Ethics and the Middle East

When I was a teenager I enquired from my father whether something was illegal. I cannot remember what it was about but I do remember his answer and my reaction to it. He said that it was not illegal but unethical. I had no idea what he meant by unethical and just wanted to know if it would get me into trouble with the law. The answer was "no" and I did not bother to try and understand exactly what ethics was all about.

In my younger days my studies were in Science. I did not do much reading in Philosophy, of which Ethics is a branch. However, I had my own ideas as to what was right and wrong. C.S. Lewis argued that every human being has an innate sense of good and evil. My understanding of acceptable and objectional behaviour was obviously also influenced by the culture I was exposed to while growing up.

The New Atheists make all sorts of judgements on topics of a political nature, based on an ethic they have absorbed from the culture around them. They deny that this culture, largely shaped by the Judeo-Christian view of the world, is their source of ethics and morals. Many atheists subscribe to Christian ethics but do not like Christians or the Church. One of Gandhi's quotes is: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians". He also said: "It was the New Testament which really awakened me to the ... value of passive resistance."

The church of which I have been a member for more than 50 years used to be quite pietistic. That meant that, in contrast to the Anglican Church, our church abstained from making political statements. However, I clearly remember the time when our minister stated that he was not making a political statement when he referred to some of the human suffering the policy of apartheid gave rise to. Later on some churches declared apartheid a heresy.

In our culture Nazism is associated with evil and the Nazi flag has been banned in some countries. Flags can arouse very strong positive or negative feelings. The old South African flag is a good example of this phenomenon. The word "apartheid" has become associated with the worst kinds of atrocities imaginable, largely due to the machinations of the "Theater of the Absurd"*.

By a master stroke of propaganda the so-called Pro-Palestine lobby has managed to identify the state of Israel as an apartheid state. In South Africa the ANC insisted that apartheid could not be reformed; it had to be abolished. How do the Palestinians intend to abolish the Jewish state?

Article 13 of the Covenant of Hamas states, amongst others, "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad" and article 31, "Under the wing of Islam, it is possible for the followers of the three religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - to coexist in peace and quiet with each other. Peace and quiet would not be possible except under the wing of Islam"**. Unfortunately the experiences of Christians and Jews in Islamic countries do not support that statement.

I remember the time when Nicolas Bhengu came from the newly "liberated" Mozambique to speak at our church. The country was embroiled in a civil war from which many were fleeing into South Africa. A refugee gave him a shopping bag full of Mozambican money which was losing value by the day. Pastor Bhengu was urging us to use every opportunity to spread the Good News of Jesus before tumultuous times would make such an endeavour difficult. Our young men were doing military duty on the borders and in the townships but Bhengu warned us saying: "You cannot shoot the devil".

There is a similarity between the treatment received by pre-1994 South Africa and what is doled out to present day Israel from the UN. In the 1970s a preacher in one of our churches said we should not be too concerned about South Africa being in the spotlight at the United Nations. In the end, he said, Israel has to move centre stage in the affairs of the world.

"Prior to 1990, 147 Security Council resolutions dealt with Israel and its actions, which was more than twenty-three percent of the 646 resolutions issued during that time frame. South Africa was the second most popular Entity referred to in resolutions during the Cold War era, considered in seventy-six resolutions. Of the 646 resolutions of the period, ninety-two merely discussed the admission of new Members to the United Nations. Numerous others served merely house-keeping purposes."***

A statement which I believe every decent human being should be bold enough to agree with is the following: "The taking of hostages for political gain is a matter of ethics and a crime against humanity".

________________

*December 12, 1975 Daniel P. Moynihan, the chief American delegate, here, charged tonight in the General Assembly that the Assembly was “becoming a theater of the absurd” and attacked its adoption of reports “riddled with untruths.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/12/archives/moynihan-attacks-colonialism-report-of-un-assembly.html)

**(https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp)

***https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=jil

Jesus the Son of God - 6

Not much attention is given in the gospels to Jesus' relationship with his earthly family. But he was very much part of it for the first 30 years of his life. He was submissive to his parents (Luke 2:51). Before he had done any miraculous sign, his mother expected him to take care of a situation which could otherwise have been an embarrassment for a bridal couple (John 2:3, 5, 11). After this he went to Capernaum with his family and disciples (John 2:12).

When Jesus became popular his mother and brothers must have thought he had become too fanatical and attempted to calm him down (Mark 3:21, 31). In Nazareth he was known as the carpenter who was part of a family (Mark 6:3). On occasion his brothers gave him their advice on how he should go about his ministry (John 7:3-5). Jesus showed concern for his mother even as he was dying on the cross (John 19:26-27).

Jesus would have loved to adopt the nation of Israel as his own family. When he sent out the twelve, he told them to only reach out to the "lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). He used the same phrase when he initially refused to heal the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22-24). When he cried over Jerusalem Jesus was revealing his love for God's chosen people (Luke 19:41-42; Matthew 23:37). This was a sentiment the prophets had attributed to God over and over (Isaiah 40:11). The prophets denounced the "bad shepherds" of Israel (Jeremiah 23:1-2; Ezekiel 34:1-2). They promised that God would send them someone who cared for them (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Micah 5:4). In his denunciation of the Pharisees Jesus used words to the effect that they masqueraded as shepherds of Israel while persecuting the true shepherds (Matthew 23:33-36). He defended his disciples against the attacks of the religious elite (Matthew 12:1-7, Mark 7:1-13).

Jesus had compassion for all the marginalised people he came across, seeing them as "sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Luke 15 has been called the "lost chapter" because it contains the parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. In it Jesus reveals the heart of God towards all who have gone astray. He anticipated that people from other nations would be added to his flock (John 10:16) as prophesied in Isaiah 49:6-7. Probably the first person from another nation to whom Jesus revealed his identity was the Samaritan woman he met at a well (John 4:25-26).

The prophets often described God as the Shepherd of Israel (Genesis 48:15; Psalm 23:1; 80:1; Zechariah 9:16). Jesus' love for Israel proved that he was their Good Shepherd. He encouraged people to come to him to find peace for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30).  He was obviously familiar with the "forbidden chapter" Isaiah 53 and knew he came to fulfil that prophesy. That is why he said that he had come to give his life for the sheep (John 10:15, 17). After he was raised from the dead Jesus instructed Peter to take care of his sheep (John 21:16). Anyone who makes claims like the above is either divine or suffers from delusions of grandeur.

Jesus the Son of God - 5

Jesus started his evangelistic campaign with words to the effect that it was God's timing for good news to be proclaimed. The obligation on his hearers was to change their minds about how they related to their culture, and generally, how they viewed the world. He commanded them to believe that God was in the process of inaugurating his kingdom on earth (Mark 1:14-15). He had sent Jesus to spread the content of this proclamation, starting in Israel. The essence of it was that God loves his creation and wants to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21; John 3:16-17).

Jesus first gathered a team of 12 and later 72 to preach. The Greek word for preacher means herald, public messenger or publisher. Signs and wonders were an integral part of evangelism (Luke 10:17). The "full gospel" includes healing as well as the forgiveness of sins. The teachers of Judaism were scandalised by Jesus' claim that he had authority to forgive sins but they were silenced when he healed the paralised man (Mark 2:5-12). Evangelists in the 21st century still preach forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. In many evangelistic campaigns signs and healings are still witnessed (Mark 16:15-18).

In the beginning of his ministry Jesus did not want much publicity. Several times he got into a boat and went to the other side of the lake to escape the crowds. On one occasion he was so tired that he took the opportunity to have a nap while a storm was raging (Matthew 8:18, 24). Nevertheless many who were healed did not obey his instruction to keep it to themselves and the priests (Mark 1:43-45). After their first round of evangelism, even the apostles were swamped with people wanting their attention (Mark 6:30-31).

But about six months before his last Passover Jesus started to draw attention to himself by publicly, in the temple, making statements which were regarded as outrageous. "He proclaimed that he could provide "wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-4; John 7:37-38). He also claimed to be "the light of the world", that God had sent him, that he could grant eternal life, that he was God's son, that he had existed before Abraham was born and that he was the Good Shepherd (John 8:12, 42, 51, 54, 58; 10:7, 11). The Good Shepherd was a title describing attributes of JHWH in Psalm 23. After this he left Jerusalem for a time because there had been several attempts to stone or arrest him (John 10:31; 10:39-40).

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey in the week preceding the Passover feast, a great crowd accompanied him. They treated him like a king and quoted phrases from the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). The Jews used to sing the Hallel when they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feasts. The phrases "save LORD" (Hosanna JHWH in Hebrew) and "blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" occur in Psalm 118:25-26. These were shouted by the crowd who also replaced "LORD" with "son of David" (Mark 11:9).

There were Pharisees in the crowd who wanted Jesus to stop the jubilation because they thought it was blasphemous. But it was an occasion in which the rightful King was acknowledged and the stones would have praised him if the people had refused. Jesus was overcome with grief that the leaders of Jerusalem did not recognise him, the Prince of Peace (Luke 19:39-42).

During this week Jesus did his utmost to publicise his presence. He was successful. On the road to Emmaus, Cleopas was surprised that anyone in Jerusalem might not have heard about the happenings over Passover (Luke 24:18). About 30 years later Paul was convinced that king Agrippa must have known about Jesus because "these things didn’t happen secretly in some out-of-the-way place" (Acts 26:26). Even pagan historians knew about Jesus (https://reasonsforjesus.com/a-list-of-extra-biblical-sources-for-the-historical-jesus).

Jesus' last words to the Pharisees were that Jerusalem would not see him again until the day they say "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39). Some Bible scholars are of the opinion that the leaders of Jerusalem will come to the realisation that Jesus is their Messiah. Then they will exclaim that phrase in Hebrew: Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai. But before that would happen, Jesus' followers were to continue preaching the good news of the Kingdom, starting in Jerusalem and including the ends of the earth (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).

Jesus the Son of God - 4

John the Baptist insisted that he was not "the prophet" Moses wrote about in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Jews later speculated whether Jesus might be that prophet (John 7:40). Jesus was indeed the one Moses had prophesied about. About no other human being is it written in the Bible that God would punish those who refuse to obey him. The temple police, who were instructed to arrest him, did not do so because they had never heard anyone speak like him (John 7:46).

Jesus was like Moses in that he was "from their brothers". Like Moses, who was disrespected by his brother and sister (Numbers 12:1-2), Jesus was "not accepted by his own" (John 1:11). Moses was the humblest man on all the earth (Numbers 12:3). About 1500 years later Jesus claimed that designation for himself (Matthew 11:29). Jesus refused to do the signs the Pharisees demanded from him to prove that he was a prophet. But he did all the types of signs which authenticated prophets like Moses, Elijah and Elisha.

One of the most notable prophesies of Jesus, which was fulfilled in the lifetime of his hearers, was the destruction of the second temple (Matthew 24:2). The first temple, which was built by Solomon, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar about 587 BC. The construction of the second temple started 515 BC. It was expanded by Herod. It had been worked on for about 46 years by the time Jesus first evicted the merchants (John 2:20). But it was not completed until 64 AD, six years before it was razed to the ground by the Romans. To this day the Jews annually observe Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning, to remember the day when the temple was destroyed.

John the Baptist was regarded by the Jews to be a prophet (Matthew 14:5) and Jesus said he was more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9). But John did not think himself worthy of untying Jesus' shoes, a task normally reserved for slaves (Luke 3:16). And Jesus referred to John's testimony as true (John 5:33-35). Jesus claimed that a prophet is not without honour, except in his home town (Mark 6:4). This has proven to be true about him over the last 2 millennia. Jesus is honoured by believers all over the world, but only a tiny minority of Jews believe in him.

Plenty of Jesus' prophesies are still to be fulfilled. Many Bible scholars take the parable of the fig tree to mean that Jews would return to the land of their ancestors (Matthew 24:32-35). But the most outrageous of his prophesies, the one for which he was condemned to death, is that he would come again in the clouds (Matthew 24:30).

Jesus the Son of God - 3

 From a young age Jesus claimed to have a familial relationship with the Almighty. At the age when Jewish boys have their Bar Mitzvah Jesus amazed Bible teachers in the temple with his knowledge. That was also the age when they started training for their life vocation. It was common practice for the eldest son to become involved in his father's business. But when Mary told him "your father and I have been looking for you" Jesus responded "I must be about my Father's business". They were thinking 'Joseph and son' and he was referring to 'JWHW and Son', but they did not understand (Luke 2:46-50).

The question arises as to whether Mary and Joseph ever spoke to their children about the events surrounding Jesus' birth? Years later, when Mary and his brothers wanted to "take charge" of Jesus, he contended that "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:21; Matthew 12:46-50).

Early in his ministry Jesus asserted that no one knew God except his Son and those to whom the Son wished to reveal him (Matthew 11:27). He followed this up by inviting anyone who experienced hardship to come to him. On the night he was betrayed Jesus repeated to the eleven his claim of an exclusive relationship with God, maintaining that "no one comes to the Father except by me" (John 14:6).

I have heard a misquote by a podcaster who argued that Jesus denied being good, because he posed the question "Who is good but God?" (Luke 18:19). In fact, just the opposite is true. Jesus accepted the compliment and urged the young man to sell all and follow him. Instead of mentioning the Godward group of the ten commandments, Jesus only pointed him to those who regulated his relationship with humans. But if he wanted to be "perfect", he was give up his possessions for Jesus' sake. One would not be far wrong in imagining Jesus thinking "By all means call me good because I am the only human being who is divine". Besides, which mortal can promise anyone "a treasure in heaven"?

The Jews understood what Jesus meant by calling God his father and wanted to kill him for it (John 5:18). They came close to stoning him when he claimed to have existed before Abraham (John 8:58-59) and again when he declared to be one with the Father (John 10:30-33).

In the end Jesus' refusal to deny his divine nature cost him his life. The Jewish rulers needed to find him guilty according to their laws. The high priest managed this by asking Jesus under oath if he was the Messiah, the Son of God. His answer in the affirmative was all they needed (Matthew 26:63-65).

Jesus could still escape crucifixion if he did not make what Paul called the "good confession" before Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13). Pilate had wanted to set him free but felt pressurised by the crowd to execute him. Jesus gave him the pretext he could use under Roman law by declaring he was indeed a king (John 18:37).

Jesus the Son of God - 2

 The Jewish religious leaders were outraged at Jesus when he claimed to be God's Son. Jesus' response was that they should at least believe the works he did (John 10:37-38). He was referring to what the Jews called the signs of a prophet.

During the first Passover he attended after his baptism and anointing Jesus acted like he had authority over the activities to be allowed in the temple. Zeal for his Father's house had consumed him. He drove out the animals that were for sale in the temple, turned over the tables of the money changers and threw their coins onto the ground (John 2:13-17). At this feast many believed in him because of the signs he did (John 2:23).

Theologians who find it hard to believe in miracles have attempted to "demythologize" the Bible. It proved to be impossible to do so without completely changing the foundation on which Christianity was founded. The miracles form an integral part of the accounts of Jesus' life as recorded in the Gospels. People flocked to him to hear him teach and to have their ailments healed.

The various signs Jesus did proved that he had power over nature and insight into people's minds. He could produce food for thousands using one boy's meal. He spoke to the wind and it obeyed him. To believe that these miracles actually happened is not hard for millions of people. If he is the Son of God, then creating eyes for a man who was born blind should not be out of his league.

On more than one occasion the Jews asked Jesus for a sign to prove that he was their Messiah. Once he answered by saying "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19). On another occasion he said that no sign would be given them except for the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:38-39). In both cases he was alluding to his claim that he would rise from the dead.

The climax of Jesus' signs was coming back to life after having been brutally executed. Almost all the apostles' sermons, which are recorded in the book of Acts, has the resurrection as their central theme. There is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead than for any comparable event in the first century.

A man who predicts that he would be put to death and rise after three days, is in the words of C.S. Lewis, "the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse". Although not all preachers and theologians believe it, the physical resurrection of Jesus sets Christianity apart from all other religions. If he did not rise from the dead, Christianity would be the biggest hoax that was ever pulled on all of mankind.

Jesus the Son of God - 1

 C.S. Lewis formulated a so-called trilemma:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (Excerpt from Mere Christianity)

How did Lewis come to that conclusion? Being the scholar that he was, his persuasion came from reading the gospels. He regarded them as reliable records of the words and deeds of Jesus. Most Westerners find it very hard to believe the accounts of the miracles. But millions, even of those who don't identify as Christians, claim to base their ethics on the Sermon on the Mount. To get a good grip on the meaning of the sermon it is enlightening to consider the context in which it was presented. It should be enough to convince the reader of Jesus' intentions.

To the Jews the Law of Moses, the Torah as it was known, were the most sacred writings in existence. In his commentary on it Jesus started off by saying he did not come to do away with the Law (Matthew 5:17). "As if he could", may very well be what went through the mind of a sceptic. But he followed that up by saying he came to fulfil the Law! He was going to explain and model for all how the Law was to be applied in everyday life. In other words, if the Law gave a description of a perfect human being, he was that person. The "holy men" of the day spread the belief that there would be a resurrection of righteous believers and that they would "obtain eternal life" which is the same as to "enter the Kingdom of Heaven". To secure a place in the "book of life" a person had to follow the Law in minute detail. But Jesus said their kind of righteousness was not good enough to allow them into the Kingdom (Matthew 5:20).

Throughout the sermon Jesus used the phrase "You have heard ... but I say to you ...". He was referring to the interpretations of the Law by their learned men, the Pharisees and scribes, maybe also to popular opinion. As an illustration we can use the interpretation of the instruction in the Law as it pertained to divorce. Two famous rabbis Hillel and Shammai had different ideas of how it should be applied. The local synagogue teacher might have thought he was clever if he could quote both, and maybe give his reason for agreeing with one or the other. Jesus did no such thing. He simply said that anyone who "puts away" his wife for any reason other than fornication (porneia in Greek), causes her to commit adultery. And a man who marries her would also be committing adultery.

Jesus did not beat about the bush when it came to his opinion of the Pharisees and scribes. They were "role players" (hupocrites is the Greek word for actor). They would not inherit the eternal life which they hoped for. The crowd who heard the sermon concluded that Jesus taught "with authority" (Matthew 7:29). He did not speculate on the meaning of the instructions in the Law. In the spirit of C.S. Lewis, he was either the most arrogant person who ever lived, or indeed the One who gave the law to Moses in the first place.

The Lord's last Passover

Jesus had told his 12 apostles several times that he would be killed in Jerusalem. Peter objected to this notion when he first heard it. He was rebuked by Jesus because dying and rising from the dead was his main mission. Before they went to Jerusalem for the last time the disciples objected because of the hostility Jesus had encountered on their previous visit to the capital. Thomas resigned himself to Jesus' determination with the words: "Let us go and die with him" (John 11:16). It is doubtful that he fully grasped what he was saying. This became evident when they all deserted Jesus later (Mark 14:50).

The above synopsis helps us to appreciate the discussion taking place during the last Passover meal Jesus had with his apostles as recorded in John 13-17. Remembering his triumphal entry to Jerusalem, and how he had rebuffed the trick questions of the authorities, the twelve must have thought that the Messianic age was about to begin. That may be why they started jockeying for position during the meal. Was it their insensitivity that prompted Jesus to wash their feet, modeling servant leadership? (Luke 22:24, 27)

When Jesus got serious about the fact that he was going away, the questions started. Thomas: "We don't know where you're going, how can we know the way?" Philip: "Show us the Father ... " (John 14:5, 8). Other than Judas Iscariot, the apostles did not have an idea of how the next 24 hours would play out. While Jesus was in agony in Gethsemane his most trusted companions fell asleep (Mark 14:34, 37). The shock of their lives awaited them but they were too tired to stay awake.

After meeting the resurrected Jesus their relationship with him underwent a transformation. When he saw Jesus Thomas exclaimed: "My Lord and my God". Jesus' words during their last meal left such an imprint on John's mind that decades later he could record them verbatim in five chapters of his gospel. How could Philip forget the words: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father"? (John 14:9)

It can be very revealing to a child of God to spend much time on chapters 13 to 17 of John's gospel. There the heart of God is revealed as he spent quality time with those who entrusted their lives to him. He likened the events which would follow his arrest to the pain of a woman in labour and the joy she experiences with the birth of her child. Jesus spoke about the birth pains preceding his second coming (Mark 13:8). Surely we are experiencing some of those today.

Fruit of the Spirit

Imagine living in a small village where, pretty much, everyone knows everyone. One of the boys growing up there until the age of 30 is rather exceptional. It seems as if the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) comes naturally to him. And yet most people do not recognise that he is a holy man, a prophet, a completely unique individual.

That was the fate of Jesus of Nazareth. At the age of twelve he amazed the learned teachers of the Bible. Is it possible that he had wanted to stay in Jerusalem and become a master at the Scriptures by studying under a famous teacher? That was after all the business of his heavenly Father. But it was not to be. For the next 18 years he had to attend to the business of his earthly father Joseph. During this period he was well thought of (Luke 2:41-51).

After he had received his "ordination" from a voice out of heaven at the Jordan river, he returned to Galilee. He went to Nazareth to preach the "good news of the Kingdom of Heaven", as he had done in other synagogues in Galilee. The town's inhabitants, for the most part, did not consider him to be someone more important than the "son of the carpenter" (Matthew 13:54-57). Not even his brothers believed in him as an outstanding Rabbi (John 7.5) When he dared to speak about God's grace to non-Jews, his hearers attempted to kill him (Luke 4:24-30).

Most people are rather self-centred. What value could Jesus add to their lives? The synagogue ruler could feel threatened. The people already had their teachers of the Bible. Brooding over this human trait could cause us to become quite cynical. How am I to have any influence on family members or acquaintances if Jesus hardly could? David once wrote: "in vain have I kept my heart pure" (Psalm 73:13).

But things changed drastically after Jesus' resurrection. His brothers were among the 120 who were baptised in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. One of them, James, became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he referred to himself as a "slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). We can take courage and be confident that our upright behaviour will win us favour with likeminded people. It is unfortunate that integrity is not valued as highly as it should be in the world. That is a reflection on the world rather than on us. In the end it is only God's Word and his power that can change people's hearts.

Authority

One of the most well-known Bible passages quoted by evangelicals is found in Matthew 28:16-18, usually spoken of as the Great Commission. In it Jesus claims that "all authority in heaven and earth" had been given to him. He continued with "go and make disciples of all nations ...". This he told them on "the mountain" in Galilee where he had instructed them to go.

But before this, on the day he rose from the dead, he had appeared to the ten (Thomas was absent) in Jerusalem (John 20:21-23). There he said "As the father sent me, I am sending you". He followed that up by breathing on them saying "Receive Holy Spirit" and giving them authority to forgive sins.

Clearly the idea was not that they could willy-nilly give eternal life to anyone who asked for it. Forgiveness of sins goes together with the commission to preach the gospel. That is why he first said "I am sending you". When the ten received the Holy Spirit on that day, they were the first of millions who came after to receive the Spirit when we "accepted Christ as our Saviour", "gave our hearts to the Lord" or "asked Jesus to forgive our sins" or "became Christians". All these phrases are attempts to put into words what it means to be "born from above" (John 3:5-8).

We are born again through the "living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). When Jesus' death and resurrection is proclaimed, the preacher makes use of the authority given to believers to forgive sins. The gospel contains imperishable seed. When we believe and confess that his payment for our sins by his blood makes us clean, because he said so and rose from the dead to prove it, we receive eternal life.

On 25 March 1973 I was having lunch with two friends. They had planned to listen to a radio broadcast of a Billy Graham crusade after lunch (No TV in 1973). I told them I was not interested and was going to leave as soon as he started preaching. I was not keen on listening to a "Christian celebrity" telling me the gospel which I had already heard and accepted. But I was curious to just hear his first words. After hearing them, however, I was arrested by the authority in his voice as he preached the simple gospel. It was very compelling.

Billy Graham wrote in his autobiography that there was a time when he doubted the reliability of the Bible. His doubts were resolved after he had prayed, saying: "Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word - by faith!" (Just as I am, p139). From that time on his preaching had more effect. By firmly believing in what he read and preaching it with confidence he was able to bring salvation to thousands.

In his book The Holy Spirit Graham states "I do not see from Scripture that this filling by the Holy Spirit constitutes a second baptism." However, after the ten apostles had received Holy Spirit and the eleven had been commissioned to make disciples, they were instructed to wait in Jerusalem where they would receive "power from on high". Their experience, speaking in tongues, has been replicated over and over. It is not only documented in the book of acts but believed in by Pentecostals and Charismatics worldwide.

Without any intention of detracting from the impact of Billy Graham I think it is instructive to compare his campaigns with those of Reinhard Bonnke. The latter has not only reached millions with the gospel but has also seen remarkable healings in his meetings. There is clearly a difference between the authority given to every believer by the indwelling Spirit on the one hand, and the power available through the baptism in the Holy Spirit on the other hand. It is illustrated most vividly in the life of Peter before and after the day of Pentecost.

Under Construction

 Most humans regard a call to obedience in a negative light - except for the person making the call, requiring obedience from a subordinate. We want others to obey us but are not so keen to blindly follow instructions given to us.

This trait which we often exhibit can sometimes be attributed to bad parenting. Unfair treatment by a caregiver can cause one to have difficulty in submitting to rules, especially those of a father figure. But is it not possible that our abhorrence of authority has a deeper cause?

Adam and Eve must have known that there were things they needed to learn. Of course they were discovering wonderful aspects of God’s creation for themselves and by themselves. After all, they were "copies" of God, made in his image. But they were not omniscient, knowing all things like their Creator. Surely there was much the Lord wanted to still teach them.

To be made in the image of God must mean, amongst others, that our first parents could think and talk. They also experienced feelings, like their Creator. Most importantly, they had a free will. If they did not have a free will, they would have been just like the animals who live by the instinct programmed into their DNA, not very different from machines. And because God is love, humans would have been very distorted "copies" of him if we did not have the capacity to love him from the deepest of our being. Machines and animals cannot give or receive such love.

Creation did not stop after Eve had emerged from Adam's rib. Babies are created in their mothers' wombs to this day. They are completely helpless when born and in need of care by an adult. Similarly, the first humans must obviously have been quite ignorant of much, including loving relationships, which are "better caught than taught". In other words, their Creator would have to model the proper behaviour.

Before showing them how to act toward one another, God tested whether they would respect the way in which he wanted them to engage with him. They failed the test spectacularly. They needed to be shocked into appreciating the implications of their disrespect. This was hopefully achieved when they observed an innocent animal being slaughtered and its skin used to clothe them. 

Adam and Eve wanted to discover everything for themselves, especially the knowledge of good and evil. Don’t we all have a tendency to learn for ourselves rather than be taught what’s right and wrong? We hate being treated like machines which just operate according to fixed sets of rules. No-one likes to be told: "Don't think, just follow orders". We like to have a say in what we do and in how we discover and learn.

The early humans did not do very well in the relationships department. The Lord decided to wipe them all out, except for the eight on Noah's ark. After the flood our Creator made a covenant with Noah and us, his descendants. The most salient obligations under the Noahic covenant relate to the significance of blood as the essence of life. As a token of our respect to the Giver of life we are commanded not to eat blood. Regarding fellow humans, the blood avenger is allowed, maybe even responsible, to execute a murderer.

Later a description of the perfect human being was given to Moses in the form of the 10 commandments which can be summed up in the words: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself."

To date only one person has been able to live up to the 10 commandments. He was under the severest scrutiny by the custodians of the Law of Moses but they could not make one of the trumped up charges against him stick. The Creator was actually joining his creation in a form not recognised by the majority of those who lived at that time.

But sincere seekers of truth acknowledged that his doctrine was in agreement with that of Moses and the prophets. His close followers were slow to see the significance of fellowship with the One who drove Adam and Eve from the garden. The night before his death he told them that whoever had seen him, had seen their Creator.

The way human nature reacts to God's demands can be inferred from history. People of integrity have been persecuted from the day of Abel to our day when many truthtellers censor themselves to avoid getting cancelled. The Israelites treated their prophets shamefully, the Athenians put Socrates to death, the Roman Catholic Church burnt John Huss at the stake. 

There are thousands of examples of how we are inclined to put the lid on voices of conscience. When our Creator was born as a baby, the king of Judah felt threated enough to kill all the infants in Bethlehem in his attempt to eliminate competition for his throne. When the rightful king of the Jews became influential, those who set themselves up as rulers of the Jews connived with their Roman overlords to silence him.

Today one can say without fear of contradiction that Jesus of Nazareth is the most famous person of all time. Throughout the ages his followers have been relentless in spreading his fame. This is hardly surprising since we believe our Creator really wants us to be with him in an environment which will be superior to that of the garden of Eden. He is training us to connect with him and one another in the way that was modeled by him when he lived among us.

The Kingdom of God

God's kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew's gospel) is a widely misunderstood concept in our day. The most common misconception is the identification of the Kingdom of God with the Church. Neither the first Christians nor the Jews understood it like that. And Jesus never encouraged that idea.

It is instructive to start by looking at the instances when Jesus was talking about it. He started his Galilean ministry "preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God, saying, the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:14-15). The Kingdom was present because its king was present. The time was fulfilled because Jesus had recently been baptised, and the Holy Spirit had descended on him to anoint him for his task of spreading the good news (gospel).

The Jews had reasonable consensus on what the Kingdom of God was to be like. From many passages in the Old testament they concluded that a king, not too different from David, would inaugurate a time of peace and prosperity for Israel which would impact the whole world. "The word of the Lord would be proclaimed from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3). Jesus did not at any time contradict this notion. The teachers of the Jewish Bible taught that the Messiah would be known as the "son of David" (Mark 12:35) and that title was given to Jesus by those who believed in him (Matthew 9:27; 12:23;15:22; 20:30; 21:9,15).

In Bob Mumford's exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, he called that sermon the constitution and bylaws of the Kingdom of God. Jesus told many parables to explain aspects of the Kingdom of God but only on two occasions did he mention the church (Matthew 16:18; 18:17). He taught us to pray that the Father's kingdom would come. A week before going up onto the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus said that some of the disciples would not taste of death before they had seen the Kingdom of God come with power (Mark 9:1).

The antagonistic Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus never encouraged morbid curiosity about future events and certainly would not entertain his enemies with his knowledge of the future just to tickle their ears. In essence he told them the Kingdom of God had already come but they did not recognise it (Luke 17:20-21). To his disciples he explained what he meant by "in your midst". The King was in their midst right then, he would be gone for a long time, and would come again for every eye to see him (Luke 17:22-24; Revelation 1:7).

Every opportunity Jesus used to let the apostles understand he had to die and rise again they misunderstood. They thought he meant the Kingdom of God would be coming to earth right then. They were all bashful when he told them not to be jockeying for position in the Kingdom, maybe because it showed up their complete insensitivity to the ordeal he had to face (Mark 9:31-35). Just before they reached Jerusalem he spoke about his passion again. This time James and John decided to use the occasion to ask for the best posts in the Kingdom (Mark 10:33-37). Even on the Last Supper they were still arguing about their positions in the coming kingdom (Luke 22:24).

When the multitude following Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday they thought the Kingdom of God was "about to appear"(Luke 19:11). The crowd would have crowned him king there and then. The Pharisees knew that (John 12:19).

Finally, when Jesus was ready to ascend into heaven, the apostles still did not get it (Acts 1:3-7). It is important to notice that Jesus did not "correct" them by telling them that their concept of God's kingdom is all wrong. The kingdom will be restored to Israel as many present day Jews believe. Christians who trust the reliability of the Old Testament believe so too. Messianic Jews believe it will happen when the rulers in Jerusalem say: "Baruch Haba B Shem Adonai", Hebrew for "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:37-39).

But first they will accept as a ruler "one who comes in his own name" (John 5:43). That is the one who will declare himself a god (2 Thessalonians 2:4). But when Jesus appears he will get rid of the antichrist "by the breath of his mouth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).