God, not self, becomes the center of my hope. In the words of an old gospel chorus, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

Jesus invites us to turn away from the realm of Death and boldly embrace the realm of Life. Although slaves of sin, Jesus sets us free (Jn. 8:32-36). Participating in this new creation is a divine gift, not a human achievement (Lk. 12:32; Matt. 7:11). We enter into this realm by faith, like a little child who is totally dependent on his parents for everything (Matt. 7:9,10; Lk. 18:17). Entering the kingdom means being born again--out of the old world of “flesh” where we were dominated by our mortality and into the new age of “Spirit” where we are set free by the gift of eternal life (Jn. 3:3-16). If we believe that the risen Jesus has received all authority in heaven and on earth, we are confident that a small seed of faith will move mountains and that nothing is impossible (Matt. 17:20).

A concise summary of what it is like to live in the kingdom of heaven (the age of the Spirit) is given in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus first makes the point that we can pass into this new mode of existence only because we are “blessed,” that is, kingdom life is a gift of God--“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). We cannot manufacture the kind of life Jesus promises in this sermon. As slaves of sin, it is literally impossible to not worry about the future, trust God alone for our security, love our enemies, speak with vulnerable truthfulness, give away our possessions, or avoid exploiting others for our own satisfaction. Selfishness will control us as long as Death reigns. But when we are “blessed” with entrance into the realm of Life, where Jesus has already defeated Satan and Death, impossibilities become possibilities. “You are the light of the world!” A change of dominions makes all the difference.

A number of years ago, Jan and I were invited to become part of an overseas mission team for a couple of years. The need was great and I was convinced that God was calling us. But there were daunting obstacles. We would have to sell our California home, an eighteen-year accumulation of furniture, and two cars. We would serve as unpaid volunteers, yet we had to raise basic monetary support for a family of five. As a middle-class pastor, I was addicted to the financial perks of working for an affluent American denomination. Jan and I struggled with the decision and finally decided we could trust God to take care of our material needs while overseas as well as when we returned. When our furnishings were being carted away in an estate sale it really felt like our lives were being reduced to nothing. In a small way, we had to give up our lives. God did provide for us. Our time of mission service was the most exhilarating ministry we had ever experienced. By God’s mercy, we died to the flesh and became alive to the Spirit of God.

Every single day I am acutely aware of being pulled back and forth between the realms of the flesh and the Spirit, between the old shack and the new mansion. And I don't always live in accordance with the realm of the risen Christ. But I pray that I (and you) will more continuously experience what Paul glowingly described long ago: “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. . . . So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh . . . . For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Rom. 8:12ff).

The Showdown

2010-04-27T22:09:00.005-05:00

I grew up in Arizona where I developed a childhood fascination with the lore of the old West. I used to ransack the public library for books about lost gold mines, Indian wars, cowboy songs and frontier justice. One of my heroes, of course, was the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, who had a gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the bad guys who used to terrorize the town of Tombstone. The outlaws intimidated folks with their guns. But Wyatt stood his ground and won the day.

Satan was the first terrorist. Satan knew that Adam was totally dependent upon God for his existence, and that he would perish if he could be turned from his Creator. So he caused Adam to rebel against God and then exploited his natural weakness and mortality to imprison him and his descendants in the chains of sin. Death is part of God’s law, the inescapable consequence of rejecting the Source of life, but Satan co-opted this divine judgment and used it for his own purposes. Satan hijacked the law of God and used it as a weapon against humanity. He leveraged the universal reality of death to stir up compulsive guilt, unbelief, lust and fear, thus bringing mankind under demonic bondage. Satan pointed a gun at man’s head and said, “The only way to save your life is by submitting to me.”

Satan uses human mortality and the threat of death like a whip to drive us into sin. The self preservation instinct is so strong that ordinarily people will steal, kill, lie, horde wealth, oppress the innocent, fight wars of aggression and sell their bodies and souls to evil—all in a vain attempt to save themselves from oblivion.

But Jesus came to “proclaim freedom for the prisoners and . . . to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). When the disciples returned from a successful mission of raising the dead, healing the sick and casting out demons, they said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” And Jesus exulted, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority . . . to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:17-20). The ministry of Jesus demonstrated that the enemy’s realm was crumbling. The kingdom of life was invading the kingdom of death.

On Calvary, Jesus faced Satan in a battle to the death and was victorious. When the powers of evil tried to conquer and rule Jesus, he would not give in to them. Instead of persecution, Jesus could have received accolades from the scribes and Pharisees by submitting to their religious interpretations. He could have appeased the statist system of Pontius Pilate and gained worldly power by agreeing that the world belongs to Caesar. Jesus could have saved himself from dying on the cross--but only by bowing to Satan’s authority. Instead, he took our struggle upon himself. He asserted God’s claim over the earth. He stood up to the powers of this age, rejecting their tyranny, going on the offensive against them until (ironically) he defeated them by letting them killed him.

When Jesus was crucified, it appeared at first that the old realm had triumphed, that God’s attempt to re-establish his reign on earth through his Son had been frustrated, that evil had overcome good. Even the disciples gave way to despair (Luke 24:20,21). But in dying to the powers, Jesus condemned them. His death became a noose around their necks, the decisive maneuver in negating and disarming them. The secret victory of God was openly revealed on Sunday morning. For when Jesus rose from the dead, he was forever carried beyond the reach of those powers, raised to live with God in triumph over them. The risen Son of God defeated death. God had the last word after all. It was in view of this life-long battle, culminating in death and resurrection, that Jesus proclaimed, “All authority [over death and the devil] has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).

If the world was like a frontier town tyrannized by outlaws, Jesus was the gun-slinging marshal who suddenly appears for a showdown and defeats the bad guys at high noon. He proclaimed, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31). He gave people courage to revolt against the death-dominated status quo: “Take heart! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33). And he called his disciples to follow him in the liberation movement he had created. After explaining the necessity of his death and resurrection, he urged, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:22). We are called to participate in Christ's victory over death. We belong to the risen Lord who already stands on the other side of the cross. Because we share in his risen life, our victory is certain, our future is absolutely secure.

He is Risen Indeed!

2010-04-03T13:33:00.006-05:00

As a twelfth-generation American, I am descended from a puritan immigrant who made the perilous voyage from the old world in search of religious freedom. The laws of England stifled his soul liberty, so he struck out for the colony of Rhode Island. Nearly four centuries later, I enjoy the benefits of the new world, not through any efforts of my own, but through the courageous sacrifices of that farmer-preacher, John Crandall. The restrictions of the old world no longer determine what I can or cannot do. I am dead to the old world and alive to the new. Likewise, when Jesus died and was resurrected, he was the pioneer of a momentous immigration from death to life for everyone who believes in him. His proclamation that “the kingdom of God is at hand” marked a revolutionary regime change from the old realm of darkness to the new realm of light. Now we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, alive to God and dead to the powers that once held our race in captivity.

In the book of Romans, Paul names the powers of the old order that dominate humanity: law, sin and death. Through the disobedience of Adam, the divine verdict of death came inexorably upon all (Rom. 5:12). Through sin, death gained a legal “dominion” over us (vv. 7,14). But Jesus, the second Adam, created a new legal order by his death and resurrection. Paul writes, “If, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (v.17). The reign of life in Jesus has supplanted the reign of death!

Paul’s further explanation of salvation is profound (Rom. 6:1-14). Christ died to sin on the cross and was raised to God. We were all united to Christ in his death and resurrection. Since he died as our representative, we died to sin in him. Since he was raised as our representative, we were also raised up to eternal life. Our old self was crucified with him on the cross so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. This objective change in our status was accomplished 2,000 years ago. Just as David's victory over Goliath was a victory for all of Israel, purchasing their freedom from foreign domination, Christ's victory was for all who were enslaved by sin and death. “So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (6:11).

In Romans 7, Paul tells us that sin gets its power from the law: “Apart from the law sin lies dead” (see vv. 8-11). He says that the law arouses sinful desires. He admits that the divine law is holy, just and good, but on the other hand, he asserts that it is this very commandment of God that attacks and “kills” us. By seizing his independence from God, Adam cut himself off from the only source of existence. God's decree that “the wages of sin is death” is not an arbitrary penalty, but the inherent consequence of humanity turning its back on the fountain of life. This terrifying judgment now floods relentlessly over our heads, threatening to annihilate us. Like drowning sailors, we flail desperately, gasping for air, fighting for life. God's decree of death makes us curve in upon ourselves in a desperate effort for self-vindication and self-preservation. Under the dominion of death, we have no choice but to adopt a "survivalist" mentality. (Just think of how many sins are motivated by the fear of death: We lash out at others in revenge, we kill to avoid being killed, we take what belongs to others to sustain ourselves, we hoard possessions to keep away the wolf at the door, we follow the instincts of our “selfish genes” and do it unto others before they can do it unto us!)

Only through Christ is the threat removed. In him we have made the passage from death to life. We died to the law through the crucified body of Christ. The old world no longer controls us. Now we belong to the Risen One, and this new situation of abundant, unquenchable life, is what Paul calls “life in the Spirit.” He writes, “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (8:10, ESV).

Sin, death, and the law have been done away with as a dominating system. Although these forces still exist we are no longer forced to obey them. Because our mortal bodies are still tied to the old world, we are constantly in danger of forgetting the freedom we really possess as children of the King. Only the gift of faith can open our eyes to the new spiritual reality. Elisha’s servant was freed from fear of the overwhelming enemy forces attacking his city when he “saw” that they were protected by an even greater angelic army, that their security was in heaven, not on earth (2 Kings 6:15-17). So it is for us when the eyes of our faith are opened.

Such faith comes by “hearing the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). The freedom of the gospel is easily lost if Christ's kingdom is not constantly proclaimed and believed. The message of salvation by grace alone is present to one degree or another in most congregations. But it is often obscured by moralistic teaching--”Try harder!” “Give more!” “Obey Christ’s commandments!” “Surrender to God more fully!” Even the exhortation to “Let go and let God,” which has the appearance of dependence on a higher power, really depends on an impossible personal achievement (to “let go”), and thus is also a subtle form of moral self-effort. Unless we continually celebrate the finished, objective work of Christ’s liberation, and accept our birthright of freedom as God's gift, we will fall back into the old pattern of domination by sin, law and death.

“The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). In Christ our Victor we are freed from sin as a dominating power, because for all who live in the Spirit the threat of death no longer exists. Now we walk in newness of life by sharing the resurrection of Jesus. Sin has no more dominion over us, because we are no longer under the law of sin and death, but under grace. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The New Regime

2010-03-27T16:05:00.002-05:00

June 6, 1944. D-Day. 176,000 Allied troops stormed ashore on a 60-mile beachhead in Normandy, France, successfully completing the largest sea-borne invasion in history. The Germans fought back fiercely, but by the end of June, one million Allied troops were advancing westward, blasting holes in the German line. Germany’s generals soon realized they were beaten, but Hitler ordered them to fight to the death. It would take eleven months of excruciating war before Berlin surrendered. Meanwhile, in Nazi-occupied Paris, electrified citizens overthrew the puppet government when they realized the Allied invasion had assured their liberation. Behind enemy lines, POWs learned of the invasion on secret radios and spread word through the prison camps, “They’ve come! They’ve come!” In front of puzzled guards, emaciated captives jumped and shouted, hugged each other, and rolled on the ground in joy. The decisive battle had already been won. The old regime was collapsing. The new world was dawning.

So it is for the coming of Christ's kingdom and God's new world. A truly earth shaking event occurred 2,000 years ago in Palestine when “the Word was made flesh” and God came to dwell among us. Jesus the son of Mary was filled with the fullness of God and sent to raid the dominion of Satan. During his temptations in the desert, Jesus successfully overcame all the devil’s deadly deceptions. Satan challenged him with the question, “If you are the son of God . . . .” Instead of trying to secure his physical life or spiritual destiny through material, religious or political power, he fixed his trust on God alone (Matt. 4).

As a man upon whom the Spirit rested, Jesus represented the in breaking of the kingdom of God. He said, “The kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). He explained that God’s purpose in his ministry was to “bind” the tyrant Satan, and declared with authority, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you!” (Matt. 12:28,29). Jesus not only proclaimed the realm of God, he was a living embodiment of it, the one human being over whom Satan had no power (John 14:30). It was a revolution, a new regime! The coming of Jesus was God’s D-Day.

Satan and his minions of death were utterly defeated by the cross of Christ. The controlling spiritual-world-order that separates oppressed humanity from God, was swallowed up by Christ’s empty tomb. Now we live in the time lag between that decisive event on Calvary and the final victory at Christ’s second coming. It is a time of ongoing struggle, but also a moment of delirious hope and anticipation, a time to repudiate and defy the defeated demonic powers along with their worldly strongholds that are already collapsing in confusion. There is no reason to live any longer in bondage to the old regime of Satan when the crucified and risen Jesus has overcome those powers and established a new regime of freedom on Calvary.

Believe the Good News!

2010-02-22T19:02:00.009-06:00

The kingdom of God? Time after time Jesus tries to drum into our heads what he means by it. . . . What he seems to be saying is that the Kingdom of God is the time, or a time beyond time, when it will no longer be humans in their lunacy who are in charge of the world but God in his mercy who will be in charge of the world. It's the time above all else for wild rejoicing—like getting out of jail, like being cured of cancer, like finally, at long last, coming home. And it is at hand, Jesus says. (Frederick Buechner)

“The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk 1:15) With these words, Jesus tells us that his coming creates a new situation and that the new situation calls for decisive action. It might be like someone telling you, “I've just deposited a hundred million dollars in your bank account—so stop living like a pauper and start acting like the wealthy person that you really are!” Or maybe, “The building is on fire—so jump into the safety net!” The first sentence contains a verb in the indicative mood to describe “what is.” The second sentence contains a verb in the imperative mood to describe “what to do” in light of “what is.” In the case of Jesus' message, “the kingdom of God is near” describes the situation and "repent/believe the good news" describes the appropriate action.

Again and again, through his actions and parables, Jesus demonstrated the way God's reign has already become present and how we may appropriate and experience it. For example, God in Christ has forgiven us of our trespasses. So we are called to trust in this forgiveness and extend it to one another. God in Christ assures us of our daily bread, and we are called to trust in this providential care and share our bread with others. God in Christ drives out demons, therefore we have boldness to attack the gates of hell that keep humankind in bondage. We turn from self-seeking attitudes and behaviors (“repentance”) and seek our security in God alone ("faith") because our Heavenly Father knows what we need. Our Lord reigns!

In spite of misunderstandings by Jesus' original Jewish followers (and some modern day American Christians), the kingdom has nothing to do with an earthly, political theocracy. The kingdom is not a geographic, material dominion, but a spiritual one (Acts 1:6-9). It does not involve institutional positions of honor or power (Mark 10:35-45). It is not based on the accumulation of worldly goods (Mt 6:19-24). Nor is it based on the coercion or violence that characterize worldly organizations and governments (Mt 26:47-54; Jn 18:36). The kingdom is the realm of human hearts where God's love holds sway. The reign of God was fully manifested in Jesus Christ the Word, "full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14). Now that reign takes root in the hearts of all who, united to Christ by faith, surrender their lives to God's transforming will. "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed . . . . in fact, the kingdom of God is among you" (Lk 17:20-21).

When we sing “Reign in me, sovereign Lord, reign in me,” or pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” we place ourselves in the transforming magnetic field of God's kingdom. And although this kingdom is personal rather than political, it does have definite social consequences. Jesus did not simply substitute an individualized concept of the kingdom for the political one expected by the Jews. It is quite clear that his vision of the kingdom includes a new and miraculous social order. He did not come merely to redeem individuals, but to redeem relationships. The reign of God is not something kept hidden away in one's heart. It shines forth in reconciliation between alienated spouses, love for enemies, forgiveness of debts, sharing with the poor, and a family-like community of “brothers” and “sisters” that we call “Church.” In these ways we display the signs of Christ's present and coming kingdom.

Although we cannot achieve the coming of God's kingdom by our own action, we are not therefore led into an attitude of passivity. No way! It is only those who firmly believe that the reign of God comes miraculously from above who have the courage to seize through prayer and obedience the promised blessings that God's kingdom brings. When confronted with obstacles to God's reign, we can still work patiently and joyfully to be channels of God's grace. We become the voice of Jesus to announce the gift of a new world: “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The Reign of God

2010-02-03T16:03:00.009-06:00

What, specifically, is the good news that Jesus proclaimed? According to the Gospels, Jesus announced that the final and absolute reign of God predicted for the end of time, the new creation foreseen by the prophets, the "Kingdom of God," was now coming into the world through Jesus' own words and acts. "The time has come," he says. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15)

The "reign of God" which Jesus heralds does not mean the constant providential care which God has given the universe since its creation. Rather he startles his hearers with unbelievable news that the ancient plan of God to upend the present course of the world, wipe out Satan's bondage of sin and death, terminate all pain and sorrow, and save the broken creation is on the brink of full realization (Lk 10:18-19). Because God is love, another term for God's kingdom might be "Love's Dominion" or the "Triumph of God's Love." Jesus, the bearer of divine love, himself inaugurates and embodies the eschatological, all-powerful reign of God (Lk 11:20).

The kingdom of God is synonymous with the "salvation of God" and the "peace (shalom) of God." When Jesus preached that the kingdom is at hand, he was understood to be saying that the day of God's salvation had dawned. This is truly "good news" because human efforts to throw off the crushing weight of evil in the world and in our own hearts have led nowhere. What a comfort to know that God is riding to the rescue. The reign of God is a miraculous event, brought about by God alone without our help. As Jesus forgives sin, heals the sick, feeds the poor, casts out demons, and raises the dead we see God's new world relentlessly pushing out the old (Lk 7:18-23).

We can do nothing to usher in God's new creation, to assist in its construction, or expand it. It is a sovereign act of God himself. It is his reign. We simply plead, "Thy kingdom come," knowing that in Christ the kingdom has come, is coming right now, and will come (Mt 6:10; 12:28; Lk 22:18; Mk 9:1). Jesus invites us to seek out and enter the kingdom, to hold ourselves in readiness for it (Mt. 6:33; Lk 13:24; Mt 25:1-13; Lk 12:35-40) but it is God who gives the kingdom to whomever he will (Lk 12:32; Mt. 5:3,10). Some rabbis taught that if Israel could keep God's law perfectly for two weeks, God's longed-for reign would come. Jesus rebuts this salvation-by-human-effort view entirely. Kingdom seekers put their whole trust in God's acts, not their own (Mt 6:25-34). God's reign is experienced by believing, not achieving. We cannot seize it, but only receive it like little children (Mk 10:13-15). It is because of the wholly gratuitous nature of God's reign that Jesus calls it "Good news"!

Note: To really "get" the freeness of God's reign we should all read the above scripture references and let them slap us in the face. Only Christ's radical words can arouse us from the stupor of works-righteousness.
Photo: "Christ the Redeemer" on top of Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro.

The Atoning Sacrifice

2009-08-02T19:08:00.011-05:00

The joyful and absolute self-giving of Jesus to his Father is the foundation of our Christian faith. Jesus said, "The reason my Father loves me is that I day down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (Jn 10:16,17). Look at the painting "The Shadow of the Cross" by British artist Holman Hunt. It shows a youthful Jesus dancing in his carpenter shop, a very Jewish way to express thanksgiving and praise to God. It is early morning. Mary looks up from her chores to see the shadow of Jesus on the wall in the shape of a cross. The painting reminds us that Jesus's whole life was cruciform--a life of self-denial, a life sacrificed and abandoned to God. It was a painful life, because it is not easy for sons of Adam to say "Not my will, but your will be done." Yet this self-giving was pure joy for Jesus as he experienced the security of his Father's love. As he would later teach his disciples, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life . . . will save it" (Mark 8:35). It is not just the death of Jesus on the cross, but his whole life of obedience leading up to the cross which is God's "atonement" (at-one-ment) with man--man united to his Creator in complete surrender.