I became a follower of Jesus in 1979, though I was a wild, untamed stallion when I was first confronted with the Lordship of Christ and verbally submitted to him. I wandered down my own paths in the year that followed, leading me to a breaking point and more complete surrender. (A cycle I have unfortunately repeated more than once.)
Over the following two years, I was about as surrendered to God as I have been my whole life. I was all in – or as all in as I was capable of being at that time, perhaps. During that time, I became a big fan of Keith Green. I even saw him in concert in Des Moines Iowa in 1981 or 1982. He died in a place crash within a year or two after that, and his impact and memory has faded.
When I saw him in concert, though, his radical Christian commitment had been a huge impact on me, and that impact carried with me beyond his death. Thus, my daily reading today recalls to my mind these lyrics by Keith Green:
To obey is better than sacrifice I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights If you can't come to me every day Then don't bother coming at all
Keith Green was a musical child prodigy who was radically saved by Jesus. He used his great musical talent and platform to become a prophet of sorts to young Christians at the time who wanted an authentic faith.
I was very drawn to a monastic, cloistered life at that age. The truth is that I had long been drawn to that kind of thing going back to the book, My Side of the Mountain, that I read in grade school (about a boy who leaves his parents to hollow out a summer home in the trunk of dead tree in the Catskills). I was already bent that way in my personality.
In a poignant moment in my senior year in college, I faced up to that longing and desire that ran deep in me, and I turned to follow Jesus into the messiness of human society. Jesus escaped to the mountains and the wilderness to be alone with God, but he always returned to the highways, and byways, and the public squares where people live.
Still, the Keith Green spirit of uncompromised obedience to Christ and Christ alone left an imprint on me. His prophetic insistence on radical commitment carried me forward in those early years of my journey with Christ.
Now, I find myself some 40+ years down a road that has taken many twists and turns. That road has taken me through long and winding wilderness areas that were darker than I care to dwell on. It has taken me to the other side of those dark times into the light of a new day, more weary and (hopefully) wiser for the experience. I am still following Jesus as best as I can, but I have a slightly different view of Keith Green’s words today. I hope I can give this the nuance it deserves.
Let’s lay politics aside for a moment, and just consider the Word of God. Politics, of course, is the backdrop to this article. A person cannot be completely apolitical, no matter how hard one tries, but political positions shift, evolve and change, while the Word of God is eternal. Therefore, we should put the Word of God first over our political inclinations.
If you believe your Bible, the Word of God existed before God made the universe, and all of creation was made through the Word of God. (John 1:1-3) God spoke the entire universe into existence (Genesis 1) and made all things by His very command that are seen from what cannot be seen. (Hebrews 11:3)
Of course if you are a Christian, you believe that the Word of God became flesh. (John 1:14) The Word of God who became flesh is Jesus: God with us; God incarnate; God who became man. He proved himself by what he said, by the miracles he did, and by rising from the dead after he was tortured, crucified, and buried.
The Word of God (at least some of it) is preserved in writing for us as it was spoken to and through people who heard God’s voice and responded in faith by preserving it. Jesus, Himself, quoted extensively from the books of what we call the Old Testament as authority for what he said and did. (Interestingly, he never quoted from apocryphal texts.)
Thus, Jesus, who we believe was God who became man and who rose from the dead, treated those Old Testament writings with great deference – as the word of God.
Jesus quoted Scripture often from Genesis to the Prophets. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he quoted scripture, including Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When Jesus began his ministry, his first public statement and description of his ministry according to Luke came from the prophet, Isaiah, which he told the listeners was fulfilled by him that day in their hearing (Luke 4:18-19):
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
After Jesus had risen from the dead, he explained how the Scriptures from Genesis through the Prophets were about him. (Luke 24:27). Jesus was both the Word of God through whom God made the universe, and he honored the word of God preserved in the Bible – calling it his daily bread. It defined his purpose; and it is all about him.
With that set up, my theme today is the Prophets and what they said about how God’s people should act in the world, especially rulers who wield governmental influence and power. Our political views, how we conduct ourselves in politics, and who we champion as our rulers should be informed and driven by God’s Word.
Once, in Eden’s light, they walked, In fear, mistrust, and pride they balked. Their own way looked better than God’s, So He cast them out to the odds.
Though God walled them out, yet He stayed near, He watched them roam this earthly sphere. He clothed their shame knowing His plan, To redeem them from the dusty land.
When Abraham heard the voice divine: “Go to a land that I’ll make thine.” He wandered there, a stranger still, Seeking the City of God’s will.
From Abraham’s loins a nation grew, In Egypt enslaved, four centuries through. Bound and broken, crushed and torn, Yet God’s eye watched, where hope was worn.
And when they were freed by God’s hand, The law that God, would make command: “Be kind to the stranger, love them as you— For once you were aliens too.”
The psalmist sang of a just cause To guard the stranger one must because God watches over the oppressed and poor, His mercy flows to the foreigner.
The prophets warned with fire and might: “Do not oppress, do not fight The alien, the widow, the orphaned heart— Deprive them not, lest from God you part.”
Then Jesus was born, in flesh, divine, Refugee Son, in a troubled time. To Egypt He fled, a stranger, a child, God in the dust, both meek and mild.
He preached a kingdom for all men, Every race and tongue and kin. That he would save from cursed yeast, According to how we treat the least.
And John envisioned a great throng, From every tribe, with one great song. Before the Lamb, all men unite, Bathed in mercy, robed in white.
Yet now, the largest Church on earth, Wielding wealth, claiming new birth, Builds walls to keep strangers away, Turning the poor from its doorway.
Refugees wander, oppressed and unseen, Deprived of justice, crushed between A gospel of love and hands that deny, While heaven looks down, and angels cry.
O Church, remember who you are, Called to love, to welcome, not bar. For the walled-out Christ still calls to you, “Whatever you’ve done, you’ve done to Me too.”
Come, O Church, to the narrow way, Where love shines bright at break of day. Lay down your walls, take up your cross, And count the cost, not gain or loss.
Follow the One who bore your shame, Who calls you now by His great name. For hope is found in His pierced hands, Where grace flows wide for all the lands.
The stranger waits, the orphan cries, Will you reflect the Savior’s eyes? Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God Love deeply, with the gospel on your feet shod.
For Christ alone is our living hope, A lifeline strong, a Savior’s rope. Come back to Him, and walk His way, Till all are gathered on that final day.
“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.”
Isaiah 32:1-3 ESV
A king will reign in righteousness!
What king in the history of the world has ruled in righteousness?
Maybe there is one I don’t know about. If you believe the Bible, though, no man is righteous. Not one. (Romans 3:10-12)
Only one person in history might fit this description, and his name is Jesus. Pilate called him “king of Jews”, and Jesus didn’t deny it (John 18:33), but he died on a cross at the hands of the dominant power in the First Century: Rome.
During his life, Jesus predicted his death, but he said he would come again. (See, for instance, John 5:28-29, 14:1-3; Luke 21:25-28; and Matthew 24:23, 36-44) His First Century followers claimed that Jesus rose from the dead, and he ascended to the right hand of God. (Revelation 3:21; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:33) They wrote about his coming back to rule the earth. (See, 2 Peter 3:10, 4:7: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 5:1-3; Hebrews 9:28) In the vision John the Apostle famously saw, he says:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.“
Revelation 1:7
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end….”
Revelation 12:12
During his life, Jesus said he came to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, (Luke 4:43), and he traveled around from town to town “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:12) He said the kingdom of God has come (Luke 10:9), and it is in our midst. (Luke 17:21)
From these things, we learn that Jesus claimed to have brought the kingdom of God to earth, but he also said he would die. He also said he would rise from the dead, and come again. His followers claim he did rise and return in the flesh, but only for 40 days. Then, he left and ascended into heaven.
Jesus said, and his followers claim, that he would come again (again), but that hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, Jesus claims he introduced the kingdom of heaven on earth. So, where is it?
Jesus told Pilate his kingdom is “not of this world.” (John 18:36) And, he said this right before he was crucified We might write Jesus off as a lunatic except for the fact that he seems to have risen from the dead according to hundreds of his followers (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), and he spent time with them over 40 days before he reportedly ascended to the right hand of God. (Acts 1: 3–4)
Even for people who have difficulty believing these claims, no one can deny the lasting influence Jesus has had. One has to wonder how such a person who was not born into nobility, who was not even a ranking religious leader in his local community, who worked with his hands, who never had political power or influence, who was poor, and who is more famous for dying than living could have become the symbol and hope of Western Civilization. Not only that, but he is revered, followed and worshipped in every nation around the world.
Paul called followers of Jesus “ambassadors” with a “message of reconciliation”. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) He says this because Jesus came to reconcile the world to himself – to God the Father, with whom Jesus called himself one. He cam to reconcile the world to God, and we who follow him are commissioned to share the same message.
This is the good news of the kingdom of God: freedom for people who are imprisoned and oppressed, recovery of sight to the blind, and an invitation to enter into God’s favor – His kingdom. (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus is the king of this kingdom that is not of this world.
But, we are to be despised of all people on the earth if we have nothing but a kingdom that is not of this world (and nothing beyond it). If Jesus was not raised from the dead, we have nothing, and our faith is less than useless.
Thus, the testimony of those early followers who watched him die on a Roman cross and be buried and who claimed that he appeared to them, sat with them and broke bread with them, and taught them for 40 days before he ascended into heaven is the foundation of our faith. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)
Because of their witness, we believe his promise that he will come again to bring his other-worldly kingdom to this earth in a final resolution and redemption of all that God created. If we trust the Bible, we find that his coming was foretold centuries before he was born:
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
Isaiah 5:9-7
“One like the son of man” was also foretold by Daniel, a person who would be “given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him….” (Daniel 7:13-14) Jesus claimed to be this “Son of Man”. (See, Matthew 16:13-20 and Luke 22:48) Indeed, Christians believe Jesus is this Son of Man who was foretold, and that he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus is the “king who will reign in righteousness!” And Isaiah says that “princes [rulers, officials, captains] will rule in justice.” Among the meanings of the Hebrew word sar (שַׂר) is a vassal (a protected servant of the king), who has power and authority under a king. As followers of Jesus, that is us!
We are all vassals of King Jesus. Peter calls us a “royal priesthood”. (1 Peter 2:9) Isaiah says that each of the vassals of the king of righteousness will rule with justice. Each of us!
How do we do that today in the kingdom of God that is not of this world?
I have been involved in the faith-based legal aid organization, Administer Justice, in different capacities for about 12 years. I am an attorney. AJ is an organization founded by an attorney, Bruce Strom, who left his lucrative law practice to provide pro bono (free) legal services for people who can’t afford a lawyer. AJ helps churches run Gospel Justice Centers.
Bruce’s book, Gospel Justice, describes his calling and the journey he began over 20 years ago. Gospel Justice follows the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan and what it means to love your neighbor as God commands. Implicit in the parable is the question: who is my neighbor?
I have learned recently, that parables were common in the rabbinical tradition of the time, and the set up of a priest, a Levite and a third person was a common parable structure. It is the equivalent to the modern set up for a joke: a priest, an Irishman, and a Scotsman walk into a bar…..
According to Marty Solomon of the BEMA Podcast, the third person (the one through whom the lesson is learned) was often a Pharisee in the rabbinical Jewish tradition of the First Century. Jesus turned the tables by making the third person a Samaritan.
Samaritans had Hebrew DNA. They were ancestors of the Israelites who were left behind during the exile. They had intermarried and changed their religious practices to accommodate their mixed marriages and life without the Temple. The Jewish remnant that returned to rebuild the Temple saw them as mongrels who abandoned the faith. For Centuries, Samaritans were despised by the Jews who rebuilt the Temple and carried on the traditions of the Mosaic Law.
The priests and Levites represent good, religious people and the devotion to traditional values. They represent respectable, hard-working people who have faithfully kept those traditional values through hundreds of years of faithful adherence in difficult times.
When the priest and Levite in the parable pass by the anonymous, injured man on the road, we react with modern sensibilities that are honed by two millennia of Christian thought, tradition, and conditioning to judge them. First Century Pharisees, however, would have viewed the situation differently.
The injured man had no identify. They might have wondered who he was. (Raising the question: who is my neighbor?) Pharisees and Sadducees may have disagreed on whether aid should be offered to Gentiles, but they would have agreed that the mongrel Samaritans did not merit their aid.
They also would have recognized that the priest and the Levite had good reasons to pass over to the other side of the road and keep going. Among other things, priests were forbidden to touch a corpse. (Lev. 21:1–3) Touching a corpse, or even being in the same space as a corpse meant impurity, and they needed to maintain purity to perform their duties.
The rules that governed these things were complex and nuanced. (See Introduction to the Jewish Rules of Purity and Impurity) Becoming impure meant that a priest could not attend to his ritual duties without going through a time of ritual cleansing. The risk that the injured man might be dead was no small consideration to them.
Perhaps, this seems like being generous to them, but their lives revolved around the rituals handed down centuries ago in the Torah. They were sacred, and their identity and their purpose in life revolved around maintaining those rituals, which they had done since the time of Moses, the great, great grandson of Levi.
If we think times and people are different now, they are, but less so than we might be tempted to think. Most modern Americans (even religious ones) do not practice ritual like First Century Jewish leaders did. We are less religiously ritualistic, perhaps, than ever before. Yet, we are no different, really, in our devotion to our own values and doctrines.
Navigating by Faith 