Seeking a Homeland for here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come

Interesting thoughts on his tour here in Israel and a lecture directed at Israel's future to Palestinian Christians - see especially

My topic was the land. I was asked in because they knew I held to a future for Israel and that they had a right to the land, which I explained (although I complicated things by also noting the land also belongs to the Messiah [opening up some interesting possibilities for a solution], Israel has responsibility to behave justly [as her Exodus experience was to make her sensitive to foreigners in her midst], and that her house is "desolate" until she responds to her Messiah [secular Israel is not equal to covenant beneficiary Israel]).

That last line has been something that I have been pondering over a lot recently.  I think much of the criticism laid at the feet of pre-millenialists (I don't like that "D" word so much) is because of their insistence that Israel (1948-present) is the Israel that Paul talks about in Romans 11 (especially Romans 11:25-36).  While they might "potentially" be God's chosen remnant they are not necessarily a definite fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Meaning that modern Israel as we know it could be wiped clean from the face of the earth and then an ethnic Jewish remnant raised up again for God's eschatological purposes of redemption (obviously this is not something I am hoping for or suggesting will happen). Oh what a blow this loophole shoots in the bubble of "dispensation-Left-Behind-ism!"

Bay Area Fellowship is a a mega-church in Corpus Christi lead by Bill Cornelius.  This Easter they are planning a "Ultimate Giveaway" in which they will be giving over 1 million dollars worth of prizes.  This decision as you might suspect has caused quite a stir both from outside of the church (see the Corpus Christi Caller Times article on it here) and inside the church. Normally I try to stay out of stuff like this, but on this I cannot remain silent - Bay Area Fellowship has gone too far (not that this blog is going to change anything - but it makes me feel better). Below is a comment I left on BAF's blog - here is the blog post and my comment (I doubt it will make it onto the web page):

Responding to Criticism

March 30, 2010 - 8:41pm — bafadmin

MY COMMENT

Dear Bil Cornelius,

Have you ever read the following passage?
“In the temple he (Jesus) found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.””(John 2:14–17 ESV)

Since when did the church become a car-dealership offering promotional deals to potential buyers? Is the Gospel that ugly to you that you have to trick unbelievers into buying into it? The Messiah was not a used car-salesmen the Wisdom of God told people that they had to come and die to attain eternal life you tell them you can have a free car, just like they can have free eternal life.  Are we reading the same bible?  Eternal life is not free, heaven is not without cost - it costs you everything - convincing unbelievers and believers that heaven is like a million-dollar give-a-way is the same as damning them to hell.  You call for a grace without strings attached just like winning the lotto - Jesus calls for obedience - the two could not be more polar opposites.

Since when did the celebration of the death and resurrection of the King of Kings become a carnival raffle?

Furthermore - your contention that those who criticize the "give-away" are just criticizing you is absolutely baseless.  Are you serious?  Do you not claim to be a church - the bride of Christ? Not only is your local church complicit in this, but the entirety of the worldwide church as well.  You bear the reputation of the murdered, resurrected Life-giver and Obedience-demander and you say "I will bear the shame." You are greatly mistaken - Christ the grave conqueror bears the shame. Congratulations you have successfully nullified the grace of Christ and caused his name to reek to the lost and dying world that you were trying to reach.

Your decision to create your church into a mockery is an abomination on so many levels. 

Did you even consider the fact that this give away will cause unrelenting covetousness among your church? Some will walk away with a car some with a goody bag - do you really think that they will be focused on your message, flawed as it may be?  Perhaps you are on the wrong career path - I hear Oprah is retiring - maybe you can call NBC so that you can take over her show - after all she also runs a "A few of my favorite things" promotional give-away (at least she does not compare it to the death of the Suffering Servant).  Since when did someone say that Jesus was beautiful because I won a Beemer?

I pray that you will repent and that your church members will see the complete lunacy in this and practice some discernment.  May every believer be reminded of the slain, yet resurrected Lord this Passion Week and the high cost of our obedience to the worthy, sacrificed Passover Lamb. 

Prayerfully Yours,
Chris McKinny

Context: 
 One of my teammates has been asking me about the New Testament (unprompted by me by the way).  He has taken multiple classes on the subject of the New Testament and has formalized some ideas in his head.  He tells me that he likes the New Testament, even likes Jesus, but has one big problem with the story - The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) - he claims that this passage is totally against the entirety of Jesus' ministry because Jesus said to only go "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6).  The Great Commission then goes beyond the teachings of Jesus and changes the focal point of Jesus' ministry from the Jew to the Gentile. Despite this seeming contradiction, my friend, is drawn to the teaching of the Nazarene and ponders the "truthfulness" of His claims.  One of the most promising statements he made was, "if it is true (the gospels' portrayal of Jesus as the Messiah) then my tradition (Jewish interpretation and traditional lifestyle) is unimportant because it is keeping me away from the truth - the truth is what is important."

My Response to this Argumentation:
Jesus ministering to Gentiles before the end of Matthew:
“When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.”
(Matthew 8:5–13 ESV)

His Reply:
I agree with this. I myself would say that this (about the people of Israel not being so close to the kingdom) part was added on, but let's say Jesus said it if this is the case, then why Jesus didn't give the word to non-Jews during his lifetime, and only gave his word to the Jews? 

My Reply:
The whole point of this story is that Jesus is giving the Gospel to a non-Jew - a centurion in fact! As Roman as you can get. Later on in the chapter Jesus heals two men with demons - who were from the Decapolis. The Decapolis "10 cities" was Gentile territory - 10 cities that were under direct Roman rule - cities like Scythopolis (Beth Shean), Hippus (Susita), Gadara (in Jordan today - but the bathhouse Hammat Gader is just inside Israel) - these cities were the frontier land for the Roman empire. In various spots in the Gospels Jesus goes to the Decapolis for ministry. When Jesus goes to the other side of Yom Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee) - he is going to the Gentiles. Now I will not dispute with you on whether or not Jesus' focus was to the Jews - that goes without saying - he claimed to be the Messiah and the King of the Jews and he lived in Judea! However, that does not mean that parts of his ministry were not directed to the Gentile world. Consider these examples:

“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:23–25 ESV) - mixed followers Jews and Gentiles - Gentiles from Syria and the Decapolis bring their sick and Jesus heals them - treating them the same way he treats Jews from Judea and Jerusalem.



“And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (Mark 5:15–20 ESV) Not only does Jesus heal a demon-possessed man - he tells him to not follow him in his ministry (predominantly to the Jew), but to go back to his country as a witness and a testimony to his healing so that his family and his town (Gentile Romans) might believe in the Lord! A clear example of Jesus wanting the Gospel of the kingdom to spread not only to the Jew but to the Greek as well (parallels nicely with Matt. 28 I might add).

My friend these are not the only examples either - they are plentiful throughout the gospels.

It is true that Jesus "primary" ministry during his lifetime was to the Jews as evidenced by this passage:
“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 10:5–7 ESV)

There are a number of reasons why Jesus' earthly ministry was predominantly to the Jew - one he was Jewish, two he lived in a Roman province (Judea) that did not look too kindly on insurrection, three his ministry only lasted three years and encompassed a very small area (Galilee, Judea, Perea, and smaller incursions to Samaria, Sidon, and the Decapolis). Which is why Jesus told his disciples in the Upper Room the following:

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:11–13 ESV)

You might ask - How is it possible that the disciples would do works greater than Jesus?!? A good question - Jesus is referring to works that are greater in the sense of extent - greater in the sense of breadth. The disciples would outlive Jesus (and by that I mean abide on earth after Jesus had ascended into heaven) and their ministry would extend to all of the known world - Peter's sermon in Acts 2 produced 3,000 Jewish converts - much more than Jesus had during his earthly ministry. This was only the beginning though as the Gospel spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the Mediterranean Coast and eventually to the heart of the Roman Empire. My point in all of this is to say that Jesus' plan was two-fold - in My life I want to build a foundation of followers (the disciples and a few hundred followers 1st part complete) which My death and resurrection will be the focal point and leaping pad by which the second part will take and proclaim my Messiahship to the Jew first and then the Greek (second part is still going and will not be completed until the Christ returns in glory and redeems His people, Israel).

Sorry for the length - but I wanted to make it clear that Matthew 28 was not an add-on to Jesus' message - it was all part of the divine plan from the beginning.

See you at practice,
Chris

Stay tuned for part two

I have been loving the new Resurgence (Mars Hill Church Seattle) blog series "Know Your Heretics" - simple, accurate and relevant - read about Pelagius and Arius.

This blog gives a great breakout of the layout of America's Christendom. (HT: Todd Bolen)

(WARNING GRAPHIC - THE VIDEO IS OF AN ABORTION) Can anyone remain Pro-Death after watching this video?  (This video shocked me - there are no words to describe it - it is horrifying.  I recommend watching it once - that will be enough for a lifetime - the images are worse than any WWII Holocaust footage.) (HT: Chris Deluna)

(WARNING HILARIOUS VIDEO)  5 Best baby-laughing videos - my favorites are no. 5 and no. 1 (if you can watch both of these videos back to back and still remain pro-murder - May King Jesus have mercy on your soul.) (HT: Todd Bolen)

Normally I steer clear of political discussion on this blog.  Main reason being I don't find typical political discussion to be all that interesting (many long hours listening to talk radio on the tractor attributed to my apathy on the matter), which means I rarely follow the debates because I try to form my opinion and then just stay out of it.  However, the recent Obama vs. Netanyahu debate over Jerusalem "settlements" has tickled my interest in a great way.

In short the Biden and Clinton chiding of Israel on the matter is utterly pathetic all you have to do is look at a map.  Their arguments against Israel's building project in Ramat Shlomo in no way reflects the facts on the ground.  Ramat Shlomo was founded after the 1967 6-Day War in which Israel re-unified West Jerusalem (Israel) with East Jerusalem (Jordan) and laid claim.  The "settlement" was built in an attempt to protect Israeli control of the land they had just conquered (by the way they conquered it after they were attacked).  Since 1967 Ramat Shlomo has grown substantially along with a number of suburbs along both in Jerusalem's municipality and along its periphery.  More than that Ramat Shlomo is directly connected to Jerusalem proper there is no division between it and the rest of Jerusalem, no boundary, no dividing marker, no Arab village dividing it - the "wall of separation" runs well north of the site of Ramat Shlomo.  Perhaps most ludicrous of all is the building projects themselves - Ramat Shlomo sits on a hill all by itself - no building within Ramat Shlomo will affect the nearby Arab village there is a clear distinction in land between the two.

To sum up - Ramat Shlomo is a suburb of Jerusalem surrounded by Israeli suburbs both on the Israel side of the Red Line and the Arab side of the Red Line -  the United States of America has demanded that its most loyal ally not build in one of its earliest suburbs, because it might hurt peace talks with the Palestinians (peace talks that have historically been extremely one-sided by the way).  This is politics pure and simple there is no possible way that Israel will ever abandon Ramat Shlomo it has been part of Jerusalem the capital of Israel since 1967 and no one on either side expects that to change.  For Netanyahu's thoughts on the subject watch this video.

Currently reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - he was a Lutheran pastor in Germany who was murdered by the Nazi regime - this month the audio book from Christian audio is free - I highly recommend it.  Just type in MAR2010 when it asks for the promotional code and you will be able to download the full version.  John Piper's book "50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die" is also available for free download on the same website.

Read this testimony about a pregnant girl who watched the Tim Tebow ad...here. (HT: Tim Challies)

Mark Driscoll summarizes the life and ministry of St. Patrick - utterly fascinating stuff - see here.

Nowhere in Luke 2 does it imply that Mary, the mother of the Messiah, went into labor on the way to Bethlehem - in fact the passage suggests quite the opposite. 

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
(Luke 2:4–7 ESV)

We often assume that because "there was no place for them in the inn" then the labor must have been hurried - it's like we are trying to make a Lifetime special out of the first Advent.  Even if the line "no place for them in the inn" is a correct translation, which is highly suspect, there is no reason to believe that Mary was about to "bring forth" as she reached the hometown of King David.  The line "And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth" makes it abundantly clear that there was a sequence of events at work here.  The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, an unknown length of time in which Mary and Joseph settled in before the birth of the King, and finally the birth of the Firstfruits of God. 
Moreover, the Greek phrase underlying "no place for them in the inn" should be read "no place for them in the guest room." The word kataluma is only used two other times in the New Testament and in both cases it is referring to the same event - Jesus telling his disciples to go and secure the room for the Last Supper.

“And tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ (Luke 22:11 ESV see also Mark 14:14).

The translation "guest room" eliminates any need for a hurried delivery on Mary's part or any amount of desperate consternation upon Joseph the soon-to-be father.  Beyond that this translation is much more fitting with the cultural context of the story - Mary and Joseph, Judeans of Davidic origin, would have had family members living in Bethlehem who would have been more than happy to host the expecting parents (remember how Mary stayed with her cousin Elizabeth 6 months earlier - somewhere around Jerusalem only 5 miles from Bethlehem).  However, due to the overcrowding caused by the census guest rooms were full so they had to move their extended family to other rooms in the home - the next candidate would be the stable (which were almost exclusively built into the homes since the livestock of the family was an integral part of its livelihood, as well as acting as a free furnace during cold months).

This reconstruction then means that Mary came to Bethlehem towards the end of her pregnancy, but not to the point where she would give birth as soon as she got there. (Seriously why would Mary and Joseph do this?  It's not like they did not know when the census was supposed to be - Rome worked on a rigorous schedule, it's no coincidence that the modern calendar has it's foundations in the Roman one.  Mary and Joseph would have had to have been extremely irresponsible or just plain naive to wait until the last minute.)  When they arrived in the ancestral home of their fathers they stayed with family (most likely extended as their immediate family was in Nazareth) whose guest room had already been filled by other extended family - thus they were put in the next likeliest location - the stable where the God/Man was born and placed in a stone manger.

Let us cast aside the traditional fanciful interpretation of the advent of our Lord - the actual story of his condescending and taking flesh is humble enough - let us not go beyond the Bible in our attempts to steep lowliness upon the shoulders of the Lord.  Let us add the myth of the "no-vacancy inn" to the myth that the "three kings" were present at the manger - perhaps they can stay in this mythical inn during their alleged visit to the manger.

As most of my (vast) readership knows - I play football in Jerusalem - this experience has been eye-opening on a number of levels.  For one I have discovered football is the greatest game ever invented and it's not even close - in what other sport do you get to literally pummel someone who is not looking at you and then turn around and use basketball skills to make a catch in traffic.  On a more philosophical side I have discovered that football in Jerusalem is a sort of melting pot for religious discussion and ideas.

My teammates range from ultra-orthodox Jews to moderately religious Jews to atheist Jews to Muslims (although a couple of the guys are considered religiously Muslim and Jewish - mom is Jewish, father is Muslim) to me - evangelical (although it seems that there is almost one believer on every team - funny how God worked that out).  To say that I have been given opportunities for religious discussions would be a major understatement.

My teammates for the most part are very interested in my beliefs - mainly because they have no paradigm to put me in.  On the whole the majority of them have only come into contact with "Christians" through their parents, rabbis, or teachers' warnings.  This makes for interesting discussion - for instance I can't count how many times people have told me that they thought I was Catholic.  Normally this would be a personal cause for alarm and a quick denial, but for people that have never come into contact with Christians, except through the Holocaust, Czarist Russia, and the Crusades (thank you so much Christian Europe for your apostasy that makes Christ stink to Jews - you guys are the best), I usually let it slide and give them an explanation - why my only priest is after the order of Melchizedek.