Somebody Needs Some Killing ...

There are stories that pull at our heart strings.  Stories, that when we hear them we get so riled up, we feel like we need to “get out there and do something”.  When these stories are true, they are all the more effective at inciting us.  But even when they are mere allegory, they can still have a profound effect on us.  When injustice is the theme, something in us cries out for things to be made right.  Perhaps this is part of the image of our Creator that wells up within us.  Perhaps even though we suffer from corruptions we have embraced, there remains an imprint on our soul, that longs for equity over injustice, and that longs for love over isolation.  When King David listened to the Prophet Nathan about the story of the one little sheep that was so beloved, and then taken by the greedy wealthy man, David was indignant.  He believed the story to be real, and determined that somebody needed some killing … until he realized that “he” was that wealthy man who had stolen the sheep.

As stories have always been an effective weapon in the arsenal of persuasion, Jesus had one of His own to tell.  To set the context, Jesus had been teaching in the Temple for 3 days, since His triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt that had never been ridden, and fulfilling another prophecy about the Messiah.  The leaders of the Temple, did not believe the Temple belonged to Christ, that it had been given to “Him”, but rather they believed the Temple was “theirs”, and He was trespassing without their consent.  How much like us, who believe our churches to be “ours”, only allowing believers to enter with our consent, as it is convenient for us.  Those sworn enemies of Christ, the religious leaders of His day, perhaps of ours, had just confronted Him.  And now, Christ had something to teach them as well.  Jesus was looking to reach that divine imprint that still remains upon their souls, the place they could not reach to have it removed.

Peter begins the recollection to John Mark in his gospel in chapter 12 beginning in verse 1 saying … “And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.”  This was to be a parable, a story.  Not all the ideas laid out in the story were concrete facts, but the parallels were easy to draw, and the ideas easy to be understood.  In this story, the certain man was Jesus Christ.  It was He who planted the vineyard, which in this case was to be His church.  It was He who tried to defend it with the hedge, who made the preparations for it to be fruitful with the place for the winefat and tower.  And finally it was He who had chosen the husbandmen, or selected the priesthood, in order to maintain the vineyard, His church, until He could return to do it Himself.

As the context of this story begins with Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, it is easy for our minds to leave the parallels right there, in history.  But consider how closely this story could be told to us, to our religious leaders, to the man in our mirrors.  All the points are the same.  There is no generational difference, in fact, the idea that Jesus had gone away and was hoping to return again, speaks more to us, than it did to the Pharisees.  Mark continues in verse 2 saying … “And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. [verse 3] And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.”  The church was ready to bear fruit.  So Jesus sends a servant with a message and a mission to harvest what was ready to be given.

But the leaders of the church, or the husbandmen in this story, did not allow the harvest.  They prevented it, by catching the servant of the master, of Christ, and not only did they prevent him from doing his appointed work, they beat him, and sent him away.  The religious leaders of their day, and of our day, are very often quick to punish servants of God.  They ostracize them, they despise them, they envy them … and so when they can, they prevent them from their appointed work, and punish them for their willingness to serve.  It is now interesting the reaction of the certain man, of the real owner of the church, of Jesus.

Jesus continues in verse 4 saying … “And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.”  The owner does NOT abandon the vineyard, or His church, or His people.  He does not just give up, or give in.  For Love drives Him to reach out again.  He sends another servant, and the violence against the servant of God escalates.  The religious leadership is not content with just a beating this time, this time they throw rocks at his head, wounding him, and sending him away wounded and shamefully treated.  Servants of God who have a message and a mission are the ones punished by the religious leadership of the church.  And once that leadership rejects the message and the mission, the violence against God’s servants escalates.

Jesus continues in verse 5 saying … “And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.”  Jesus still does NOT abandon His church, or the vineyard.  He sends yet another servant, and this one they kill outright.  The violence has escalated once again.  The husbandmen, or the person appointed originally by Jesus to lead the church, has decided to kill the servants of God rather than relinquish control of the vineyard back to its original owner.  Imagine this in our day.  Are the leaders of today so concerned with control over the message and the mission, that they would kill to keep control over it? 

Are we so ready to do church our way, that we would cast out those who disagree with our style, our preferences, and our methods?  What do we expect to greet those who are cast out of the fellowship, but Satan, the enemy of souls?  Is it worth the eternal loss of our brothers, over matters of taste?  Our arguments conflating our preferences with the only acceptable preference of our God, are mere arrogance on our part, and the excuse we tell ourselves as we cast them out of our fellowship.  But the joke is on us.  For Jesus is no longer in our fellowship, He was cast out a long time ago.  Those we cast out now, only seek Him out away from us.  It is Satan that now resides over our hallowed halls, and weak minds.  It is his Satanic majesty we serve, calling him Messiah, and not even realizing what we do.

Jesus makes it clear in this parable, He would not abandon the vineyard ever.  He continues to send servants of God with message and a mission.  They are met with violence every time, either beatings, or murder, as it is with the sons of Satan who deceive themselves into thinking that since they were originally installed in positions of leadership in His church, it is their positions that save them, not their association with the true owner, with God.  This kind of self-deception was not just meant for the Pharisees in His day, but for those who carry the banner “Christian” today.  The leaders have long been tempted to believe leadership was a position of power over the vineyard.  But God does not send leaders to His church, He keeps sending servants, those who understand that service to the vineyard is more precious than authority over it.

Jesus continues in verse 6 saying … “Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. [verse 7] But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. [verse 8] And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.”  This part of the story seems like it was directly aimed at the Pharisees.  The well-beloved and only Son is sent to the original church, to the leadership to redeem the vineyard.  He too has a message and mission.  But alas, even He is killed by the wicked leaders, presuming they will take His “inheritance” and be able to perform salvations on others instead of Christ.  They kill the Son without remorse.  They cast Him out of the vineyard.

Now look in the mirror at yourself.  You may not carry a large wooden cross for Him, or the nails and hammer to insure the job is done right.  But when you decide that “you” can be responsible for your own salvation with God, it is you who attempts to claim His inheritance.  When we, who call ourselves by His name, cast out from our fellowship, those who we are meant to love; when we cast away love itself from our hearts, and in the person of others, we too cast Him out of our vineyards.  And over what?  Because our youth prefer another kind of music?  Because our elders do not?  Because our divorced have clearly made at least one mistake?  Because our widows and orphans, and least among us, need to “man up”, “get a job”, and “take care of themselves”?  Because those caught in public sin, deserve our public ridicule, ever driving them away from forgiveness?  Why do we Christians cast out Christ from our vineyards and call ourselves righteous while we do it.  And yet we believe this parable to be about “them”, not about “us”.

Jesus now poses the most just of all questions in verse 9 saying … “What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.”  The leaders who reject the message and mission, are no longer leaders.  Their position does not protect their souls.  Their position was “given” to them by Jesus.  It is only through continued association with Jesus that they remain in this position, not through anything inherent in themselves.  When the message and mission is rejected, the owner Himself comes back, destroys the husbandmen, and gives the vineyard to others.  Whether in the days of the Messiah, when Judaism loses its prominence to Christianity, or in the last days when Christianity, is returned to Christ; human leaders of the faith do not keep their positions over it by power, but by service.  We do not preside, we support.  We do not have power, we have love.  We do not have control, we have a message and a mission.

As to those who reject Jesus as the Messiah He continues in verse 10 saying … “And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: [verse 11] This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”  What men cast aside, is the cornerstone of the next faith.  Judaism loses its prominence NOT because God ever rejected them, but because they cast God out of their vineyard.  What they cast away has become the cornerstone of our faith.  But why they cast Him away, what they were tempted to do that led to that, must be the watchword ever in our ears, or we will do exactly the same thing, exactly the same way.  If history is to avoid repetition, let it be with us, in this matter.  Let us hold love close.  Let us serve with a message of our conversion, and of our redemption, and of our perfection, by Jesus Christ alone.  Let us serve with a mission of pointing others to Christ, and loving them every day while they do so, through all of their failings, shortcomings, and negativity; just like Christ does for us.

The post mortem on this story was terrifying in verse 12 saying … “And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.”  The husbandmen wanted to kill the only begotten and well-beloved Son of God right there and right then.  They literally wanted to act out the parable Jesus said, as if He prophesied right to them.  They reasoned that somebody needed some killing … not the wicked leaders who had done so many injustices to the servants of God, but instead to His only Son.  If this was the response in their hearts and minds, is it likewise in ours.  Are we ready to kill the one who continues to suggest that we should embrace “all” genres of music in our worship of God?  Are we ready to kill the one who suggests we should reform our church services to be action oriented, instead of only passive?  Are we ready to kill the One who would save us from our sins, and our evil motives, and evil thinking and instead do it ourselves?

It is we who deserve the killing we espouse; that, would be only justice.  Like David, it is we, who are “that man”.  Are we to continue with the arrogance of our forefathers believing that once installed it is our prerogative to remain in power forever over His church?  Or can we submit to Christ, and finally be a servant, with a message and a mission, heading in to support the vineyard, no matter what the consequences to us?

 

Ghosts of Pride and Ignorance ...

Word of mouth, or a good recommendation from someone you know, might be the best publicity out there.  No matter how it comes to you, the opinion of someone you know and perhaps trust, will outweigh what billboards, or advertising, or any other paid medium can offer.  When we connect with someone, understand where they are coming from, have memories of shared experiences, it gives us a much better context for something they like when they recommend it to us.  This is a basic human phenomenon that has existed long before mobility gave us pictures, and 140 characters to disseminate data to our collection of friends.  In the time of Christ, it was the only vehicle for spreading the good news.  The fame of Jesus was spreading widely already, but instituting His followers and sending them out 2-by-2 had exponentially increased the word of mouth regarding the Messiah.  Instead of only Jesus performing miracles on a grand scale, now 12 other followers were doing it too.  At this rate, there would hardly be a demon-possession or sick person left in all of Israel.  The nation itself was moving from weakness to strength in so short a time, every disciple was certain the Messiah was soon to fulfill the mission they all believed He came for … to become our earthly King.

But there was already a king of the Jews, or at least a tetrarch.  Herod Antipas, was still formally in charge of Israel (or this part of Galilee).  The Romans had dispatched a governor to maintain military discipline, but continued to honor their original agreement with Herod the Great, dividing his kingdom into three parts at his death and letting his sons rule in each section of the greater Palestine area.  Herod Antipas in our section had no great military ambition, and was more focused on insuring a relative peace, in order to maintain his rule, than to see it given over to one of his brothers Archelaus or Phillip, or another Roman puppet altogether.  He spent the majority of his life attempting to maintain what he had been given.  But this Herod Antipas had grown up in Israel, he had learned from his father who was familiar with Jewish scripture.  Herod remembered the act of his father murdering the baby boys up to 2 years old in Bethlehem to prevent the coming Messiah and deny scripture its fulfillment.  Herod’s son Antipas developed an intelligence network to keep an “eye” on goings on that may indicate the Messiah had come anyway.  And this intelligence network yielded its first real person of interest in the form of John the Baptist.

The scribes, priests, Rabbi’s, Pharisees and Sadducees; basically the entire ruling class, was easy enough for Herod Antipas to deal with.  They were greedy and power hungry themselves, so their motives were easy to read, and their actions followed their hearts.  They may have spoken about religion and tradition, but their focus had nothing to do with the changing of hearts or minds, only of maintaining the flow of offerings to the Temple (and themselves by proxy).  The laws of Moses were generally restrictive in nature, and where Moses had left off, the Temple traditions had added a whole host of further restrictions required in order to achieve piety.  These additional man-made restrictions also greatly increased the profitability of the Temple (and its servants).  So this very corrupted religious institution was well known to Herod, and he never paid it that much credence.  When his brother Phillip’s wife caught his eye; when she clearly made it known, she wanted Antipas, not her husband Phillip, Herod decided too many restrictions prevent happiness and he took her home with him.  In the eyes of Herod Antipas, taking a woman who wants to be taken is hard to call a sin, particularly if he was willing to marry her as well, and treat her like a wife.  After all, Herod was not establishing a multi-wife situation, he was only stealing one.

Herodias however, came with Phillip’s daughter Salome.  She had baggage, but the apple did fall far from the tree and Salome had a reputation for excellence at exotic dancing.  Herod Antipas was now quite comfortable.  He the wife of his choosing, despite some regrettable acquisition details.  He had the clergy under his thumb.  He had the people relatively calm.  Then came John the Baptist.  John was unlike the hypocrites Herod was familiar with.  John was real.  He lived in humility and preached it.  He had no monetary ambitions, and Herod’s spies quickly figured out that John was not looking to become king of anything, so he was no threat; at least no military threat.  John however, was endowed with the Holy Spirit and his preaching was powerful and convicting.  In fact, Herod secretly went to hear John preach, and despite John’s call for repentance, Herod “heard him gladly”.  Herod liked John.  He liked his authenticity.  He liked the power in his message.  He did not even mind when John called him out on it not being lawful to have his brother Phillip’s wife as his own.  Herod knew John was right, and because of his admiration for John, he was OK with it.  He was not ready to give her up, but he knew John was right, Herod was sinning against his brother Phillip.

Herodias however, was NOT OK with it.  She wanted John dead, and would have gotten it right away, but her husband had zero intention of putting innocent blood on his own hands, particularly of someone he admired.  But that is exactly what happened because of pride, and of ignorance.  After being sent out 2-by-2 the disciples uncovered this story.  Peter recalls to John Mark in his gospel in chapter six beginning in verse 14 saying … “And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.”  Herod’s first response reflected both fear, and hope.  He imagined that the great miracles going on in Israel, the idea that the disciples were also healing and casting out demons, might mean that John the Baptist had risen from the dead and was responsible for all of this.  Perhaps John would forgive Herod for his death.  After all, both Andrew and John the beloved, were both originally disciples of John the Baptist.  And 2 other disciples were their brothers including Peter.  So at least 4 disciples had direct connections to John the Baptist, and it was through the Baptist that they had met Christ.  To Herod this idea made good sense.

But despite wishful thinking on Herod’s part, it was not a risen John the Baptist, nor any ghost version of him that was behind the miraculous transformation of Israel from extreme weakness to extreme strength.  Herod’s intelligence network and the people at large had other ideas.  John Mark continues in verse 15 saying … “Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.”  The coming of Elias (or Elijah) had also been prophesied, and perhaps he or one of his other contemporaries had arisen in Israel.  The question raised was the most key issue then and now.  Who exactly is Jesus Christ?  If Jesus is only a prophet, then His divinity is moot, and our salvation along with it.  If Jesus is only a good teacher, an upright man, then His life is no more meaningful than any other good soul who has ever lived.  But if Jesus is the only Son of God, then there can be no salvation from our desire to sins, outside of coming to Him in surrender.  This has been, and always will be the key question every man must answer for himself, who is Jesus Christ.  Herod remained unconvinced of these other theories.

John Mark continues in verse 16 saying … “But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”  This was Herod’s greatest wish.  He wanted John back from the dead.  He wanted to be forgiven for making John a headless corpse.  He, like Saul of old, wanted to hear a word from the Lord from the mouth of His prophet.  But Herod had made himself blind to the fact that he could have word directly with the Lord who truly was responsible for the miracles everyone was reporting.  This set of scripture begins with Herod’s recognition of the name of Jesus Christ being reported to him.  But Herod twisted the identity of Jesus, transforming Him into a risen John instead; because that idea made Herod happier.  If Jesus was not John, then John remained dead, and Herod figured he could never be forgiven.  How like us.  We attempt to transform God into the image we want, in order to gain acceptance for the sins we commit, instead of seeking forgiveness and transformation from them altogether.

Peter then recalls the story of John the Baptist that he and the other disciples had uncovered in their mission of ministry.  Mark transcribes it beginning in verse 17 saying … “For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. [verse 18] For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.”  No whore likes being called that.  John the Baptist had out’d Herodias as being an adulteress.  John had made it known to Herod, it was a sin to keep her.  And Herodias had no intention of being sent back to Phillip, or kicked out on the street.  John posed a threat, and she wanted him dead.  So after nagging Herod to death, likely withholding sex, and making his life miserable, Herod finally agreed to put John in prison, where at least he could not publicly call her a whore anymore.  Even though Herod would still regularly visit John there.  Mark continues in verse 19 saying … “Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: [verse 20] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.”

Herod “did many things” based on the preaching and message of John the Baptist.  Herodias perceived the threat as being even greater to her, now that John was in prison where Herod could see him regularly.  In fact scripture says that Herod “heard him gladly”.  Herod embraced the true message of repentance John was preaching.  He did not make him shut up, instead he wanted more.  He began to reform his actions because of it.  Herodias rightly reasoned, that if this kept up, she would be back in Phillips home, or out on the street in no time at all.  Something had to be done.  Mark continues in verse 21 saying … “And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; [verse 22] And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. [verse 23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.”

So there are a few things to consider in this sequence of events.  First, it is highly likely Herod was not getting any with Herodias because she still wanted John dead.  So as a gesture to put Herodias in her place, Herod asks her talented daughter to dance at his party for him.  This was meant to further un-nerve Herodias, and it worked at first.  But Ghosts are created by pride, and exist in ignorance.  Herod had made his birthday celebration a public one with only the ruling class of important attendees.  Where better to show off his niece’s dancing skills, and the wealth and privilege he had amassed.  Word of mouth was important, perhaps more so in his own day.  And the word of a king had to be trusted and absolute, or the monarchy would degenerate into chaos.  But parties then and now, are opportunities for people to let their hair down, and have a good time.  Herod would not be driving so why not take in a little wine, and add drunkenness to the enjoyment of the day.  Drunkenness was another one of those restrictions the Rabbi’s were always making too much of anyway.  But in this condition, it seemed reasonable to offer the dancer anything she wanted.  It would be another slight to her mother for not being willing to keep Herod entertained.  Herod’s lack of clarity of mind, clouded his judgment, and he over-promised, not thinking what she might ask for.

John Mark records what happened next in verse 24 saying … “And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. [verse 25] And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.”  Salome was no innocent, she was the daughter of a whore, and appeared to have taken up the family profession.  She had succeeded in arousing the passion of the king, who was thinking to buy her intimacies later this evening for his birthday.  But Salome would ultimately share the fate of her mother.  If her mother were sent back to Phillip or cast out on the street, she would follow.  John the Baptist did not tolerate partial sins, he was looking to free his audience from all of them.  Herod could not marry his niece any more than he could lawfully steal her mother.  So if the threat of John persisted, she would be cast out as well.  She did not argue with mom, or even suggest an alternative, rather she embellished her demands by wanting John’s head in a basket for her to toy with.  She returned to the king “straightway with haste”.  Not tempted by immediate rewards like jewels or wealth or land, she would rather play the long game and terminate the threat of John, so ultimately she could inherit it all.

Mark records the outcome in verse 26 saying … “And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. [verse 27] And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, [verse 28] And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.”  Ghosts are created by pride.  The king had sworn an oath.  He could have argued with her.  He could have simply refused her, and had her executed herself from making such a request.  If he was worried about maintaining his power, that would have sent a strong message to those in attendance.  But Herod was weak in sexual matters.  This is how Herodias gained entrance into his home in the first place.  It was now, his weakness that would submit to his pride, and end the life of the only holy man he knew, and admired. 

Herod was “exceeding sorry”.  The repentance John had been preaching was now fully in the heart of Herod, but alas his pride remained greater.  The daughter of the whore, took the head to her mother, and despite his weakness, Herod would not want to be seduced any further on this birthday, he had already lost too much.   It was in this context, that Herod so desperately wanted to believe that Jesus was a risen John.  He wanted a second chance.  He wanted to undo the consequences of his sins.  But Herodias and Salome had remained in his home, and in his heart, and in his weakness.  So while Herod preferred a better Ghost story, he had denied himself access to the only person who had the power to free him from his sinful and addictive desires.  By denying the identity of Jesus Christ, Herod had cut himself off from his only cure.  When later Herod would be given power over the fate of Christ, his only interest would be in seeing a miracle for himself.  By then the corrupting influence of the whores in his life, would have sapped all the repentance he had ever felt when listening to John.

Peter contacted Andrew and John to collect the remains as Mark writes in verse 29 … “And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.”  Herod released the body to the disciples of John the Baptist, but never bothered to know who it was they served now.  His interest in Jesus would only be if it could confirm what he wanted Jesus to be.  Finding out directly from the disciples that his theories of God were incorrect was not something he wanted to hear.  Are we any different?  When we concoct our images of who God is, do we craft Him in our image instead of the other way around?  Do we attempt to rationalize or minimize the effects and consequences of our sins, instead of seeking a freedom from them in the first place?  It would have been hard for Herod to let go the love of his life, and the seductress of his bedroom.  It was harder still for Solomon of old, to let go 600 wives, 900 concubines, and nearly 4000 of his own children and keep only one… but that is what he did when his conversion finally took hold.  It was hard for Abraham to lose Sarah.  But life goes on.  And Herod could have trusted in God to find him a helpmate that was good for him not only sexually, but spiritually. 

If Herod had been willing to trust his sexuality in the hands of His God, the outcome of his life might have been an order of magnitude better.  To experience real love is far cry better than lust that masquerades as love.  To know intimacy not only with a woman, but a woman who is equally intimate with God, allows God a level of access into our family units that is how it was intended to be.  Herodias and her daughter were not fans of God, they were his enemy.  They used their feminine powers of seduction to get what they wanted, but were incapable of intimacy with God or man, because they had cut themselves off from the source of love and intimacy.  We are quick to criticize Herod for his pride, lack of judgment, and willingness to sin for sex.  But we are slow to look into the mirror, and lay the love of our lives on the same altar of our God.  We are slow to pledge to God ahead of our own sexual interests.  Instead like Herod, we want both.  We want a religion and set of restrictions than is not too tight for us to enjoy what we have, instead of being open to so much more that God might have in mind for us.  Our sin limits us, it does not free us.  Our sins enslave us, and keep us bound to pain and mediocrity, instead of allowing our God to offer us His boundless treasures that no one can take away.

Perhaps the only real winner in this tragedy is Phillip.  Phillip was rid of the whore who masqueraded as his wife.  While he lost his daughter as well, perhaps Phillip feared she too was beyond the desire for redemption.  Perhaps were Antipas would not accept the identity of Christ, Phillip might be better inclined to listen.  At least he would be free of the corrupting influence of a woman who knows the boundaries of lust, but has yet to discover the bliss of love.  If we are to live differently than Herod, and see another outcome in our lives, we must begin to trust God with our MOST cherished possessions, the core of who we are.  We need the Lord in our homes, in our hearts, in our bedrooms, and at the core of our marriages.  If we shut God out of these things, we deny ourselves the potential for bliss He so longs to give us.  Better the bliss of God, than the counterfeit his enemy offers that brings only pain and regret.  Let us make no Ghosts from pride, and let none exist from our willful ignorance.

The Only Thing Evil Knows - Communion (part eight) ...

When once you turn away from the light, the only alternative left to you is darkness.  When once you turn away from love, hate is the destiny you embrace.  Lucifer was created in the perfection of service and love to others.  His position was once third highest in all of creation, he stood at the left hand of the Father.  He was unaware of a distinction between himself and Christ, because the love of God towards others so was full there had never been a reason to measure it before.  But within this perfection, Lucifer reasoned that perhaps existence did not require this method to maintain perfection.  Perhaps an alternative was possible that would simply result in a “different” perfection than the one God setup.  He broke trust with God, and put his trust in the power of his own intellect and will.  He continued on his path, until the point where he could not be saved, because he would not be saved.  And there was war in heaven.  When once he knew only love and harmony, he would now be willing to introduce war and death into heaven itself.  Love had turned to hate, as trust was irrevocably broken.  Evil was born into the universe, and the opposite of love was defined for all sentient life to witness in horror; hate had come.

Lucifer became Satan.  The archangel became the devil.  A universe of perfect love to others, had been corrupted into a self-absorbed, self-focused, acquire-at-all-costs emptiness that could never be filled.  To look back at the perfect peace unfallen beings maintained, and witness the perfect love of service the unfallen beings lived, elicits only one response in the fallen – hate.  It is torture to live in self-inflicted pain while witnessing the unbridled joy of another.  Their peace only fuels the passionate hatred of the one who will not let his own misery go.  That impossible focus on self, only deepens the hatred for everything, when seen against the perfection of love and service and joy that is unavoidable from living as God ordained.  So when evil encounters love, its response must be one of two – submit to love and embrace it, or resist love and respond in hate.  As love is more powerful than hate, it requires more determination to hate, more anger to maintain, more energy to resist.  It requires an unrelenting choice to keep up the hate.  But for one who will not trust to anyone other than self, it is the only choice to be made despite its difficulty.

This was the reaction of the religious leadership of the day, to the Messiah they had waited for so long to see.  This was the response of the wicked and fallen angels to the arrival of Christ, who lived His life in perfect service and love.  The only thing evil knows to do when confronted with love, is to hate.  If one lets go of hate even momentarily one may be drawn to a love that would not let you go, one that would free you from hate, so as never to return to the power of its embrace.  That kind of redemptive love is what Christ introduced into our reality.  And the Pharisees hated Him for it.  The very redemptive love He offered to all, even to them, was refused because it required submission, it required an acceptance that indeed they did not know it all.  They were not the final arbiters of truth, they were witness to truth incarnate in the humble life of this servant of all.  This they could not, and would not accept.  So they responded to love with hate.  The learned elders of the one true religion, became the biggest proponents of hate in the very name of that religion.  The Pharisees would seek to kill the author of love, rather than be remade by that love.  Are we any different?  Do we prefer ourselves the way we are, than to be remade by Him and perhaps lose parts of ourselves we hold dear?  Do we carry placards that espouse love that transforms or hate that condemns?

John records the words of Christ now in chapter 15, as they near or perhaps enter the garden of Gethsemane.  Judas is not with them as he is already leading those who intend to kill love to their target.  Time is very short.  So Christ tries to explain the mystery of iniquity and hate to His followers so that they will not be surprised by what they encounter.  In verse 18 He explains … “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. [verse 19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”  Evil hates love.  When we reflect the love of Christ to others, we should not expect to see love returned as it would be in perfection.  Rather we should expect to see hatred, for evil struggles to the death to hold on and resist the love of God.  When we find ourselves in disfavor with society, when we are punished for the acts of love we do on behalf of another, when our reputations are mud for the sake of our relentless love in action – it is because evil resists the power of God who loves. 

However, when the world seems to have no problem with us; when we present no threat to it; when we are every bit as angry, and hostile, and judgmental as our accuser is; we can and will be loved by the world.  Satan has no problem with our hateful speech, couched in the name of God – that is a technique he pioneered for us.  Our Pharisee forefathers killed God in an effort to keep religion pure.  So when we hold our signs and placards that condemn the world for its sins, we join with Satan in persecuting those in the deepest need of His love; so pushing them farther from it, while carrying and maligning the name of Christ, and of Christians.  This activity brings little condemnation from the world, because the world is steeped in evil and loves the hypocrisy of accusing others while being every bit as guilty in our own hearts and desires.  But, by contrast, when we love unconditionally and without reservation, to those who no-one else would dare to love – we present a real and present threat to the kingdom of evil and hate.  It is then that we are out of harmony with the kingdom of evil and hate, and must be “dealt with”.  For if left unchecked, a love without reservation or limitation, that is only consumed with the benefit of another, has the power to change lives, hearts, minds, and wills and could make converts to the kingdom of Christ.  When these converts discover the freeing power of love, the salvation Christ does to liberate and change them from their former selves into servants equipped with the power of transformative love – the kingdom of evil loses a soul forever to the power of God’s love.  Thus when we love like Christ loved, we become hated quickly by the world.

Jesus continues in verse 20 … “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”  When we serve God we encounter those who have refused Him, and thus will refuse us as well.  Be they church leaders at the highest levels, or desperate sinners at the lowest rungs of society, those who refuse God and His love, will not accept our own any better.  But those who hear the voice of the Lord, will make themselves humble enough to hear His voice through His servants in whatever form that comes.  It is not only through a preacher that the word of God is offered.  It is offered through the mouth of the child, who can barely grasp the depth of the words they speak.  It is offered through the mouth of the downs-syndrome-afflicted who understands love so well, but intellect so little.  It is offered through the mouth of the sick and the dying as they face what we all fear, and now understand what is truly important.  If we are humble enough to hear it, we can ignore the faults and imperfections of the vessel, and instead hear only the pure word of God spoken in love regardless of its source.  It is not the denomination, or age, or gender, or sexual orientation, or known history of sin that either qualifies or disqualifies a person from speaking the truth of our God – it is instead only the content of what they say, and the love in which they say it, that either offers us the word of God, or the folly of men.  It is instead our arrogance that predetermines “who” is qualified to speak for God, and our standards lead us to miss His words, in favor of those that please our own ears.

Jesus continued in verse 21 … “But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.”  In the days of Christ as well as in ours, there will be those who refuse to accept Jesus as Lord.  To identify Christ as the Son of God, is to invite persecution – either from within the church as we transfer the attention away from traditions and self-reliance and on to Christ – or outside of the church as we identify the real meaning of love and not  the perversion of self-service the devils offers as its poor substitute.  Those who do not know God, do not know love, and evil has only one response to love.  Jesus further states in verse 22 … “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.”  In the days of the Pharisees Christ had spoken in their presence, they bore witness to His love, and therefore had no excuse to cloke their sin.  In our day, the love of the Lord is no less present.  We do not casually live our lives in blissful ignorance of the love of God, instead the love of God to redeem us is constantly offered, and we must by conscious choice ignore and disregard it.  So what was true for our Pharisee forefathers will be no less true for ourselves.

Jesus states in verse 23 … “He that hateth me hateth my Father also.”  There is no subdividing God.  There are not many pathways to God.  There are not many deities that can legitimately claim to be God.  There is only one God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – three who are united in purpose and one.  To hate one of them, is to hate all of them.  You cannot hate one third of God, but love another third.  To love God, is to accept God as He is.  We do not get the choice of picking and choosing which parts of God we think are real and worth loving or not.  For if Christ always did the will of His Father, who is it we truly hate – the God who performed the miracles, or the God who ordained them to be performed?  Those who offer Buddha, or Krishna, or Mohammed, or any other purported deity to augment the place of God, offer only false ideologies that cannot find truth in the reality of who God is.  The Father cannot be separated from the Son.  To deny the divinity of the Son, is to deny the divinity of the Father, for it was the Father’s own voice who proclaimed Christ as His own Son, and who empowered Christ to bend the rules of physics to heal and create, and restore all the countless broken ones he encountered during His life here on earth.  It is both Father AND Son who are united in the plans for our redemption and salvation.

Jesus offers evidence again in verse 24 … “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”  The miracles of Christ should have been enough to prove His divinity.  He created food where there was none.  He healed diseases and birth defects and the demon possessed.   He woke Lazarus from the grave after 4 days of decomposition.  Every act of love for another should have been more than ample evidence of His divinity.  To require more “proof” is empty words, proof and truth were already there for those who did not refuse to see.  Jesus continues in verse 25 … “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”  The rejection of Christ had been foretold.  It was even sadder still though, that this prophecy found fulfillment in the leadership of His own religion and faith, instead of merely in the government of Rome and the world.  I wonder if our modern Christian churches are any different.  Do we too reject Christ as the author and finisher of our salvation, choosing like Lucifer to put our trust in our own wisdom, logic, interpretation, and will power to save us from our sins?

Jesus then tells His followers, that for them even more evidence will be received in verse 26 He continues … “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: [verse 27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”  The Holy Spirit will come to His followers and continue to declare in the Truth of the Father, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and source of our salvation.  The Holy Spirit does not disagree with the accounts of scripture, rather He verifies them.  The miracles the disciples would perform were not of their own strength, but done in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of God.  If the life of Christ were a lie, if He were not our God, His name would have no effect.  We could not break the rules of physics and modern medicine by the power of our own names, or the random name of some mere historical figure, even if that figure was a “good man” or known to be a “prophet”.  But the name of Christ, and the power of love of God that He embodies, has seen the impossible become possible.  To be made free from the addiction of sin and self is in itself a miracle we will never fully understand, for it is His work in us, and none of our own, that sees it accomplished.

Jesus continues and wraps up this part of His communion on the responses the disciples should expect in chapter 16 starting in verse one … “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. [verse 2] They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”  The worst irony, the saddest expectation, would be that the center of persecution would not be in the world, but within the church.  It would be those who favor religious zealotry, over actual love for others, who would be most willing and eager to kill in the name of God.  The Romans would hardly care less which God you worship as long as you paid your taxes and did not attempt rebellion.  In this, Christians were wholly compliant.  But the Jews believed the introduction of the doctrine of the Messiah having been fulfilled was the destruction of their faith, traditions, and powerbase, thus to kill to end this “heresy” would become a top priority within the faith.  Christ explains all of this to his disciples in advance.  He explains why they will do this in verse 3 … “And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

Here the message of Christ is powerful both then and now.  Those who would hate or kill in the name of God DO NOT KNOW GOD at all.  They neither know God the Father, or God the Son.  Those who respond to love with evil and hate, know only evil and hate.  God does not kill those who disagree with Him.  If that were true Satan would simply have never existed.  Instead God creates all with freedom to choose to trust and love or not.  God does not change who He is, instead He attempts to lure us back to Him with the power of His so great love.  He does not kill us all because we sin, or have sinned.  Instead He looks to free us from our sin, and offer us love and joy in its place.  He takes pain and death away from us, and offers us life and love instead.  Those who offer death for disobedience follow the doctrines of Satan alone, not of our God.  It is Satan who kills those who disagree with him, or disobey him, or fall away from his cause.  God attempts to redeem the lost.  Satan would kill any who stray from his cause of evil.  The religious zealots of the time of Christ who kill in the name of God, were doing so at the express desire of Satan himself.  The religious zealots of today who espouse hate to those still caught in sin, follow the same path of Satan, and do nothing to advance the cause of God or the redemption those sin-sick souls are in such desperate need of.  Only love will ever reach them, hate and death will accomplish nothing.

Jesus concludes his predictions by stating one last time in verse 4 … “But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.”  Everything He was telling them was prophetic, and true, and would help prepare them for the future they faced.  The message is every bit as relevant for us today as it was then.  When we are transformed by the love of Christ, we will become different people than what we were.  We will value different things, love differently, want different things.  When we begin to reflect the love of Christ through us more perfectly, we will draw the ire of the world around us.  Satan will not leave us free to love as Christ loved without making every attempt to draw us away from Christ.  He will tell us that “we” have accomplished our spiritual awakening by our own great power and intellect.  He will do everything he can to convince us that even our religious life is about us, our salvation attributable to our works and will power and understanding of scripture.  He will do anything he can to keep us from focusing on Christ.  We cannot expect a life of ease as a servant of love.  Instead we can expect a life of hardship, and of perfect peace, contentment, fulfillment, and joy.  For it is not our conditions that define our responses, it is the power of His love within us.  We will find perfection from the work He does.  We will find peace in KNOWING that it is He who saves us from the people we once were.  Our salvation is His gift to us, and the way we love is also the result of His gifts.  Nothing can take that away, whether from within our churches, or outside of them.

And communion was not over yet …

 

Is God a Dictator ...

Since the beginning of the conflict between good and evil, Satan has alleged that God is a dictator. Satan told anyone that would listen that God has His ways, and any other competing ideas are met with death. In effect, Satan alleges that it is God’s way or Non-existence – therefore He cannot be a loving God as He does not tolerate dissent. Atheists are quick to jump on this bandwagon posing the simple question – why do I have to love and worship God or find myself going to hell, is there no third alternative? Christians have often cited the Old Testament as examples of God’s justice and judgment against evil, coincidentally branding all those who refuse to accept Christian ideology as “evil” by default. The result of this conglomeration is a perception that God is a dictator, even if a benevolent one, and must be feared even if He cannot be loved. But is this correct?

Some Christians attempt to divide the Bible into the Old Testament (which becomes referred to as the old covenant), and the New Testament (which becomes the new covenant). Into these two stereo-types they label the old covenant as based on following the law. The new covenant is based on grace alone, as now we are freed from the law. But no-one ever stops to consider what “freed” from the law might actually mean. Since most Christians do not want to destroy morality all together they decide that only the Mosaic laws are no longer applicable – therefore feasting, offerings, dietary laws, etc.. must be the things that disappeared with the crucifixion of Christ. It is those laws we are freed from. What to do about keeping the Sabbath; depends on the Christian you talk to.

Atheists point to the level of blood in the Old Testament and assume that since God cannot change, this is His true nature. The loving Christ of the New Testament is ignored in favor of the blood and guts described in the Old Testament. And when faced with this argument Christians grow strangely silent; or perhaps worse, they interpret the blood shed as justification to implement their own ideas forcibly on our neighbors. There certainly is quite a bit of blood shed laid at the feet of God in the Old Testament. A quick review produces the following … the Flood (as many as 4 billion die), Sodom & Gomorrah (entire cities destroyed), the Plagues of Egypt (untold thousands dead), The Red Sea collapse (entire Egyptian army remaining dies), Earthquakes in camp Israel (those who speak against Moses slaughtered), the Assyrian army (180,000 men die), and Nineveh (entire city wiped out). And these are only the incidents where God personally and miraculously intervened with men dying. There are many other incidents where man was the instrument of God’s directions most of which center around the taking of the Promised Land.

These deaths are facts. And God is directly responsible for them. Is our God then a mass murderer? In order to address these issues one must begin at the beginning. Evil is something that has consistently been demonstrated to self-destruct over time. Therefore as God is infinite we can deduce there is NO evil in Him, anywhere. It is not that He is incapable of evil, as evil is a mere choice. It is that He would never choose to participate in evil as evil hold nothing of value to Him. Everything that is good is God. God is love, life, joy, fulfillment, happiness, etc.. Everything you understand to be desired or good, is what God is like. Therefore to deviate away from God and his plans, government, ideals, and kingdom – is to embrace the alternatives to love, life, and joy. Deviating away from the source of life leads to death. Deviating away from the source of love leads to hate. Deviating away from the source of joy leads to pain. These are simple cause and effect based facts. There is no moral judgment implied in any of them, they just are.

So it was with Lucifer who became Satan. It was not God’s fault that Lucifer chose against Him. Lucifer was created, just like all sentient beings, with the ability to choose to love or not, to trust or not, to obey or not. Lucifer deviated away from God’s perfect plan of serving others, and began exploring what serving self would be like. I am certain God warned him of what would result. But Lucifer continued in stubborn pride imagining that God may not know “everything”. Lucifer thought that different is not necessarily “bad.” But he was wrong. Different from God is bad, by default. This was an unfortunate fact Lucifer could not escape from. Nor did he wish to. Instead he tried to take as many creations with him in his destiny of self-destruction as he could. One third of the angels listened to his idea that different is “better”. And Adam and Eve broke trust with God, and listened to his now refined lies. And so evil entered our world, and our consciousness.

Ironically, Satan’s mere existence PROVES that God is not as arbitrary as he alleged. No, rather God tolerated the existence of evil until all sentient beings had enough time to make the choice to continue trusting in Him, or embracing Satan’s alternatives. No-one knew at first just how bad evil could get until Calvary showed the entire universe, that if allowed, evil would kill the creator Himself. It is only man that remains largely undecided. Once enough time has been allotted, evil itself will meet its destruction in the fires of hell. Evil and death will be forever consumed by those flames, and then the earth will be made new once again, once the flames are no more. Those who remain alive then will know for certainty that God can and should be trusted, and that deviating away from Him is never a good idea. In short, there is no alternatives to good that are worth exploring – this is the lesson of Lucifer.

Satan continues to sell his lie to mankind. He tells Atheists that there is a third alternative where they are in control of their own lives and decisions. He tells men that he does not exist, nor does God, only them – evolved after millions of years. And men eager to gain control over their own fates, believe his lie. They embrace blindly the concept that deviating from good can somehow wind up with a positive result, when in fact it simply cannot. Evil is tolerated by God as an example of His patience, and how firmly He is committed to the concept of free-will. God allows mankind a certain amount of freedom to explore the limits of his wickedness. But at times, enough becomes enough, and as a forecast of the ultimate disposition of all evil in general – a specific example of evil is terminated from the world. The Flood was perhaps the biggest example of this.

One day evil will meet its fate, that is not a threat, but a promise. One day evil will exist no more anywhere, and remain gone by choice. But the entire point of the Bible was not to condemn us with what we deserved. It was to redeem us unto what only He truly deserves. Those who divide the Old Testament from the New Testament under the idea that violence only occurred in the former make a mistake. First take a close look at each example I sited as to God personally invoking destruction in our world. In each instance, BEFORE any destruction occurred, the first priority was the REDEMPTION of mankind. Noah was identified long before the flood occurred, not because he was special, but because he was the last follower of God. God waited 120 years from His initial decision to destroy the world in order to give it time to repent and be saved. But the world would not hear of it. They continued to distrust the word of God through Noah, and so met the fate of all evil.

Before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, Christ himself came to see the city in person. He negotiated with Abraham to spare the city if only 10 righteous people could be found in it. And when only Lot and his family were found, they were saved BEFORE the city was destroyed. Even for the sake of Lot, for just one, God enacted a plan to save him from the destruction that would befall his neighbors – the same way He did for Noah. Lot’s wife and daughters were spared initially despite their apparent “lack of character”, another testament to the love of God for us. Egypt was warned repeatedly before the plagues. The Israelites had constant miraculous signs and the physical presence of God in the camp despite their choice to engage in wickedness. King Sennacherib of the Assyrians knew better than to attack Israel and had been warned. Jonah was sent to Nineveh and it was spared initially due to its repentance. In each account, REDEMPTION was sought FIRST. Only after being saved was no longer an option, came the inevitable destruction of evil – so it will be one more time.

Those who segregate the New Testament from the Old Testament based on violence, also forget the lessons of Ananias and Sapphira. In this case as in earlier times, both were given opportunities to repent of their evil before destruction ensued. God has not changed. He is the same in Old and New, He is completely focused on our redemption from evil. But He gives us the choice of this redemption or not. If we refuse it, we will suffer the fate of all evil, and be consumed with evil ourselves. It will not be because He did not warn us, love us, lure us, and invest great effort in our salvation – it will be because we simply kept on saying NO. This may sound like a hard truth, but it is a truth nonetheless. It does not mean God is a dictator, but rather means He will not suffer evil eternally, and will not allow evil to take all life with it, when it goes.

So then comes the question of obedience - Must we obey or die? Yes; but not because of the threat of the impending doom of evil, but because most of the natural consequences of evil itself are but pain and death. I can choose for example to obey the law and drive within the speed limits set by our government. Or I can choose to drive at twice the legal limit on the same roads. No-one can force me to do either, it is my choice to obey or drive as I choose. But when I drive 110mph in a 55mph zone and miss my left turn, rolling my vehicle into a nearby oak tree, making a pretzel out of my car and me in it – does this make it the governments fault for setting a speed limit in the first place? Or is it my fault for choosing to disobey and put myself at risk? Evil is consistently and inevitable linked with pain and death. They are one, as God is one. You cannot separate them from each other. Sometimes the pain of evil is delayed and when it is, it is usually far worse than immediate consequences. But delayed or not, they are sure to come.

There is another reason to obey besides just avoiding the natural consequences of embracing evil; it is because our God is one of infinite love, consumed with our redemption from evil. God wished only to spare us the pain and death associated with evil. He wants our happiness and hates anything that would harm us. As such, His council to us, ALL of His council to us, is designed to preserve us from evil and put us in a position to enjoy His happiness. God does not arbitrarily restrict us from things we would enjoy, but He does keep us away from things that may appear pleasing, but underneath would gladly see us hurt or killed. God is our shelter, and our protector. But He is less so, when we view His council as something we are to be made free from. We are not “freed” from good advice, and commandments, we are “freed” from the slavery of man to serve evil and himself. We are “freed” TO obey, not “freed” in order to run amuck in evil and pain.

The redemption of man from evil is the uniting principle of the God of BOTH the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is a love letter to man, and a warning cautionary certainty to evil and those that embrace it. The Bible speaks of Satan’s sure destruction as much as it does the certainty of our redemption should we choose to believe in the Savior sent to save us. The Bible judges evil and wickedness, yet does not condemn man, but rather extends to him hope no matter what level of depravity he may have sunken to. Christ is powerful enough to save anyone, anywhere, anytime. He did not design the plan of Salvation so that you could go on living a life of pain and dread, and on your death bed finally renounce the source of all your pain that plagued you every day of your life. Rather He enacted a plan to save you from evil right here and right now, so that every day of your life would be one without the pain of evil and sin. He can change you and free you from your slavery. He is the only Savior God who can.