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From the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus walked. The temptation to follow His own will and to turn from His Father's had been extreme but overcome by total humility. Waiting for Him outside the Garden wall was Judas the betrayer and a band of temple guards armed with swords and staves.
In the face of this apparent confrontation Peter took his own sword and, attempting to prevent the Lord from being taken, chopped off the ear of the High Priest's servant, Malchus.
Speaking to Peter, Jesus said,
"Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Then He proceeded to do what He came to do and after healing Malchus' wounded ear, He allowed the temple guards to lead Him off to the most
horrible of human fates. For us. On the cross He forgave them, embodying all He had taught His disciples to do and be in response to this fallen and corrupt world.
Since the singular scene outside the Garden of Gethsemane, men and women who lay faithful claim to Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of their lives have battled the very natural inclination that Peter failed to overcome -- warring against the world by their own flesh and blood.
Where Jesus said turn the other cheek, Christians have a collective history of making exceptions to this rule, somehow forgetting that these exceptions were never the way of our King (some cite His turning over tables in the temple as an example of His involvement in civil affairs but we must remember that this was no civil affair but a religious one, an in-house cleaning of His Father's house, I would suggest).
Just how did the Lord instruct His sheep to this misguided and vicious world -- especially when face with insult, injustice, and inequitable treatment for believing in Him?
Throughout the New Testament the Lord and His apostles reiterate the foundational premise that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not of this world, and therefore those who truly understand and embrace it will not relate, respond, or interact with or against the world according to its rules and ways.
Much of the difficulty the Lord's apostles had in understanding His heavenly message came from the face that they thought He had come to establish an earthly kingdom. Armed with this misperception, the mother of James and John came to Jesus, presumably at the men's own request, and asked if her two sons would be allowed to sit, "the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." Jesus let her know that this was not possible for Him to give, implying that the kingdom was not an earthly domain that would be ruled by flesh, but instead, a heavenly domain administered by the will of God through His spirit.
Every time the world misinterpreted Jesus and His mission (and therefore sought to make Him and earthly king focused on social salvation and fleshly moral reform), He refused the election.
John 6:15
"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Why?
The answer can be found in His dialogue with Pilate shortly before His death. Standing before him, Jesus said,
"My kingdom is now of this world...."
Throughout scripture there is a clear delineation made between the Kingdom of God and this fallen world. According to scripture the two literally have nothing to do with each other in terms of how they are to operate.
Where the world says litigate, sue, make demands, and seek retribution, Jesus said quite the opposite.
Matthew 5:40 "If any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also."
Where the world says, "If someone hits you, hit them back,"
Jesus says in Matthew 5:39,
". . . resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Every minute of every day the world tells its minions to focus on making money, to accumulate wealth, and to become materially successful. But Paul, Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles taught,
1 Timothy 6:10 "the love of money is the root of all evil:which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through many sorrows."
And where the world, with its armies, its political forces, and its powerbrokers chant, "might makes right," Jesus tells us to be "meek, and lowly, and of humble hearts," and to focus our hearts on a world to come.
Is it possible, normative, even expected, for followers of Christ to be actively involved participants in or even against the things of this present world? Are we to fight against it, legislate against it, picket and protest it? Where is the dividing line, if any? How much world is too much world in the life of a believer? Should believers be seeking wealth? Fame? Worldly possessions? Is it our duty as recipients of everlasting life to make war with this world gone bad; to fight against all the social ills, to battle corrupt governments, and to threaten worldly institutions and ideologies of evil with collective economic sanctions if they will not do as we desire?
Consider the fact that
1. Jesus did not come to this sin-filled earth to condemn it (with anger and wrath) but to save it (through love).
John 3:17 "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
John 12:47 "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."
As followers of the King are we not also called to "take up our cross," "follow Him," and to do as He did (i.e. "to go and do likewise?") Is our battle against "Flesh and blood" (with the associated swords and staves) or "against dark principalities in high places" (which can only be overcome by prayer, faith, and love)?
1 John 3:22-23
" And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment."
Is it not true that genuine believers in the Lord and His Gospel would be careful to recall that "the disciple is not above his master:but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master" (Luke 6:40) and that our Master had nothing at all to with the way this world operates?
Also consider that Jesus plainly said that,
2. His Kingdom was not of this world.
When Jesus was taken before Pilate to be tried, Pilate asked Him (in ?John 18),
"Art thou the King of Jews?"
Jesus Answered,
"My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence."
From this exchange we learn from Jesus Himself that "His kingdom is not of this world," and the proof of this was that if His kingdom was of this world, "then His servants would fight."
Pilate then repeats the question, asking the Lord,
"Art thou a king then?"
Jesus answered,
"Thou sayest that I am a king (which means, "Yes, I am"). To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Every one that is of the Truth heareth my voice."
From these words we realize even more about the Lord and our duty in follwing Him. Jesus certainly is a king; ". . . to this end" He was born. And He explains what His birthd, and His ministry, were all about saying, "that I should bear witness unto the truth."
Is not this the sole Christian duty as well -- to "bear witness of the truth" -- which is Christ? Or is it to fight against social evil and make demands for moral purity so we can save the world from world from sin?
- From Shawn McCraney's book - "If my kingdom were of this world then my servants would fight. A believers refusal to join popular Christian Culture."
In the face of this apparent confrontation Peter took his own sword and, attempting to prevent the Lord from being taken, chopped off the ear of the High Priest's servant, Malchus.
Speaking to Peter, Jesus said,
"Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Then He proceeded to do what He came to do and after healing Malchus' wounded ear, He allowed the temple guards to lead Him off to the most
horrible of human fates. For us. On the cross He forgave them, embodying all He had taught His disciples to do and be in response to this fallen and corrupt world.
Since the singular scene outside the Garden of Gethsemane, men and women who lay faithful claim to Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of their lives have battled the very natural inclination that Peter failed to overcome -- warring against the world by their own flesh and blood.
Where Jesus said turn the other cheek, Christians have a collective history of making exceptions to this rule, somehow forgetting that these exceptions were never the way of our King (some cite His turning over tables in the temple as an example of His involvement in civil affairs but we must remember that this was no civil affair but a religious one, an in-house cleaning of His Father's house, I would suggest).
Just how did the Lord instruct His sheep to this misguided and vicious world -- especially when face with insult, injustice, and inequitable treatment for believing in Him?
Throughout the New Testament the Lord and His apostles reiterate the foundational premise that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not of this world, and therefore those who truly understand and embrace it will not relate, respond, or interact with or against the world according to its rules and ways.
Much of the difficulty the Lord's apostles had in understanding His heavenly message came from the face that they thought He had come to establish an earthly kingdom. Armed with this misperception, the mother of James and John came to Jesus, presumably at the men's own request, and asked if her two sons would be allowed to sit, "the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." Jesus let her know that this was not possible for Him to give, implying that the kingdom was not an earthly domain that would be ruled by flesh, but instead, a heavenly domain administered by the will of God through His spirit.
Every time the world misinterpreted Jesus and His mission (and therefore sought to make Him and earthly king focused on social salvation and fleshly moral reform), He refused the election.
John 6:15
"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Why?
The answer can be found in His dialogue with Pilate shortly before His death. Standing before him, Jesus said,
"My kingdom is now of this world...."
Throughout scripture there is a clear delineation made between the Kingdom of God and this fallen world. According to scripture the two literally have nothing to do with each other in terms of how they are to operate.
Where the world says litigate, sue, make demands, and seek retribution, Jesus said quite the opposite.
Matthew 5:40 "If any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also."
Where the world says, "If someone hits you, hit them back,"
Jesus says in Matthew 5:39,
". . . resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Every minute of every day the world tells its minions to focus on making money, to accumulate wealth, and to become materially successful. But Paul, Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles taught,
1 Timothy 6:10 "the love of money is the root of all evil:which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through many sorrows."
And where the world, with its armies, its political forces, and its powerbrokers chant, "might makes right," Jesus tells us to be "meek, and lowly, and of humble hearts," and to focus our hearts on a world to come.
Is it possible, normative, even expected, for followers of Christ to be actively involved participants in or even against the things of this present world? Are we to fight against it, legislate against it, picket and protest it? Where is the dividing line, if any? How much world is too much world in the life of a believer? Should believers be seeking wealth? Fame? Worldly possessions? Is it our duty as recipients of everlasting life to make war with this world gone bad; to fight against all the social ills, to battle corrupt governments, and to threaten worldly institutions and ideologies of evil with collective economic sanctions if they will not do as we desire?
Consider the fact that
1. Jesus did not come to this sin-filled earth to condemn it (with anger and wrath) but to save it (through love).
John 3:17 "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
John 12:47 "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."
As followers of the King are we not also called to "take up our cross," "follow Him," and to do as He did (i.e. "to go and do likewise?") Is our battle against "Flesh and blood" (with the associated swords and staves) or "against dark principalities in high places" (which can only be overcome by prayer, faith, and love)?
1 John 3:22-23
" And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment."
Is it not true that genuine believers in the Lord and His Gospel would be careful to recall that "the disciple is not above his master:but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master" (Luke 6:40) and that our Master had nothing at all to with the way this world operates?
Also consider that Jesus plainly said that,
2. His Kingdom was not of this world.
When Jesus was taken before Pilate to be tried, Pilate asked Him (in ?John 18),
"Art thou the King of Jews?"
Jesus Answered,
"My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence."
From this exchange we learn from Jesus Himself that "His kingdom is not of this world," and the proof of this was that if His kingdom was of this world, "then His servants would fight."
Pilate then repeats the question, asking the Lord,
"Art thou a king then?"
Jesus answered,
"Thou sayest that I am a king (which means, "Yes, I am"). To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Every one that is of the Truth heareth my voice."
From these words we realize even more about the Lord and our duty in follwing Him. Jesus certainly is a king; ". . . to this end" He was born. And He explains what His birthd, and His ministry, were all about saying, "that I should bear witness unto the truth."
Is not this the sole Christian duty as well -- to "bear witness of the truth" -- which is Christ? Or is it to fight against social evil and make demands for moral purity so we can save the world from world from sin?
- From Shawn McCraney's book - "If my kingdom were of this world then my servants would fight. A believers refusal to join popular Christian Culture."
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