Harmony #83: The Word That Endures (Matthew 23-24; Mark 12; Luke 20-21)

Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen a theme.

Jesus cleanses the temple and withers the fig tree (a symbol of Jewish religious leaders) to prophecy the end of the Sadducees as the priestly line, as well as the end of the Jerusalem Temple as ground zero of the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom’s mantle will be passed to the church, where all are priests[1] and, as Jesus told the Samaritan woman, you won’t have to ask what mountain to go to in order to worship in the right temple. God’s people will worship in Spirit and in Truth[2] in the new temple: us as individuals[3], and us in community[4].

The Sadducees challenge him. Jesus responds to these three challenges by highlighting why they “withered at the root”:

• compromising relationship with Rome

• lack of knowledge concerning the Scripture

• misunderstanding of the power of God

• · lack of love

Jesus isn’t done. Now it’s time to teach.

 (Matthew 23:1-3, 5-12; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47)

As all the people were listening to his teaching, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the experts in the law and the Pharisees who [read the Torah] on Moses’ seat. Pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.

They devour widows’ property and will receive a more severe punishment. They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they like walking around in long robes, with their phylacteries wide and their tassels long, and as a show make long prayers. They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces.

They love to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ.

The greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

I highlighted Jesus’ conclusion because I’m not sure this is as much about using titles as it is about the danger of pride, of wanting those titles to be exalted. This is a contrast of attitudes, not roles. So, let’s update the list.

• compromising relationship with Rome

• lack of knowledge concerning the Scripture

• misunderstanding of the power of God

• lack of love

• lack of service and humility

Then, in good rabbinic fashion, Jesus points to something happening around them to contrast the Sadducees with an unexpected hero.

 (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4)

Then Jesus sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing their gifts of large amounts into the offering box. He also saw a poor widow come and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny.

He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”

True worship will be costly. If we really worship, we will feel it. As David once said, “I will not give God sacrifices that cost me nothing.”[5] Jesus point out a contrast between the widow and the religious leaders living in luxury and making a show of their generosity, which turned out not to be that generous after all. It was nothing to them.

Jesus was going to need spiritual leaders in his new church who knew what it meant to be “broken and spilled out” for those around them. This will come true in the lives of the disciples and the apostles like Paul. Almost all of them will pay with their lives.

There is a place in Paul’s letter to Corinth where we see some exasperation. He is writing about false teachers making a show about how impressive they are: “super apostles” who are great speakers, who elevate themselves, and who evidently get rich off of the people they are supposed to be serving. He says they are “masquerading as servants of righteousness.” Then he basically says, “Listen, if we are looking for pumped up resumes, check this out.” At one point he cites what he has gone through.

“I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.

I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-30)

You would never have heard a Sadducee boast in that. Their boast was in the luxury and comfort that followed their compromise with the Romans. Clearly they were blessed by God because they prospered financially, physically and socially, right? They looked impressive – on Roman terms. Jesus flipped that table when he flipped their physical tables in the Temple. What was the most impressive resume of the follower of Jesus? Worship and love of God expressed in love of neighbor, which was going to look like humble service, often at great cost. Jesus once taught,

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

Notice what people become when this happens.

 “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (13-16)

What is the light and salt? Good deeds of humble service motivated and empowered by God’s love. Back to today’s text.

(Matthew 24:1-2; Luke 21:5)

Jesus left the temple. As He was walking away, His disciples came up to Him and asked what He thought about the temple buildings. Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. He replied,” Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.”

I think the disciples he was telling them that the Temple was going to be destroyed. It must have been hard for them to wrap their minds around the idea that it would be gone. It had been home base all their lives. Everything centered around the Temple and the Torah. “Are you sure? Look how impressive this is.”

I wonder if we wouldn’t have done the same. The Temple was a massive feat of architecture.[6]The stones were huge. Estimates are that it would take 7 modern cranes to move some of the rocks. No one is quite sure how they moved them – and fit them together as well as modern brick and mortar. It had lots of marble covered with gold. Josephus wrote that it was so opulent that it looked like a snow-capped mountain. “Are you sure, Jesus?”

Matthew 24:3-35; Mark 13:3-31; Luke 21

Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “We don’t understand Your predictions. Tell us, when will these things happen: When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that You are returning in judgment?[7] How will we know that the end of this age is upon us?”

Jesus: “Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding.

Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another. 

The love that they had for one another will grow cold because few will obey the law. False prophets will appear, many will be taken in by them, and the only thing that will grow is wickedness. There will be no end to the increase of wickedness.

 But those who do not waver from our path and do not follow those false prophets—those among you will be saved. And this good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all people and all nations. Then, beloved, the end/the consummation of the age will come.

When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation[8]—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains.[9]

 If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destructions come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter.

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again.

 Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.[10]

 I cannot say this clearly enough: during this time, someone will say to you, “Look, here is the Anointed One!” or “Aren’t you relieved? Haven’t you seen the Savior down there, around the bend, over the hill and dale?” Do not believe them. 

False liberators and false prophets will appear, and they will know a few tricks—they will perform great miracles, and they will make great promises. If it were possible, they would even deceive God’s elect. But I am warning you ahead of time: remember—do not fall for their lies or lines or promises.

 If someone says, “He’s out there in the desert”—do not go. And if someone says, “He’s here at our house, at our table”—do not believe him. When the Son of Man comes, He will be as visible as lightning in the East is visible even in the West. And where the carcass is, there will always be vultures.[11]

And as the prophets have foretold it: after the distress of those days, “The sun will grow dark, and the moon will be hidden. The stars will fall from the sky, and all the powers in the heavens will be dislodged and shaken from their places.”[12]

That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming; they will see Him powerful and glorious, riding on chariots of clouds in the sky.[13] With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.[14]

Now think of the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and greenish, as soon as it begins to sprout leaves, you know to expect summer. In the same way, when you see the wars and the suffering and the false liberators and the desolations, you will know the Son of Man is near—right at the door.

I tell you this: this generation will see all these things take place before it passes away. My words are always true and always here with you. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.[15]

 Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

* * * * *

Bible scholars generally take one of two views on this text: 

1.) Half of the chapter tells of the destruction of Jerusalem (v.1-35); the other half tells about the final judgment (v.36-51).

2.) The entire chapter deals with the destruction of Jerusalem.

If you click through different translations in Biblegateway.com, you will often see a heading at the beginning of Matthew 24. It will either say “The Destruction of Jerusalem” or “The Destruction of Jerusalem and Signs of the End Times,” or something like that.

There is no doubt that the destruction of the Temple is in view. Both views agree on this point. A.D. 66-70 were a terrible four years. The Zealots defended Jerusalem…zealously. The Romans, equally determined, starved its inhabitants into cannibalism at one point. In AD 70, they destroyed the temple and the city. More than a million Jews died, and more than 97,000 were taken captive. The Romans erected Titus’ Arch in Rome to celebrate the victory.[16]

The document I’ve been using for this Harmony Of the Gospel’s approach has this title: “The Destruction of Jerusalem.” I hold this in an open hand, but here’s a few quick reasons I prefer this view.

In the introductory remarks, Jesus speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem (1-3).

• The gospel was supposed to be “preached in all the world” before “the end” (of Jerusalem), which we see fulfilled in Colossians 1:6,23.

• Jesus said that the sign of the end was ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ in the ‘holy place.’ This is very likely the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, who first filled it with banners containing images of Caesar.

• When that happens, His disciples would know that the fall of Jerusalem was near (32-33), and the people in Judea will flee.

• The things of which He spoke were to come upon “this generation,”  “Generation” is used in Matthew 1:17, 11:16, 12:39, 41, 42, 45, 16:4, 17:17, 23:36, and 24:34. Every other place refers to the generation standing right in front of Jesus. He says to his disciples, “Pray that you may escape.”

• The concern about fleeing “on the Sabbath” is a very Jewish concern as opposed to a Gentile one, so this wouldn’t apply to all the world.

• As a result of Jerusalem’s destruction, those who leave are saved; those who stay die. When the Bible talks about what happens at the end of all things, the opposite is true. Those who stay inherit the New Heaven and New Earth, and those who are taken do not.

• People can flee from this judgment and hide; not so if it's the Final Judgment.

* * * * * 

Two points. The first one is a challenge, the second an encouragement.

I suspect the judgment that fell upon Jerusalem and the Temple was a form of “sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8) What was going on with the leaders? 

• compromising relationship with Rome

• lack of knowledge concerning the Scripture

• misunderstanding of the power of God

• lack of love

• lack of service and humility

First, Israel’s history had shown that whenever God’s people relied on empires like Egypt and Assyria for provision and safety instead of God, the empires always turned on them.

Second, the Sadducees knew better. They should have taken their sacred texts seriously, because they contain that warning.

Third and fourth, what happens when you get to cozy with the Empire? You start to look like the empire, and at that point you stop being salt and light because there are no good deeds that bring glory to God. This list of the sins of the Sadducees could be equally applied to the leaders of Rome. Now, they were just parties competing or power.

And when the Jewish leaders could not control their own people (the Zealots), they found out very quickly that Rome had only tolerated them while they were useful on Rome’s terms.

There is a warning here for the church. The characteristics of the Sadducees (and the Zealots) cannot characterize us. When a coercive, bullying or violent attempt to spread the Kingdom of God combines with a corrupt desire to share the power and luxury of the Empire at the expense of righteous obedience and true worship, we will become full of mold, and wither at the root. It will corrupt us from the inside out, and it will invite a whirlwind of destruction.

Second, I love how Jesus ends with hope. If I were a disciple, I might not have slept well that night considering all the things that were about to land on Jerusalem. But Jesus reminded them of what lasts, what is eternal.

“My words are always true and always here with you. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” 

 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”(John 6:33)

The disciples need to hear this. The words of The Word will endure. The Sprit and the Life God gives will endure.

Truth will endure.

Hope will endure.

The love of many may wax cold, but yours doesn’t have to.

Many will believe lies, but you don’t have to.

Many will give themselves to wickedness, but you don’t have to.

Many will leave the faith and betray each other, but you don’t have to.

Steady.

Don’t panic.

Through you, the good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all people and all nations.

 ____________________________________________________________________

[1] 1 Peter 2

[2] John 4

[3] 1 Corinthians 6

[4] Ephesians 2

[5] 2 Samuel 24

[6] NET Bible footnotes

[7] “Parousia, commonly denoting presence. Readers with a Jewish background would have taken these words to describe a coming in judgment.” (Gordon Ferguson)

[8] “The abomination of desolation is an allusion to Daniel 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV in 167 b.c., Jesus seems to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment…Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it will not be fully realized until the great tribulation at the end of the age (Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).” (NET Bible footnotes)

[9] Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5. (NET Bible footnotes)

[10] “In a siege against the city lasting nearly a year, Cestius Gallius, the Roman general, withdrew to Caesarea and brought back a larger army. This break in the battle allowed the Christians who understood Jesus’ prophecy to flee the city. Josephus says that many did, leaving behind the Jews in the city who were determined to fight to the death (which they did).” (Gordon Ferguson, “Matthew 24: End of the World or End of the Age?”)

[11] In other words, when the judgment comes, the location will be obvious.

[12] “An allusion to Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 and Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens, this is not as likely.” (NET Bible footnotes) See also Ezekiel 32.

[13] “See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.” (Isaiah 19:1)

[14] “The reference to the Son of Man coming in the clouds is a figurative reference to Divine judgment upon the nations (Isa.19:1-4; Isaiah 34). And the reference to the angels gathering the elect is symbolic of God’s protection of His people (cp. Rev.7:1-3).” (Lanny Smith)

[15] See Isaiah 40:8. Also, “My words shall not pass away; be vain and empty, and unaccomplished; which is true of anything, and everything spoken by Christ; and especially here regards all that he had said concerning the calamities that should befall the Jews, before, at, or upon the destruction of their nation, city, and temple; and the design of the expression, is to show the certainty, unalterableness, and sure accomplishment of these things.” (Gill’s Exposition)

[16] https://hope4israel.org/jerusalem-70-ad-not-one-stone-left-upon-another/

Harmony #82: “First the Word, then the words.” (Matthew 22:15-40: Mark 12:13-34; Luke 20:20-40)

After Jesus routed the money changers from the Temple, Matthew records three attempts by religious leaders to trap Jesus: a question about temple taxes, a question about the afterlife, and a question about the Law. I am going to lump them together for two key reasons: think Jesus’ answer to the third one gives them the foundational answer to every tension they propose, and Jesus shows us how to pursue wisdom as a community.[1]

In Jesus’ time, there was great debate among the Jewish people: “Do I buy Caesar’s tribute coin and pay tribute to Caesar?” It was a form of taxation, and Judaism had opinions about paying taxes.

“He is king whose coin passes current.”[2]

"A publican, or tax gatherer, that is appointed by the king, whether a king of Israel, or of the Gentiles…it is forbidden to refuse payment of the tax to him, for, ‘the right of a king is right’.''[3]

So I don’t think this was a generic question about taxes in general. That issue had been resolved. But…

• These tribute coins had language about the divinity of Caesar. Marty Solomon has a coin with the inscription “Caesar, son of divine, most high God.” That kind of language was very common.

• There was often an image of a god or goddess on the back.

• The money raised went to the Temple of Jupiter, the center of ancient Roman religion.

• The coin was a receipt that proved you paid tribute to Caesar and to Rome. When you got this coin, you burned incense to worship Caesar. Now it’s not just a tax. It might be idolatry.

So, what should they do?

The Herodians are going to pay. “It’s just part of the Roman world we live in and enjoy. It’s fine. We are supposed to pay taxes. Grab the coin, go through the motions. As much as is possible, live at peace with all people.”[4]

The Sadducees are probably selling the coins at an upcharge and keeping the money. They’re going to say, “Don’t you know what Rome gives us? We’ve worked pretty hard to get this whole political alignment figured out. Keep your head down. Get the coin.”

The Essenes? They’re going to be in the desert. This coin means nothing to them. If they lived in Jerusalem, they would do the opposite of the Sadducees.

The Zealots will buy it, then stab the person who sold it to them, because anybody who offers this kind of idolatrous temple tribute deserves to die.

The Pharisees are going to have an internal squabble because the schools of Hillel and Shammai will not agree about what to do.

• Shammai Pharisees built on the foundational commandments of “Love God and keep the Sabbath.” They were all about obedience and the letter of the Law. They would’ve said, “This is idolatry. Obedience demands we not purchase the coin.”

• Hillel Pharisees built on, “Love God and love your neighbor.” God said of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most brutal tyrants in human history: “The whole earth is mine and I give it to Nebuchadnezzar.” (Jeremiah 27:6) Hillel said that the ruling authorities, even Rome, were put in place by God. Buying the tribute coin was not idolatry; it was giving back to the ruler what God has decided in His sovereign will to give him in the first place.

Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians out and planned together to entrap Jesus with his own words. They watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They wanted to take advantage of what he might say so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and speak and teach correctly. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay tribute taxes to Caesar or not?”

Let’s take the problem up a notch. It was also a politically explosive issue. In Acts 5, we read of Judas of Galilee, who resorted to violence in his opposition to the tax. There was the potential for violence depending on what Jesus’ listeners did with his answer.

If Jesus affirmed the lawfulness of the tax, he would lose any future merit with the Hillel Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots. He would alienate those who already ground their teeth with the need to pay taxes to a foreign occupying army, let alone this blasphemous temple tax.

If he said it was unlawful, the Sadducees and Herodians would present him as an enemy of Rome and hand him over to the Romans for the treason inciting others to dishonor Caesar – which is what they do in Luke 23 when they falsely accuse him of this very thing.[5]Remember, it’s Passover, and Roman soldiers are everywhere to keep an eye on any fermenting violence.

Today we might say he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and perceived their deceit and evil intentions and said to them “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?  Show me the denarius (tribute coin) used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius.

By calling them hypocrites, Jesus is saying they were acting; they weren’t serious. They were playing a role that was just for show – in this case, they were playing the role of pious followers of God concerned about righteousness and pursuing truth. He proves their hypocrisy in a clever way.

Jews were very sensitive about images of emperors. They would not even allow flags or standards bearing imperial images to be carried in Jerusalem. There were cases where they would block the roads so that Rome could not bring images of the emperor into their spaces. It was a big deal.

But…when Jesus asks for the coin, the Herodians and Pharisees start reaching into their robe pockets: “You mean like this one?” Marty Solomon notes, “I picture Jesus like reaching out winking at them. ‘We know where you stand now. Thank you.’”

 He said to them, “Whose image[6] and inscription are on it?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said to them, “Then give back/return to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Now when they heard this they were utterly amazed at him, and were unable in the presence of the people to trap him with his own words. Stunned by his answer, they fell silent, and left him and went away.

In those days, putting your image on a thing meant claiming ownership of the thing. Jesus is making a contrast: Caesar’s image is on the tribute coin, so he can lay claim to his money; give it back to him. God’s image is on humanity, so he lays claim to the lives of people; give your life back to him. Give back Caesar’s coin, but don’t give him your life or your worship.

Jesus does not resolve this question. They are going to continue to wrestle with those issues. Meanwhile, they are also going to have to do some introspection to determine whose image and whose inscription was most prominently displayed on them.

To whom did they pledge their allegiance? Who had their heart, soul, mind and strength? I was trying to think of something similar today, and it’s not easy to make a clean correlation here in the U.S. What if the government would say, “Have your churches, no problem, but…we’re gonna need everyone to go to the courthouse every year and go on record saying the Pledge of Allegiance.” I think you would see a similar kind of tension, with similar arguments. I suspect Jesus would give the same answer. We’ll talk about why in a moment.

Were they sure that they had not traded in their hope and trust for God and made the things of the Empire a source of their hope and worship? God’s people had a history of turning to Empires for provision when God had promised to take care of them: Egypt, Assyria, now Rome. Did their interaction with Rome reveal an attempt to be neighborly and live at peace with all people, or did it reflect something troubling: giving up on God’s plan and turning to Rome’s? Once again, who had their heart?

Let’s briefly look at the other two tests, then tie them together.

The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. The second married her and died without any children. Then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.

 But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection.Now as for the resurrection of the dead, even Moses revealed that the dead are raised in the passage about the bush,where God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Now he is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live before him. You are badly mistaken!”

Jesus calls them out: they don’t understand the power of God and they don’t understand the Scriptures. Ouch. As for their hypothetical, the closest he gets to answering is saying the age to come will be so different in terms or our redeemed nature that this question will seem silly. But his response will likely bring out a response in them similar to how he answered the first question. Back to the text.

Now one of the experts in religious law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him a question to test him, “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest, the most important of all?”

Jesus answered him, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and prophets depend on these two commandments. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”[7]

* * * * *

A common thread in all of Jesus’ replies is that he pushes them into the text. That was the Jewish way; that was the manner of rabbinical teaching. The teacher did not necessarily answer their question (though Jesus did in the third instance, while still pushing him back to the text). A good Jewish teacher pushed his students to study, to wrestle, to dig out the treasure from God’s Word, to own their answers for themselves, and to do so in community. First the Word, then the words. First we study the text, then we talk with each other.

With the temple tax, he leaves them with question: what is Caesar’s and what is God’s? What does it mean to return it? Does obedience to God require not using Caesar’s money, or does hospitality and love of neighbor include playing nice with Roman customs to some degree? James would seen teach the importance of keeping yourself unspotted from the world.[8] Paul would soon write that as much as possible, they should live at peace with all people and respect authorities.[9]

Jesus seems content to leave them with debate, as if the process of navigating differences was an important part of doing life together. It was going to press his audience back into the Torah, back into all the Old Testament writings. It was going to push them into the text yet again. Then, they would get together and talk it out. First the Word, then the words.

With the marriage question, he just points out that they don’t understand what life will be like in the age to come because a) they don’t understand God’s power, and b) they don’t know the Scripture. He didn’t answer their question directly. He did give them hints about where they were going wrong. This is going to push them into the text yet again. And then they are going to talk together. First the Word, then the words.

With the greatest commandment question, Jesus gives a direct answer. He sides with Hillel. The greatest commandment does not conclude with honor the Sabbath, but with love your neighbor. Luke 10 records that Jesus already covered this ground once before, and it led to the parable of the Good Samaritan. Who is our neighbor? Everybody, even the most unlikely. And the good neighbor is the one who has mercy on others. (Luke 10:37) Okay but what does that look like practically? Back to the text, and talk yet again. First the Word, then the words.

* * * * *

I have been wondering what kind of questions we would ask Jesus today. How might we try to get him on our side? How might we try to trip him up? How might he point us back to the text? (To be sure, Jesus’ answers would be much more clever than the examples I’m about to give. It’s just an experiment J)

Us: Jesus, Calvinism or Arminianism? Resolve the predestination question!”

Jesus: “Because I have chosen you from the foundation of the world,[10] you should choose this day whom you will serve.[11]”

Us: “So we should choose to be chosen?”

Jesus: (raises one eyebrow)

Me: “Jesus, just how involved can we be with entertainment?”

Jesus: “As it is written, ‘Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine that he drank.’”  (Daniel 1:8)

Us: “But all of his other food was from the king and it didn’t defile him.”

Jesus: “Hmmm.”

Us: “What do you think of our current immigration policies?”

Jesus: “Who is your neighbor?” #goodsamaritanstory

Us: “Both citizen and immigrant.”

Jesus: “What is the most merciful and loving approach for all of them?”

Us: THAT’S THE QUESTION I NEED ANSWERED!!!!

Me: “Jesus, who should I vote for?”

Jesus: As it is written, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)

* * * * *

I’ve been thinking about what we can learn from Jesus about when to not take sides and when to take sides, when to avoid a question and when to bluntly answer it, and how we live righteously in the midst of tension. Jesus does not give a template; He gives us examples.

The tax issue suggests some issues should be driving all of us back to the text over and over because it’s messy navigating how to be harmless as doves and wise as serpents[12] as children of the Kingdom living in an empire. As I understand it, their answer on the tribute tax would not necessarily place them outside or inside the kingdom of God. I suspect Jesus wanted them to take a stance with ‘clean hands and a pure heart’,[13] not a stance taken from fear of Rome – or love of Rome. Whatever they did, they dare not give to Caesar what ought to be given only to God.

It seems there are questions we will wrestle with as entire communities and perhaps never fully resolve. The Mishnah recorded the conclusions of both Hillel and Shammai, often at odds with each other, on how to live out their faith. Jesus didn’t say it was bad that the camps of Shammai and Hillel both existed. It was an opportunity for iron to sharpen iron[14]. In the end, they would have to study the text over and over, and surrender their hearts for God to search, and then talk. First the Word, and then the words.

The marriage issue suggests we are sometimes just wrong on issues that we feel passionately about because we haven’t studied enough, we have speculated about things we don’t understand, or we don’t understand God. Where was this going to send them? Back to the text, and then talk. First the Word, and then the words.

Once again, Jesus didn’t answer their question. In other cases where being in the kingdom was on the line – “you are making disciples of hell!!!”[15] - Jesus is much more explicit in his teaching. But it seems there are also times when the best solution is to press into the text yet again! JThen, we are better equipped to talk through it with each other.

As for the greatest commandment, Jesus definitively answers this one. I think it’s because if you get this one wrong, you are not going to understand God or the Kingdom of God. Notice, by the way, it’s the greatest commandment, suggesting other really great commandments. Shammai’s emphasis on Sabbath wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t the greatest. All the Law and the Prophets hinge on remembering to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Jesus lists two commandments, but says the Law the Prophets hinge on this commandment (singular), as if loving God and loving others cannot be separated. Love is lived. If we love God, we will live in such a way that His love for all passes through us to those around us. All of those around us.

If we can understand that, that would ground us in the midst of all our differences and questions. It will move us ever closer to or deeper into the kingdom of God as we live the love Jesus has shown us.

 _______________________________________________________________________________

[1] I owe a lot to Marty Solomon’s podcast at bemadiscipleship.com, episode 126, “Trapped By A Question.”

[2]  Hat Tip to Cambridge Bible For Schools and Colleges.

[3] HT Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

[4] Paul didn’t write that until later, but it seems to fit J (Romans 12:18)

[5] Hat tip to Pulpit Commentary

[6] In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word for image in Genesis 1:26 is the same word. 

[7] Good reminder that knowing the right answers is not the same as being in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps this man is the wedding guest in Jesus’ previous parable, invited to the feast but lacking the wedding garments only the King can provide.

[8] James 1:26-27

[9] Romans 13

[10] Ephesians 1:4

[11] Joshua 24:15

[12] Matthew 10:16

[13] Psalm 24

[14] Proverbs 27:17

[15] Matthew 23:15

Harmony #79: Fruit, Mold and Mountains (Matthew 21:10-22; John 12:17-19; Mark 11:11-24; Luke 19:45-46)

Let’s talk about figs and fig trees in the Bible.

·   “How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.” (Micah 7:1-2)

·  “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the ‘first ripe’ in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.” (Hosea 9:10)

·   “For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, the teeth of a great lion. He has laid my vine [Judah] waste, and barked my fig tree...” (Joel 1:6-7) 

·   “The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master/lord will be honored.” (Proverbs 27:18)

So, figs and fig trees are used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol for God’s people, and sometimes very specifically the leaders. In addition, sitting under one’s own fig tree became a common OT image of the Israelite enjoying freedom and prosperity in the land (2 Kings 18:31; Isaiah 36:16; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10); meanwhile, its destruction was a symbol of the nation’s judgment (Jeremiah 5:17; Hosea 2:12; Joel 1:7, 12).

We are going to read an interesting incident in the life of Jesus today, one in which he performs his only recorded “miracle of destruction.” He is going to kill a fig tree. It feels a little jarring because it seems petty and a little mean, like Jesus had a really bad day and he just did not have time for this stupid fig tree!

However, this story wraps around a visit to the temple where the “fig tree” of the leaders of His people are defiling the temple. I am going to suggest that Jesus’ treatment of the fig tree tells his disciples something very important about the future of the Temple and the Sadducees. Let’s read the passage, then talk about what Jesus was doing with the fig tree.

As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it.

Because they had heard that Jesus had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. Thus the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!” Then Jesus went to the temple. And after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany with the twelve since it was already late.

Now early in the morning  the next day, as they went out from Bethany and returned to the city, Jesus was hungry.[1]After noticing in the distance by the road a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it.

When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again. Never again will there be fruit from you!” And his disciples heard it.

Apparently, fig trees put out leaves and fruit pretty close together. If it has leaves, it should have some kind of fruit. Even before it is “the season for figs,” there are these little early figs that let you know the harvest will happen (the ‘first ripe’ in Hosea 9). They are like a teaser trailer for the upcoming show. This seems to be what is happening. Not only is this tree lying about its fruitfulness, it’s not going to bear fruit when the season hits.

Then they came to Jerusalem. Jesus entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,[2] and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.[3]

Then Jesus began to teach them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have turned it into a den of robbers!”[4] The blind and lame came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them.[5]

But when the chief priests and the experts in the law saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children crying out in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?”

Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing infants you have prepared praise for yourself’?”[6] The chief priests and the experts in the law heard it and they considered how they could assassinate him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching.

When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there. In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered to the roots.” When the disciples saw it they were amazed, saying, “How did it wither so quickly?”[7]

Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you.[8] For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”[9]

THE TEMPLE AND THE FIG TREES (SADDUCEES)

During Passover, hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem. They would have to exchange their own currency for temple currency and purchase animals and other items for sacrifices. Guess who controlled this whole process? The Sadducees.

You may remember that ever since the Sadducees asked Herod to be the King of the Jews to appease Rome, the priesthood was a political system controlled by Herod. Instead of priests descending from Zadok (1 Chronicles 24), the empire selected the high priests. As you might expect, this led to bribes and corruption, with the chief priests, captains and treasurers of the temple becoming wealthy and influential families who formed a small, powerful group within society with their own little group of thugs #templeguard to make sure they got their way.[10]

They raised the sacrificial animals, sold them, changed the money (for profit), etc. It was a huge money grift. And they did it in a part of the temple where the Gentiles were supposed to be able to worship.

It seems that Jesus cleared the Temple courtyards twice: once at the beginning of his ministry and once at the end. In Levitical law, there was only one scenario for which God’s people need to do a cleansing twice: mold. If after the first cleansing the priests found no more mold, the house was cleansed again and then the family can move back in. However….

If the mold has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.[11] Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean.  It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place. (Leviticus 14: 39-45)[12]

Or, to use Jesus’ fig tree imagery, it must be withered to the root.

It turns out that Jesus’ triumphal entry took Jesus to the heart of first-century Judaism: the temple, where Sadducee and Temple trees had lots of leaves - and mold, and no fruit. There was nothing to feed and nourish God’s people. It was maybe even toxic and destructive. They were clearly not being the “light to the nations” that God intended of His people.[13]

I believe the destruction of the fig tree was a tangible rabbinic parable that his disciples understood as pointing to the coming destruction of the priesthood and Temple, “withered to the roots.”[14]

This would indicate two things.

• The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem will no longer be a goal of redemptive history. The New Covenant Temple is the church in which all are priests (2 Corinthians 6; 1 Peter 2) and believers in whom the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3).

• What we now call Judaism will no longer be the primary carrier of the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is here. It’s meant to be the church: the new temple, with a new priesthood.[15] This does not mean we don’t appreciate and learn from the beautiful foundation of the Old Covenant – they were God’s chosen people - but the mantle has been passed, like Elijah to Elisha, to the New Covenant people.

We must take this seriously. We are not immune from the dangers facing the followers of God in the time of Jesus. We are called to ‘be fruitful and multiply,’ to produce fruit of righteousness that draws the nations to Jesus with words and lives free of hypocrisy, greed, and the love of power.

It struck me yesterday that the Jewish people’s greatest threat had never been other nations in the Bible. It was always themselves. Babylon could take their bodies into exile, and Egypt could enslave them, and Rome could kill them, but the mold that withered them to the root came from within. Say what we will about the course of this country depending how elections go and what the future may look like for followers of Jesus, but nothing out there threatens the church as much as the mold of false and corrupted worship threatens the church.

We are called to not only be God’s temple but to keep His Temple, the church, holy: set apart, pure, full of truth and grace, characterized by generosity, humility, and the kind of love that is will to be broken and spilled out for others in honor of our Savior.

We may will need His cleansing power at times to drive out sin from our personal and corporate temples.  The mold has got to go. Pride. Greed. Unforgiveness. Immorality. Gossip. Slander. Division. Judgment. Untruth. Meanness. Pettiness.

Nothing should get between us and our mission: to glorify the goodness of God with the entirety of our lives, and to demonstrate in all that we do the compelling message of salvation, life and hope that is grounded in Jesus and experienced in His church. I like how Adam Clarke summarizes what Jesus was doing here.

“Having condemned the profane use of the temple, he now shows the proper use of it. It is a house of prayer, where God is to manifest his goodness and power in giving sight to the spiritually blind, and feet to the [spiritually] lame. The church in which the [spiritually] blind and the lame are not healed has no Christ in it, and is not worthy of attendance.” (Adam Clarke)

That’s not scripture, but I think it’s inspired in its own way. I know I’m convicted as I apply that to myself.

• When people are around me who are spiritually struggling or lost, are they healed as I show the presence of Christ in me – God’s truth, grace, love, hope, kindness – or are they hurt?

• Did they pick up some mold from being around me? Or do they leave with maybe a little mold gone, or at least some tools to get rid of it, because the Holy Spirit has worked in our time together?

• Am I just leafy – because I can put on a show if I need to – or is the fruit of the Holy Spirit evident such that my attitudes, words, thoughts, and actions nourish those in my presence with the goodness of God’s provision?

I urge you to consider this for yourself. With your family, you friends, at work, when you are here on Sundays and Wednesdays,

What is the fruit you demonstrate in your character or offer as a service to those around you – not as a show, but as a gift of nourishment in Christ?

What might be the mold clinging to you that Jesus needs to cleanse? What needs to be driven out lest you begin to wither?

If you think this sounds like a daunting task, it is. Good news: Jesus tells his disciples what to do right here in this passage. If the disciples demonstrate faith in God – if they live faithfully - they can remove the mountainous problem of fruitlessness and mold.

When rabbis told parables[16], they wanted a physical representation to make their point. Jesus is likely standing on the Mount of Olives with the Herodian and the Temple Mount in sight. He is probably pointing toward one of these. I lean toward the Herodian, but it’s not a hill I will die on J Why? Because “faith” almost always means “faithfulness” – trust in action – and the Herodian gives a prime example of what seemingly insurmountable hurdles can in fact be conquered when we put one foot in front of the other over and over in the service of a cause.

The Herodian was a mountain fortress overlooking the town of Bethlehem built on a mountain Herod had commanded be literally moved from one location to the place he wanted it to be. One shovelful at a time. If you think of faithfulness as “steadfast commitment,” that’s what it took to literally move a mountain.

Jesus once told his disciples that faith as small as a mustard seed could move mountains. He wanted his followers to know that our lived out faith can accomplish far more than the most amazing earthly feats. You’re impressed that Herod, a ruler of the Empire, moved a mountain? Wait until you see what can be moved with the authority and power of the ruler of the universe behind the faithful witness of your life.

You know what’s more amazing than moving a mountain of stone?

• Being freed from addiction.

• Learning how to control your words.

• Having pride replaced with humility.

• Learning how to really, truly love that person.

• Becoming patient when you have been characterized by impatience for so long.

• Learning to see people as imago dei instead of objects of lust.

• Being moved from greed to generosity.

• Replacing a reputation for being caustic and rude with a reputation for being kind.

• Seeing the fruit of the Spirit[17] – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – replace the mold of sin.

To go back to today’s text, what about that mountain of fruitlessness, mold, and hypocrisy? Is it even possible to move that mountain? Yes, and the disciples will show that in the book of Acts. They will faithfully go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Historians believe the Christian population grew by 40 percent a decade: probably about 1,000 Christians in AD 40 to 33 million in AD 350.

Mountains are moved when Jesus works within our lived out faith. I like the old joke, “How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time.” How do we move mountains? One faithful shovel at a time, one righteous moment after another, whether it’s in our individual lives, our church life, or our concern for our nation.

And may God, who is a Good Father, be so good as to cleanse His Temple for our good, the good of the world, and God’s glory.

________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “Recalls God’s statement that his bringing Israel out of Egypt was like the joy of finding early figs and his later complaint that Israel’s idolatry and injustice rendered the nation barren and without justice (Hos 9:7–17; Mic 6:1—7:6)…In spite of God’s gift of his law and the land, and his presence now in Jesus, Israel and its leaders have failed to produce the justice and mercy God desires…Jesus, as Israel’s Lord, enacts that image in fulfillment of Malachi’s threatened curse upon the land (Mal 4:6) and hence his following announcement of the destruction of the temple.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[2] The cleansing of the temple by Jesus is reminiscent of how kings like Hezekiah (2 Chr 29–31) and Josiah (2 Chr 34–35) repaired the temple prior to the celebration of Passover. (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[3] This is the second time Jesus has cleansed the Temple courtyard, reminiscent of Jeremiah twice cursing the temple (Jeremiah 7 and 26). There are soooo many Old Testament hyperlinks in the life and teaching of Jesus.

[4] “Perhaps ‘robbers’ should be translated ‘nationalist rebel’ (as in Jeremiah 7:11). The temple was meant to be a house of prayer, but… had become, like the first temple, the premier symbol of a superstitious belief that God would protect and rally his people irrespective of their conformity to his will.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)

[5] “Most Jewish authorities forbade any person lame, blind, deaf, or mute from offering a sacrifice or appearing before the Lord in his temple. But Jesus heals them, thus showing that "one greater than the temple is here" (12:6).

[6] Jesus here quotes the Greek of Psalm 8:2; Hebrew reads “strength” instead of “praise.”

[7] When they say, “How did you do it so quickly?” I tend to think they knew what Jesus was doing and are wondering how the Sadducees will be dealt with so quickly. They will be in AD 70, when the Temple and the Sadducees are destroyed.

[8] The Eastern Orthodox tradition is all in on the literalness of this. “While it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, the Fathers are clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (certain saints did make crevices appear in mountains). Furthermore, not everything the apostles accomplished was written down.” Orthodox Study Bible) I love the “not everything was written down.” This would suggest they might have moved mountains, but it never made it into the historical record, as if moving the mountain was never the point. I don’t prefer a literalist reading of this teaching, but I appreciate their bold and confident perspective.

[9] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[10] HT NIV Women’s Study Bible

[11] I suspect the ‘unclean place’ in Jesus time was the Valley of Hinnom, Gehenna, which Jesus references multiple times as a place of punishment and destruction.

[12] Side note: Jesus is about to tell some parables that include this kind of cleansing in which people are cast out to places of judgment, very similar to this scenario.

[13] “The tree is fully leafed, and in such a state one would normally expect to find fruit. This symbolizes the hypocrisy and sham of the nation of Israel. The “withered” fig tree likely stands for the nation’s coming destruction.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

“The tree with its leaves had the marks of fruitfulness, but it bore no fruit. Israel was likewise practicing hypocrisy (Mk 7:6)…Jesus might also have been illustrating religious hypocrites like the ones he had thrown out of the temple.” (NIV Women’s Study Bible)

“There were leaves, which speak of profession, but no fruit for God. Jesus was hungry for fruit from the nation.” (Believers Bible Commentary)

[14] HT NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[15] ESV Reformation Study Bible

[16]  “Many of the rabbins are termed rooters up of mountains, because they were dexterous in removing difficulties, solving cases of conscience, etc. In this sense our Lord's words are to be understood. He that has faith will get through every difficulty and perplexity. Mountains shall become molehills or plains before him. The saying is neither to be taken in its literal sense, nor is it hyperbolical: it is a proverbial form of speech.” (Adam Clarke)

 [17] Galatians 5

Being People of the Word: Sadducees and Herodians

Some of you have been asking if there is some way to talk about Christians and politics in preparation for what is sure to be another volatile election. A podcast I have been listening to covered some ground this week that I hope can lead us into introspection and discussion.

This involves what happened to the Jewish people before the arrival of Jesus, when they had returned from exile and splintered into 5 groups, all of which had reached different conclusions about how best to live as people of God in Greek and then Roman culture. I don’t usually do history, but this particular window of time seems relevant to where we are now.

* * * * *

 In 586 BC, the Jewish people headed into Babylonian captivity. While in exile – lacking a temple - the synagogue took root.[2] Synagogue was about an entire lifestyle centered around Torah symbolized by the very architecture of the synagogue. Yes, they had it before exile, but this is different. They assumed their exile was because they didn’t obey the Torah. This would not happen again. So text-centered synagogues developed in exile and continued when they returned to their land in 538 BC to rebuild, as recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.

In 332 BC, approximately 200 years later, Alexander the Great began to conquer the West as a warrior/evangelist with a euangelion, the Greek word for gospel or “good news.”  This euangelionwas Hellenism, a worldview that is all about me. Previously, every worldview centered around the gods: what made the gods happy, or angry; what were the gods were doing? Hellenism changed all that. Pythagoras said, “Man is the measure of all things.” People are the new rulers; the gods bear their image, not the other way around. It’s no longer about what the gods  want; it’s about what I want. Ask not what you can do for the gods; ask what the gods can do for you.

Alexander’s “good news” was not always at the point of the sword. There were easier ways to conquer a culture. He asked for four things.

• Education: He can control what people learn, think and know.

• Healthcare: Everyone wants to be healthy, and the Empire will be their doctor.

• Entertainment: Distraction brings complacency as they are (once again) being educated

• Athletics: Competition and tribal identity will keep the adrenaline flowing.

Notice, none of those things are bad things. It was just that under Alexander’s Hellenism, it was easy to begin to love your conqueror, because he gave you comfort, leisure and luxury. His euangelion was simple: “Good news! The Kingdom of Greece has arrived!” and people believed it.

When he died, he handed this Greek empire over to four different rulers. Ptolemy ruled the area of Judea where the Jews had resettled. Much like Alexander, he didn’t need a big military show of force. He said, “Here’s Hellenism. I think you will like it.” They did, for the most part.

By 167 BC, the Seleucids (another of Alexander’s predecessors) had taken over Judea. Eventually they entered Jerusalem, and…..disaster. Seleucus sacrificed a pig on the temple altar. A group that will eventually be known as the Zealots were furious so they led the Maccabean Revolt (which is the story of Hanukkah).

They defeated the Seleucids in Jerusalem and got the temple back. When deciding who was going to rule now, they went back to the text (because they were people of the text) and decided God’s original plan was for priests to rule, not kings.  So, they handed the kingdom over to the priests – the Hasmoneans (167-63 BC = the Hasmonean Dynasty.)

Within 20 years, the Hasmoneans had became completely Hellenistic. They loved the power, money, luxury and entertainment. Josephus wrote that there weren’t enough priests to run temple services because the priests were at the Empire’s entertainment spectacles. This is the priestly class that will become known as the Sadducees. (The Herodians will be those who share their views to a large degree but are more of a political party.) The Sadducees are the one party that does not appear to be represented in Jesus’ disciples.

The Maccabeans did not care for this turn of events at all, and they and a lot of others headed to Galilee. These Hasidim, the ‘pious ones,’ intended to build a devoted Judaism totally committed to the way of God. Two groups emerged: Zealots and Pharisees. Both are devoted to following God, but Zealots were devoted with the sword, and Pharisees with absolute obedience.

Paul was a Pharisee, and likely Jesus and most of the disciples as well. Jesus had two followers who were Zealots: Simon the Zealot and Judas “the” Iscariot (sicarii, "dagger-men," a group of Zealots who carried a knife with them at all times and vowed that if they ever found a Roman soldier alone they would kill him.[3])

Meanwhile, the Essenes were a group of disenchanted priests who couldn’t stand the corruption. They moved to the desert and set up a places like Qumran. #deadseascrolls They were the Jewish Amish. John the Baptist was likely Essene; Jesus was baptized by him, which suggests Jesus trained at times under his teaching.

Rome eventually conquered Judea. Rome, by the way, loved Hellenism. They just added to it the “pax romana,’ the peace by the sword (an idea that the developing Zealots will embrace). Their euangelion was similar to Alexander’s: “Good news! The Kingdom of Rome is here!”

 When the Sadducees saw Rome on the horizon, they started working on a solution to stay in power because they didn’t want to lose all that stuff that the built up over the last century: buildings, luxury, power, advantage, privilege, comfort.

Enter Herod the Great, the son of the king of Idumea.  His people, the Nabataeans, owned the spice trade. The whole thing. Think of one people group owning all of the oil in our world.  Herod was by far the wealthiest man to ever walk the face of the earth.

The Sadducees knew they could never combat Rome’s power. But…Rome needed money. They went to the wealthiest man on the planet, and said, “If you’ll marry one of our daughters, you’ll be kind of Jewish? And you can be the king of the Jews.” So, Herod married into the priestly line and offered his wealth as an asset to Rome – specifically, to Julius Caesar – in exchange for being the King of the Jews. Julius liked that idea a lot. Herod’s reign lasted from 37 BC to 4 BC, approximately two years after Jesus was born.

When Herod died, he split his kingdom among his three sons: Philip got the north, Archelaus got southern Judea, and Antipas got central Judea (Galilee). Archelaus in southern Judea is a horrible ruler who almost immediately gets replaced by Rome with…. Pontius Pilate. 

That catches up the historical dynamics that led to the splintering of the Jewish community. They were all trying to grapple with, “What do we do with Rome? How do we live as people of God in this context? How will we usher in the age of the Messiah?”  Do you….

• run from it and focus on learning in order to be faithful (Essenes)

• ignore it and focus on obedience to entice the Messiah’s return (Pharisees)

• become a part of it and enjoy what it has to offer while waiting for the Messiah (Sadducees and Herodians)

• attack it and pave the Messiah’s way in blood (Zealots)

 This is the world into which Jesus is born. Galatians 4:4 says,

“ When the right time arrived, God sent His Son into this world (born of a woman, subject to the Torah) 5 to free those who, just like Him, were subject to the Torah. Ultimately He wanted us all to be adopted as sons and daughters.”

Of all the points in human history, this was just at the right time. Perhaps one of the reasons is because of the tension within God’s people. This was the time to unite them around the Word become flesh, the Text in bodily form. Fascinatingly, Jesus seems to have called disciples who represented all four of the approaches[4] with the plan to make them a team centered around The Living Torah, the Word in the Flesh.

 That sounds like a terrible idea to me, but not to Jesus. This would be a sign of the power of the Kingdom and its King. Jesus will show them how making peace with God will lead to making peace with others, breading down every barrier and creating one new humanity (Ephesians 2).

This sounds like a message we need in today’s political and religious climate. So, we are going to look more closely at these groups, try to find ourselves in them, looking at their strengths and weaknesses, and discern how to unite around Jesus. Today we will cover two groups that had a lot in common: Sadducees and Herodians. Next week, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes.

SADDUCEES[5]

When the now thoroughly Hellenistic Sadducees convinced Herod to be their king, he offered the high priesthood to the highest bidder from the 7 main families. Annas won the bidding. The Chief Priesthood will not leave his family until the temple is destroyed in AD 70. When we read about Caiaphas and Jesus clashing, Caiaphas is a descendant of Annas.

These seven families became a corrupt religious mafia. Josephus talks about the priesthood gathering in tithes and offerings and then not paying the other priests, just getting and more and more financially secure while their fellow priests suffered. They had their own Temple Guard, their muscle (think of Jesus’ arrest). They were corrupt bullies who used the cover of the temple to indulge in the power, prestige and luxury Rome offers at the expense of all those they exploited.

To give you an idea of the luxury of the priests, in the Herodian Quarter in Jerusalem archaeologists discovered a priestly home with17 bedrooms and 21 mikvah baths. In another priestly home they found a wine cellar full of bottles valued (when adjusted to our dollars today) at about $5,000 to $10,000 per bottle of wine.

Meanwhile, there were two Sanhedrins (the ruling body), a formal and informal one. The formal Sanhedrin was 70 or 72 people, half Pharisees and half Sadducees, to balance the Jewish leadership. The informal one met in the high priest’s house where this Sadducee Deep State made decisions that WOULD BE RATIFIED (#wink) by the formal Sanhedrin if the voters valued their lives. There corruption was so bad that some biblical scholars wonder if the “abomination of desolation” referred to in Daniel was not, in fact, the sacrificing of a pig on the altar (as is commonly assumed), but is this time of ruling by the Sadducees in which God’s house was profaned in more serious ways than pig’s blood.

Jesus spent three years with the Pharisees, and in spite of all their conflict they tried to save his life twice. He spent one week with the Sadducees before they kill him. I wonder if the many times Jesus told people not to report being healed was to avoid getting on the radar of the High Priests of the Sadducees.

So, what should we think of this group? The wrong is obvious: They are corrupt bullies. The power and luxury of Empires are corrosive partners with leadership of the people of God. It destroys the true faith, it creates terrible cynicism and frustration in those trying to do true worship, and it ultimately fails. When Rome destroyed the temple in AD 70, that Empire they tried to partner with wiped the Sadducess and the Herodians off the face of the earth.

The Bible describes Zachariah as a “righteous” priest, adding an adjective that shouldn’t have been necessary. Unfortunately, many in the role of priest weren’t righteous. To be a priest was a good thing, but to be a corrupt priest who loved the means and methods of Empire was horrible, and it goes against everything that the priesthood is supposed to represent and stand for. When those who claim Jesus and are supposed to embody holiness, servanthood and love become morally compromised, arrogant and selfish, we have lost the plot of God’s story.

The positive is they deeply desired to be in a role that was a God-ordained role. God has a role for priests. 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us, 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

That’s us. There is a God-ordained role that we need to serve in well. What are you doing in your life right now? You are doing it in a priestly role as part of the priesthood of all believers, and God plans to use you where you are. What do we priest have to watch out for? The allure or power, luxury, safety, and comfort, especially when the means to get it involves collusion with the Empire.   

HERODIANS

If you weren’t a priest, but your approach to Hellenism was very similar to that of a Sadducee, you were a Herodian. This was almost more of a political party that said, “I can have a little bit of Rome – maayybe a lot of Rome - and I can have a little bit of God and Hellenism, and I can put the two together quite comfortably.”

To be sure, the core things Hellenism offered (education and healthcare, entertainment, athletics) were not in and of themselves problematic. The wealth available through the Empire was not the problem. The things aren’t necessarily the problem. However, Hellenism used good or neutral things to tell the wrong story: life is ALL ABOUT YOU.

This feels like it hits close to home. America has historically liked a definition of freedom that says it’s all about me. We love rugged individualism: “don’t tread on me”; “nobody puts baby in a corner”; “It’s my life, I can do what I want.” The right to pursue my happiness how I define it is right there in key American texts. We want to be able to sing “I Did It My Way,” and sing “I will Follow You, Jesus” without there being a conflict. Let’s not look away from how close this is to us as we talk about the Herodians.

Zippori is our poster city for what happened to Herodians. Zippori was a Jewish village that led a revolt against Rome. Rome destroyed it, then one of Herod’s sons rebuilt it as a Herodian colony inhabited almost entirely by Jews, who quickly embraced the goodies of Rome.[6] For example:

• Instead of giving their excess to the poor, they had sidewalks paved with mosaics, which would have been an unheard of distraction and waste of resources in a traditional Jewish village.

• The Jewish homes were full of beautiful mosaics in geometrical patterns (you weren’t supposed to make images of people) which would have been seen as selfishly lavish 50 years prior.  

Once again, it’s not that art is bad. Surely one can appreciate art and have money and love God. But to the Jewish population historically, this flourishes went against the ethic found in the text on how to use money and resources with an eye for the poor and powerless. And that compromise, though small, opened the door to some more compromising rooms. Literally.

• The geometric mosaics were in the public-facing area of the house. In the same house, in more private spaces, we see not just images (!) but images of Greek and Roman gods like Pan, the god of sexual fertility. Perhaps they were thinking, “I don’t worship that. I don’t go to the temple of Pan. I worship the God of Israel. It’s just a story.”

• Meanwhile, in the main living area, the centerpiece on the floor is a mosaic of the Egyptian mythology of the Nile.[7] Egypt. The nation that enslaved their ancestors and whose gods Yahweh humiliated.

• In the same town, different house, we find the Mona Lisa of the Galilee. This mosaic has 22.5 million pieces (!) in it. In the center is the lady of the house, but the spiral path around her tells the Greek mythology, with scenes of daily life connected with the rites of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and orgy. The story ends with Dionysus drinking Zeus under the table.

It’s in a Jewish home that’s supposed to be centered around the biblical text that is instead centered around the Roman story. What may have started as a relatively innocent compromise spirals toward serious spiritual compromise. Paul later writes to the churches about this very issue.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces (Galatians 4:8-9) 

The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? (1 Corinthians 10:19-22)

“Anthony, that reference is dated. Give us something more modern.” Can do. In the rotunda of the US Capitol building has a mural called The Apotheosis of Washington (1865). It depicts Washington as having ascended into the heavens and becoming exalted or glorified. He wears the colors of Roman emperors, with a rainbow arch at his feet, flanked by the Roman goddesses of Victory and Liberty. There are six scenes around him, 5 of which have Roman gods/goddesses:

• Science, Minerva, surrounded by inventors.

• Marine, Neptune, with warships in the background.

• Commerce, Mercury, giving a bag of gold to a financier of the Revolutionary War.

• Mechanics, Vulcan, with cannons and steam engines.

• Agriculture, Ceres, with a mechanical reaper.

• War, Columbia, the personification of America, aka Lady Liberty

 Can you feel the dissonance if we would ask to make sure a copy of the 10 Commandments or the Beatitudes were posted there along with a dare I say blasphemous image of Washington doing what Jesus did, surrounded by Greek gods and a freshly minted American god of war? That dissonance has not ended. We still put side-by-side thinks that don’t fit comfortably together. Methinks the Herodian urge remains alive and well.

Now, the positive. Jesus loves Greeks and Romans as much as He loved any person that’s ever been a part of this story, and He wants to redeem their story. Citizens of Herod mattered very much to God, and who knew this world better than the Herodians? They are perfectly placed for God’s mission.  

• You wanted to redeem theater? Who better than the Herodians?

• You wanted to use athleticism as a platform to tell God’s story? Who better placed to be an athlete than Herodians?

• Who was better placed to impact the Herodian world for the God narrative than the educator, doctor, artist or a mosaic maker?

 They are perfectly placed to impact the world around them because they understand it, they are in the middle of it, they engage it every single day. The challenge is not falling into it and letting it consume and compromise you. The danger is idolatry, serving Mammon rather than God.

We have to watch for the subtle shift in values that tripped up the Jewish people and the first Christians. Enjoying life can become indulging in life, which can become a gluttony of pleasures (feasting every day like the Sadducee in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus), which can become exploitation. “You’re heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,” the prophet Isaiah scolded in Isaiah 5, and it’s not a compliment. It’s a timeless warning.

That this is the danger of the Herodian. We want to talk about our worship of God while remaining comfortable in our wealth. We want privilege, influence and control while being able to think of ourselves as following in the footsteps of the one who came not to be served, but to serve. We want to feast on safety, comfort and pleasure without even thinking about what it costs to get what we want, who might be hurt in the process, and what we might be keeping for ourselves that the early church described as belonging to the poor.

Here, I think, is the bottom line dilemma for the Sadducees and the Herodians: They were gathered around the Roman mosaics rather than the biblical text. They forgot about the point of synagogue as a lifestyle, where their lives spiritually and practically centered around the text. Rome now guided their imagination and thoughts. Rome told them what the good life was like. Rome told them how to think about people, about God, and about themselves. They took their eye off the text.

One very important lesson we learn from them is that, as aliens and exiles sojourning through the life in the United States of America, the text that centers us is the Bible. It’s not the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. It’s not college professors or TV talk show hosts or politicians or conference speakers.

The church community is centered around the Word - both the text and the Word become Flesh – and like-minded followers of Jesus. The answer to “What do we do with Rome/the United States?” will not be found in the texts of the Empire. It’s found in the Word. We gather and study and pray week after week after week 1) to learn the Word of God so that we can walk in the life-giving path of God, and 2) to experience the life-changing reality of the Word made flesh.  

For the disciples, their goal was to know what their rabbi (Jesus) knew, in order to do what their rabbi did, for the reasons that the rabbi did them, in order to be just like the rabbi in their walk with God. 

Nothing has changed for disciples today. The goal is to know what Jesus knows, in order to do what Jesus does, for the reasons that the Jesus does them, in order to be more and more like Jesus in our walk with God.[8]

_______________________________________________________________________________

[1] I am deeply, deeply indebted to Marty Solomon at Bema for almost all of today’s information. I am borrowing heavily from his podcast and printed notes, which can be found at bemadiscipleship.com, episodes 73-81.

[2] There are seven elements commonly found in synagogues. A mikvah was a ritualistic cleansing bath. The basilica, the pillared section of the synagogue both held up the roof and allowed for high windows, because “You read God’s Light by God’s light.” The bema seat was a slightly raised platform in the center of the room to stand on when reading the text for discussion. The chief seats were benches around the outside of the synagogue reserved for the more seasoned in the community, those who knew Torah best. The Torah closet held the few scrolls in each synagogue. The Seat of Moses is where a reader sat to give an introductory read to the text. Finally, every synagogue had a study room.

[3] There is a theory “that Judas, when he betrayed Jesus, was not just giving Jesus up for the sake of the money, not because Satan made him do it, not because he was possessed by a demon, and certainly not because God made him do it. Rather…Judas was trying to initiate a confrontation between Jesus and the authorities so that the war could begin.” https://revkevnye.com/2010/04/27/the-judas-theory/

[4] The Herodians represent the Herodians/Sadducees. There were no Sadducee disciples.

[5] The Sadducees came from line of priestly families that date all the way back to the time of David and Solomon. They get their name from being in the line of Zadok whose descendents are Zadokim in Hebrew. In English, we say “Sadducee.”

[6] Zippori is three miles away from the Nazareth of Jesus. In between Nazareth and Zippori is a stone quarry. Joseph was, in the Greek, a tektōn, likely working with stone more often than anything else. It is likely that Joseph worked in a stone quarry between Nazareth and Zippori that was owned by Herod. It is likely Jesus was raised in a household for whom Herod wrote the paycheck. There’s also good chance that Jesus was raised with Herodian exposure. Jesus at one point quote Euripides from a play called Trojan Women. “Troy, Troy, how I long to gather you as a hen gathered its chicks…” He talks about hupokrites, the word for actors. If he was Jewish and attended Roman theater, there was some Herodian influence there. It’s a good reminder that the things themselves (like plays) were not the problem. It’s the story you believed about them.

[7] “Now, again, do they worship the Egyptian gods? No. I can almost guarantee you, this family doesn’t worship the Egyptian gods, but this is what they put in their dinner table. By this point, most of my group is like, “Yes, they are compromising.”  I love to just lay it on my listeners and say, “Wait a minute, is this not exactly where you and I live?”  We watch (insert name of show or movie or song list here). Our centerpiece is a little different, but I have figured out in my mind, I can appreciate and think critically about art over here and I don’t worship this. What do we do with that? Most everybody that says, “Oh yes, they’re definitely compromising here,” will immediately have to backtrack when asked, “Wait a minute, isn’t this exactly what you do when you go back home?” And the answer is, “Absolutely.” This is where we live. We are Herodians.” (Marty Solomon)

[8] Once again, I am deeply indebted to Marty Solomon at Bema Discipleship for this material.

Harmony #45: The Yeast Of The Sadducees (Mark 8:13-21; Matthew 16:5-12)

I mentioned last week that the “yeast of the Pharisees” and the “yeast of Herod/Sadducees” were so different they each get their own week. This week, let’s look at the Sadducees.[1]

After the end of the Jewish exile in Babylon, the high priests (mostly Sadducees) ruled at the pleasure of Rome, who stacked the Sanhedrin to get the results they wanted. The Sadducees got their power and privilege from cooperation/collaboration.

They controlled Judaism’s two most important institutions: the Temple in Jerusalem and the Sanhedrin, the governing body for religious and civil issues. They also enjoyed the military backing of Rome, so Temple Law enforcement was backed by Roman muscle. At one point, Herod put the Golden Eagle, a ‘holy’ standard their army carried into war, on the entrance to the Temple. The Sadducees accepted it.[2]

The Gospel writers use the yeast of the “Sadducee” and “Herod” interchangeably. This is important, because we are talking about Herod.

Herod’s family had largely converted to Judasim; he contributed to building the temple in Jerusalem; he distributed food during famine and cut taxes; the economy did well. So far, so good. But his extreme cruelty is legendary - the massacre of the children when Jesus was born, killing his own family, beheading John the Baptist, etc.

So just to be clear, the Sadducees were willing to overlook Herod’s evil because it worked out well for them.[3] Why? Because the goodies of Empire were their only hope; they weren’t waiting for a Messiah.

We do not speak of the messianic views of the Sadducees, because they had none. They had no belief in the kingdom of God as such, either in this world or that which is to come. Their doctrine left no place for a [divine]Messiah… their only fear was that some impostor messiah might arise and cause them to be deprived of the offices they held at the pleasure of their conquerors.[4]

If they wanted to change the situation of the Jewish people, it was going to happen in the halls of earthly power.[5] You see their hearts revealed clearly when Jesus was on trial.

“Here is your king {Jesus},” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. (John 19:14-15) 

As for the crowd, they had turned on Jesus when they realized he was serious when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a warhorse while weeping because they did not understand the way to peace.

The Sadducees were dissolving as a party when Roman destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. in response to a Jewish revolt in Jerusalem. Rome took 13,000 Jewish slaves and the loot from the temple and used both to build and pay for the building of the coliseum. Note: The Romans destroyed the Temple. The Romans never liked them. The Sadducees were tools for Roman power. Their passing was not mourned.

We often talk about religious syncretism as Christianity synchronizing with contradictory beliefs from other religions. We don’t often talk about syncretism with the Empire. I believe that this is the yeast of the Pharisees. Their hope was not in God, but in man. Not from Heaven, but from earth. Not to bring about the Kingdom through evangelization, but through legislation. This has been addicting through all of church history.

1. In the 1st century, a good Sadducee was a good Roman. Followers of Jesus had no time for that. Christian values were sharply at odds with Roman values. A sincere Christian was not going to be a good Roman by Roman standards. It’s why Rome was so suspicious of them.

2. But in 154, Justin Martyr, in an attempt to stop Emperor Pius from persecuting Christians, wrote, “Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men.” As Jason Porterfield points out, “whole swaths of life were moved out from under God’s authority and placed under the authorities of this world.”Now, instead of everything belonging to God, everything but worship belonged to Caesar. As a result, “Caesars of this world became increasingly bold in telling Christians what they must do on earth.” [6]

3. When Constantine legalized Christianity in the 300s, it didn’t take long for a good Christian to look a lot like a good Roman, to the point that Augustine developed an argument for how Christians could fight for Rome’s military machine that brutalized the world and killed tens of thousands of Jewish people and Christians. Constantine brutally conquered under the banner of a cross, the Christian symbol of laying down one’s life in love.

“For the first three hundred years of the church any suggestion that the aims of the kingdom of Christ could be served by corrupt Caesars would have been viewed as ludicrous or even demonic. The early Christians knew that the ways of Jesus and the ways of Caesar are forever incompatible. One is Christ; the other is anti-Christ… Christians never thought Caesar was capable of carrying out the work of Christ. ― Brian Zahnd, Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

4. In letters between King Clovis and local bishops in the 500s, we see the church converting and being converted by an ancient warrior ruling class. Bishop Avitus urged King Clovis to let the church tag along into the regions he intended to conquer. For the first time, the church began to spread the message of the cross behind the point of a sword. To be conquered was to be Christianized.

5. In the eastern Byzantine Empire, the emperors considered themselves to be the “supreme pontiff” of the Church, as well as head of state. Justinian I called this harmonia: the state and the Church should work together for God’s will on earth under the emperor’s leadership. The bishops at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 affirmed that nothing could be done in the Church contrary to the emperor’s will. This doctrine remained in effect for centuries.[7]

6. Fast forward to Charlemagne, who was crowned by Pope Leo II as the first “Holy RomanEmperor” on Christmas Day in the year 800. What a change in 800 years. The claim was that Charlemagne was chosen by God to revive the glories of the Roman Empire - and to defend and promote the cause of the church, which were starting to look like one and the same. Like Herod and Constantine, he used state power and money to help the church do its mission. Meanwhile, Charlemagne also waged a brutal thirty-year campaign against the Saxons. In 782 he ordered the beheading of more than four thousand, five hundred Saxons on a single day. Why? They weren’t Christian. This, from his set of laws titled Ordinances for the Region of Saxony. “If any one of the race of the Saxons hereafter concealed among them shall have wished to hide himself unbaptized, and shall have scorned to come to baptism and shall have wished to remain a pagan, let him be punished by death.” In 800 years, Christians had gone from being the ones killed for their faith to being the ones supporting the killing of others because of their faith.

7. In the Middle Ages, when the church sought to win warrior cultures to the faith in France, Germany, or Scandinavia, etc., Jesus morphed into the ultimate warlord and his church into the knights of Christ. Once again, the church converted many, and it found itself converted in the process. By the time Alexius I pleaded for help aganst the march of Islam, the church was ready to be the “knight of Christ.” This is when Bernard of Clairvaux (AD 1090–1153) wrote In Praise of the New Knighthood by appropriating Paul’s letter to the Ephesians - which was about spiritual warfare.

“The knight who puts the breastplate of faith on his soul in the same way as he puts a breastplate of iron on his body is truly intrepid and safe from everything…So forward in safety, knights, and with undaunted souls drive off the enemies of the cross of Christ.”

If, by the 500s, being Christian was indistinguishable from being Roman, by the 1000s being Christian was indistinguishable from being Frankish or Saxon. Europe and the church found themselves converted to each other’s ways. Martin Luther (1500s) even developed a ‘doctrine of two kingdoms’ claiming God willed the state and the church to be governed by a different set of morals. In their private lives, Christians should follow the ethic of Jesus. In their public role as citizens, Christians should follow the lead of the Empire. Now, our private lives belonged to God, but our public lives belonged to Caesar.

In Western history, Europe has long intermingled church and state in various ways (Catholic, Anglican Church of England, and Protestant[8]). On how that went over the years, look up “Inquisition.” To this day, many countries in Europe either have a state church or support one church over the other.[9] How’s that going now, you wonder?

The 2022 Talking Jesus report (a partnership between Alpha, the Evangelical Alliance, HOPE Together, Luis Palau Association and Kingsgate Community Church) describes the current state of faith in the UK[10]: 48% of the population described themselves as 'Christian' of which 6% described themselves as 'practicing Christians'.[11]

To bring us up to date:

“The church in every western power after Constantine has at some point succumbed to the Siren seduction of empire and has conflated Christianity and nationalism into a single syncretic religion. Rome, Byzantium, Russia, Spain, France, England, and Germany have all done it. Seventeen centuries ago the Roman church got tangled up in imperial purple. In the 1930s, the German evangelical church got tangled up in Nazi red and black. The Anglican church spent a long time tangled up in the Union Jack[12]. Today the American evangelical church is tangled up in red, white, and blue. That this kind of entanglement has been a common failure of the church for centuries doesn’t make it any less tragic.”  ― Brian Zahnd, Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

This is, I believe, the yeast of the Sadducees, the yeast of Herod. It is the yeast of corrupt power, compromise and anti-supernaturalism that results in followers of Jesus at least living as if they believe it is through earthly power and control that we can and should bring about the Kingdom of God.

Yet over and over in history, when the Kingdom of God got too closely intertwined with Empire, it compromised the church. The church was never made to be authoritarian in a culture in order to bring about transformation. It was always made for persuasive, loving, truthful service as it preached the gospel, living as an embodiment of the Kingdom of God to bring about transformation. #salt #light 

Once again, I looked for some help online in what modern-day Sadducees would look like. There is not nearly as much about Sadducees as there is about Pharisees. I wonder if it’s because it steps on our political toes, and that’s meddlin’! But if Jesus warned about it, I have to preach it. This list is built from an article called “7 Signs The Leaven Of Herod Has Taken Root In Your Life.”[13]

[Quick note: I believe Christians have a responsibility to be actively involved in our culture, doing justice and loving mercy. This list is not about disengagement from our society or even disengagement from politics. It’s about keeping our faith untainted by the values and priorities of the Empire as we go about spreading the Kingdom.] 

We forget that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood (people), but against principalities and power, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Our gaze is earthly rather than heavenly. We say we believe God is able; we say we believe in God’s sovereignty and providence in the world; we say that we have hope, joy and peace that surpasses our circumstances, but we don’t live as if we believe that. We don’t find ourselves turning to the power of God in the journey of life.

Our passion for political change eclipses our devotion for expanding the Kingdom of Christ. We don’t focus on praying and ‘bearing good fruit’ as much as we focus on getting out the vote.  We don’t rest in the power of God; we rest in the power of the legislature. We are more passionate about changing laws and promoting public policy than we are about taking the message of Jesus to the people impacted by that policy. We live in deep fear that the next election will crush us or in irrational optimism that it will save us. We trade our hope in the persuasion of the spirit for the might of the state.[14]

We think the symbols of the Empire and the temple go together. This goes back to the Roman symbols the Sadducees put in the temple or the cross Constantine fought under. Francis Schaeffer warned us about this decades ago:[15]

The whole "Constantine mentality" from the fourth century up to our day was a mistake. Constantine, as the Roman Emperor, in 313 ended the persecution of Christians. Unfortunately, the support he gave to the church led by 381 to the enforcing of Christianity, by Theodosius I, as the official state religion. Making Christianity the official state religion opened the way for confusion up till our own day. There have been times of very good government when this interrelationship of church and state has been present. But through the centuries it has caused great confusion between loyalty to the state and loyalty to Christ, between patriotism and being a Christian. We must not confuse the Kingdom of God with our country. To say it another way: "We should not wrap our Christianity in our national flag.-  Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto

We believe a political leader is the key to restoring our nation. The Gospel is the key to restoring our nation. The identity and mission of the body of Christ does not depend upon who gets elected as president or Senator or governor. Voting for capable leaders is a way to practice biblical stewardship of our country, but the elevation of a leader to the role of a savior is borderline idolatry.

I remember more than one painting of Obama in which he was framed to look like Jesus; I saw a billboard for Trump that said, “Unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders.” This is blasphemous. And when adoration reaches that point, we will be blind to the realities of what people are really like. Kevin Burgess writes in Dangerous Jesus,

“We will begin to excuse the inexcusable in our public leaders because public witness is not a priority. It’s not as important to be winsome or persuasive as it is to be powerful. It doesn’t matter how Christians look to the outside world when our guy is winning. There is not sin that success cannot atone for.”

If we act as though anyone other than Jesus is the hope of our nation or our church, then the leaven of Herod has taken root in us. Brian Zahnd, in talking about “faith leaders fawning over proximity to political power,” writes:

God may have occasionally worked his will through pagan kings in the world before Christ, but we’re now living in Anno Domini—the year of our Lord. If you’re looking for God to work his will through a pagan king (who will always coincidently belong to your political party!), I’m thinking you haven’t spent much time seriously reading and digesting the New Testament epistles. God is no longer raising up pagan kings to enact his purposes; God has raised Jesus from the dead, and the fullness of God’s purposes are accomplished through him!”  ― Brian Zahnd, Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

And, I would add, through His church.

You believe a political party represents the Kingdom of God. Many Christians on both the Left and the Right act as if their particular political party represents God’s Kingdom. Meanwhile, at times Jesus made both the Pharisees and the Sadducees angry. He didn’t feel the need to fit neatly in a box. I’m quoting from KB again:

“If your wagon is hitched to Jesus, you will inevitably find yourself agreeing, intersecting, and aligning with all kinds of movements and political camps as you travel through the world. But rest assured, at some point, Jesus is going to complicate things and possibly get you kicked out.”

We talk about the world not being our home; neither is any party of the Empire. If we are not speaking prophetically to our own tribe, we’re missing something. If we start to think that a party represents the Kingdom of God, political rallies may begin to feel just as exciting and important as a church assembly or church retreat. In fact, passionate engagement in the political structure of the Empire can start to feel a lot like evangelism. Converting others to a political party can begin to feel like conversion to Christ, when it’s nothing of the kind.

And when that happens, “the fields ripe for harvest” looks a lot like conservatives if you are liberal and liberals if you are conservative. And if that is the lenses through which you view the problem, the solution will be to get them on the same side of the political aisle as you.

You get discipled more by political platforms than biblical principles.

·      Who disciples you the most on how we should view immigrants? Your Bible or partisan political figures?

·      Who disciples you the most on the value of marriage and family and all things swirling around sex?

·      Who disciples you the most on how we should treat those who live in poverty or sickness, or the widow and orphan?

·      We read about how Jesus dissolves culturally biased differences (“neither Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female”) such that we see each other as equally valuable image bearers of God. Does your party treat all people – all people – as image bearers of equal dignity. No? Do not be discipled by them.

·      Jesus calls for individuals to be characterized by humility, repentance, forgiveness, and justice combined with mercy, grace, generosity, love, and the honoring of all people. Does your party and their candidates do that, or do they fight their political fights with the weapons of the world? They fight like the world? Then do not be discipled by them.[16]  

·      Does our political system value the values of the Sermon on the Mount? No? Then do not be disciple by it.

·      James said God opposed the proud but gives grace to the humble. Does our political system do that, or does it glorify the proud and run over the humble?

·      Does our system value humility and repentance, or arrogance and justification?

·      Does our system believe the ends justifies the means (winning at any cost) or does it believe how we get there is just as important as where we are going?

·      Does it reward mercy or vengeance?

·      Does it value the Golden Rule?

·      Does it encourage us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us?

·      Does it admire those who insist that sacrificial, costly love is the life more abundant?

Don’t be discipled by the Empire. As we seek to engage in the world but not of it – as we engage in a political system while trying not to be of it -  may God give us the strength to refuse to be sucked into the Way of Caesar and stay true to the Way of Christ.

And may the salt and light that God intends to come with the presence of His people truly offer righteous preservation in a decaying world, and shine hope-filled gospel light into even the darkest of places.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

[1] A key book that covers today’s topic is John Dickson’s Bullies and Saints, from which many of my historical examples have been pulled.

[2] Though some of the common folk did not. https://www.jpost.com/judaism/the-golden-eagle-in-jerusalem-history-repeats-itself-618440

[3] Meanwhile, they became rich by cheating people who came to the temple to offer sacrifices, a thing Jesus did not care for at all (Matthew 21:12-13).

[4] “Ancient Jewish Views Of The Messiah,” by Edward Wicher https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/474263

[5] The explanation is from N.T. Wright, as paraphrased at https://www.johnpiippo.com/2010/11/why-did-sadducees-deny-idea-of.html

[6] As quoted in Fight Like Jesus, by Jason Porterfield

[7] https://brewminate.com/the-relationship-between-church-and-state-since-the-ancient-world/

[8] John Calvin (1500s), the ‘Pope of Geneva’, used his combined church/civil authority to burn a heretic to death – slowly, over green wood. It took half and hour. Christians who were once burned at the stake for their faith now burned others for their faith.

[9] The Puritans, escaping Anglican persecution in Europe, brought the muddled mix of church and state authority with them. In Puritan colonies, public taxes supported the church. Voting rights were limited to church members in many places. In Connecticut, people were fined for not attending church services. Puritans believed that the state was empowered to use corporal punishment, banishment, and execution to combat heresy. 

Between 1658–1692, Quakers were executed and Baptists imprisoned for their faith.

[10] England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[11] https://talkingjesus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Talking-Jesus-Report-A4-AUG-23-WEB.pdf

[12] The flag of England being the official flag of the Church of England.

[13] By Joseph Mattera, with some expansions of my own.

[14] Kevin Burgess, Dangerous Jesus

[15] This requires several myths. The “myth of righteousness” sets values of the Empire on par with the values of the Kingdom (in which both are seen as part of the euangelion, the good news of God’s plan for the world). The “myth of greatness” as defined by the standards of Babylon and Rome: financial, political, and/or military strength as the markers of success.  The “myth of innocence” sees the power, prosperity, and peace of the Empire as achieved by and sustained by thoroughly righteous means and people. The “myth of worthiness” demands an appreciation of and allegiance to the state as a profoundly moral responsibility for Christians.

[16] https://www.christianpost.com/voices/7-signs-the-leaven-of-herod-has-taken-root-in-your-life.html