Blessed are those who have been
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all
kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.[1]
I understand that Jesus was speaking to his disciples way
back in the first century. I also appreciate that times and circumstances have
changed. However, I don’t believe that things have changed so much that
followers of Jesus now, have a right to claim wealth as an associated gift of
discipleship. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to
bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”[2] The
difficulty of discipleship would have been severe in the early days of
Christianity. In that time traditional Judaism and the fledgling Christian
community would have been in constant conflict. One reason for that conflict
was that Christians were looked at as renegade Jews. Understandably, families
would have been torn apart. The traditional Jewish family’s cohesiveness would
have been severed, as Jesus said, “I have come to set a man against
his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.”[3] To the Jewish leaders and their
followers, Christianity was a breakaway sect of Judaism. Jesus’ statement regarding
conflicting beliefs was not a threat, it was reality. Some Christians, kept
their discipleship secret to avoid angering the rulers. Nicodemus was a member of the council,
and under the cover of darkness sought out Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, for
the same reason.[4] As crowds of Jews mingled in
Jerusalem at the time of a feast, many quietly discussed Jesus. Some thought of
him as a charlatan, others said he was a good man. One thing all agreed, was
not to speak of Him openly
for fear of the Jewish leaders.[5]
The parents of the blind man healed by Jesus, wouldn’t answer the Pharisees, because they
were afraid of what they would do to them. Following the stoning of Stephen the
Jews began a mega persecution against
Christians.
Following Jesus’ statement that the rich have great
difficulty getting into the kingdom. Peter said to him that he and the others
had left everything to follow him. Jesus told him that anyone who lost their
house, or family would receive a hundred times what he left in the present age,
and in the future, eternal life.[6] In a different place Jesus taught that if you
give, you will receive more.[7]
These statements are not promises of wealth, they are assurance for those who
serve Jesus that what they do and what they forfeit will not go unnoticed, and
that God recognizes service. It is incongruous to have wealth as a blessing for
every disciple. Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.[8]
The “prosperity gospel” is the antithesis of Jesus’ teaching. One time Jesus
invited himself to spend time with a rich man. As a result Zacchaeus, the rich
man, said he would give half of what he owned to the poor, and pay four times
the amount he had defrauded anyone.[9] Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this
house… For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost.[10] The
problem is not being rich per se, but the attachment one has to wealth. Jesus
taught that people shouldn’t focus on accumulating material wealth, but rather
strive for spiritual wealth. He said also that “You cannot serve God
and wealth.”[11]
The hucksters preaching that you can have anything you want, or, that you
deserve to be rich, are not preaching the gospel of Jesus. Theirs is a mixture
of pop-psychology and hype. People can get the same results from reading “Think
and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, or one of the scores of books written on the
subject of becoming wealthy. The prosperity preachers coat their gospel with
snippets of scripture to make their preaching sound authentic. You will not
find support for what they promise in scripture. What’s worse, is that it is
very damaging to a person’s faith, when the promise of wealth doesn’t
materialize. Those preachers will claim it is the person’s own fault for not
having enough faith. Misguided people are hungry for what the prosperity preachers’
offer, and because it’s presented as a God-given right, it is all the more
alluring. People need to keep their religion and search for wealth separate. Tony
Robbins is a huge success, he offers people a way to have the wealth they
really want. The promise of wealth is big business and has nothing to do with
following Jesus. A wise man long ago said;
Two things I ask of you; do not
deny them to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be
full, and deny you, and say, "Who is the LORD?" or I shall be poor,
and steal, and profane the name of my God.[12]
A fact that people sometimes miss, is that following Jesus
may not be the most comfortable choice. “Blessed are you when people insult
you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of
me … for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.” It seems that Jesus was warning his disciples. When reading
this I think of a phrase in a song –I never promised you a rose garden. Jesus
indicated that following him could be costly. “He summoned the
crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up
his cross and follow me.’”[13] The wearing of a crucifix is not what
he had in mind. Under Roman rule, people knew the horror of crucifixion and no
amulet could ever meet its reality. Jesus encouraged people to know what they
are getting into. Many preachers are so eager to gain converts they fail to
warn individuals of the potential cost of discipleship. The fact that the
righteous suffer was frustrating to the prophets of ancient Israel. Jeremiah
complained, “…Why does the way of the guilty prosper? Why do
all who are treacherous thrive?”[14] It obviously seems unfair if
Christians are put down and pagan religions and atheists are favoured. Looking
at what Jesus told his disciples Bonhoeffer wrote;
To
deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him
who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all
that self denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to him.”[15]
The metaphors and parables Jesus used in his teaching show a
very specific relationship to the first century. During the period in which
Judaism waned and Christianity began to flourish, the Jews persecuted
Christians. It was a difficult time for Jews and Christians; Jews anticipated
that the Messiah would reestablish the physical Israel, Christians were
preaching that the Messiah was none other than Jesus whom the Jews crucified. The
animosity of Jews toward Christians became violent. Jesus taught, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”[16] Paul spoke of the Christian attitude
to enemies, saying that if an enemy is in need of food or drink, give what is
needed. That would be the correct action of a disciple who had denied himself.
Paul wrote, “Let each of you look not to your own
interests, but to the interests of others.”[17] That Paul said, was the attitude of
Jesus. And that was the attitude disciples should have.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is an enigma to me. The
greater part of its content talks about people of faith who received blessings
and did great things. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and a host of others, all
benefited because of their faith. Then almost at the end of conversation we
come across people who did not receive similar blessings;
Others were tortured, refusing to
accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered
mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to
death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in
skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented--of whom the world
was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes
in the ground. Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised…[18]
From God’s point of view there is no disparity, no paradox, no
perplexity, or enigma, concerning any of the people in the conversation on
faith. That’s comforting to me, but I have a strong inclination to belong to
the first group who received blessings. Some of the faithful received wealth
and abundance, others suffered inhumanely. In God’s eyes they were all people
of faith, and people in his care. One attitude all people of faith shared was
that they put God first and foremost in their lives. Which is of course what we
all need to do.
As a young person the concept of Christendom seemed right to
me; there were Christians and there were pagans. Concepts, intentionally or
otherwise, taught in history or religious classes influenced young minds. I
wonder what influence the concept of Christendom has had on Christianity. There
are a number of definitions for the term Christendom. I will look at it from the
view of Catholicism and Protestantism combined. The Roman Church recognized
countries with dominant Catholic populations, and government policies based on
Catholic precepts as Christendom. Protestants considered countries with
Catholic and/or Protestant Christians as Christendom. Following a view similar
to that I view Christendom as including all countries in which Christianity was
favoured. No matter what the definition, Christendom no longer exists. The
proliferation of Christian denominations, the acceptance of atheism, and the
open-mindedness toward non-Christian religions, under secular governments has largely
done away with any favouritism to Christianity. However, there still is a residue
of expectation among Christians that Christianity deserves special attention. In
the western world there remains the thought that governments act according to
Christian principles, and laws are based on Judeo/Christian teaching. Humanists
and Atheists are trying to do away with any Christian influence. We should not
be surprised when a government fails to live up to Christian principles. Canada
for instance is supposed to have a secular government, which I believe is best
for Christians. However, the present government has violated the principles of
a secularism by seeking to favour a non-Christian religion. The
anti-Islamophobia law recommended by the government shows it is more interested
in being seen politically correct than adhering to the rights and freedoms of
Canadians. The Canadian Charter specifies no religion should be favoured, and
no religion should be disadvantaged. The current prime minister ignored the
constitution when saying, “The policy going forward is that every single
Liberal MP will be expected to stand up for women’s rights to choose.”[19] His
statement violates more than one articles of the Charter. This prime minister
further violated the Charter of Rights in the proposed “Canada Summer Jobs
attestation.” In my view, no belief system should be advantaged or
disadvantaged by government. There will always be some demigod in power who
feel his personal beliefs are superior, and therefore should be enforceable. The
failures of government is not my reason for writing. My concern is more with
Christians who expect the government to rule on their side of a question
because it is “Christian”. The courts in Canada have thus far resisted any acceptance
of Sharia law, but Islamists continue to press for its application to family
issues. A secular government is not supposed to favour any religion. The USA
enshrined separation of Church and State in its Constitution. Regarding
favouring one religion over another, the argument has been made that their
Constitution applies to various doctrines of Christianity, since at the time of
writing other religions would not have been considered. Christians face
resistance when wanting the government to rule against something on religious
grounds. Individual Christians must act on their beliefs; expecting a secular
government to support those beliefs is unwarranted. Christians must hold a
government to its mandate, to not support any religious group. The government
must base decisions on evidence, not on religious grounds. There is no record
of any action by Jesus to gain support from a government, or even the Jewish Council.
Believers are citizens of the kingdom of God. Christians must live their lives according
to the teaching of Jesus. Christians have civil rights which they need to exercise.
Governments must not meddle in religion. The Charter does not allow acceptance
of Sharia law. The government must avoid violating the Charter of Rights by
showing favouritism to Islam. So far the courts have said the Canadian
Constitution covers concerns of Sharia law, and there is no reason to accept
it. Christians should not look to, or expect, government to favour them above
other religions. The concept of Christendom was a curse. It came from a time
when Popes had more authority than kings. It primarily represented a religious
body that was as much political as it was ecclesiastical. One of the main
points of Christendom was its opposition to pagan religions, namely, Islam. It
was a physical response to a physical threat of Islam.
Paul wrote that believers should pray for peace. History
suggests that, early Christianity expanded during persecution. I believe that Christianity
suffered its greatest defeat under Constantine. First he proclaimed the Edict
of Milan circa 313 CE. The Edict legalized Christianity and allowed for freedom of worship throughout the Roman
Empire. Later he convened the
Ecumenical Council of Nicaea to ensure Church unity -325 CE. Constantine
proclaimed the teaching of Arius false, and that it could further fragment the
Empire. Arius distinguished God the Father (unbegotten), who is the only true
God from Son of God (only-begotten), who is Lord/Master. That caused a schism
between Trinitarians and non-Trinitarians. Also at the Council of Nicaea,
Constantine endorsed the church authorities replacing the biblical Passover
with Easter, a popular holiday rooted in ancient springtime fertility
celebrations. Constantine kept his attachment to the sun god. The Roman Church adopted
aspects of the sun-cult [Mithraism]. They held services on Sunday, they knelt
towards the East and moved their nativity-feast to December 25, the birthday of
the sun at the winter solstice. As well the bishops of the Roman Church were
given the responsibility of electing bishops in all other congregations. Constantine
envisioned a universal body of Christians –the Catholic Church. There is some
debate as to which institution benefitted most from the alliance of the Empire
and Christianity. In my mind it was the Empire. It was the founding of
institutional Christianity, and the insertion of a hierarchical system between the
individual and his/her God. It authorized the Roman Church’s persecution of
Christians who wouldn’t accept its authority or doctrine. And sadly set the
standard for Churches that would come later in history. Under Constantine Christian
basilicas were built for worship. Constantine imposed his plan on an all too
willing group of bishops, heralding the end to the fluid nature of
Christianity. From that time to this, Constantine’s order of Christian practice
has been accepted without question.
The teaching of Jesus is timeless. The rites and injunctions
of the New Testament Scriptures, were to be observed by those to whom they were
given. It is wrong to think that Judaism, or the adherence to the Law, stopped
at the death of Jesus, or even on Pentecost. Early in his teaching, Jesus said
that he hadn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He went on to say
that until heaven and earth passed away, not one letter, not one stroke, would
pass from the law until all was accomplished.[20]
The law was in force up to the destruction of the temple. Running parallel to
the covenant of law, was the proclamation of grace. The covenant given to
Israel, and the covenant given to all people were concurrent systems up to the
temple and Jerusalem destruction. Peter spoke to Jews in the temple court,
accusing them of rejecting Jesus and condemning him to death. He told them to
repent, and turn to God for forgiveness. Referencing prophetic promises, Peter
told the people, that times
of refreshing would
come from the Lord. “…and that he may send the Messiah
appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of
universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.”[21] Peter continued exhorting them, saying
that they were the descendants
of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to their ancestors.[22] He
said, that all the prophets spoke of those days. He told them that they were
the recipients of grace. Peter spoke about things the Jews knew, and events
they expected. Most Jews at that time thought in terms of a material restoration
of Israel. A few people however, held a spiritual view of God’s promises. Simeon, in a revelation was told he wouldn’t die until he’d
seen the Messiah. He anticipated the consolation of Israel.
He took the baby Jesus into his arms and praised God. He saw in Jesus
the salvation of Israel. Also in the temple area there was a prophetess, Anna, who began to praise God and to speak about the
child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.[23]
And there was Joseph
of Arimathea a member of the council “…who was also himself
waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.”[24]
In the west, most children sitting in Sunday school
memorizing the statement, “Blessed are those who have been
persecuted,” would never have imagined that persecution might
actually occur. From the security of our homes we look at reports of people in
China who are persecuted for being Christian. But, China is Far away. The
primary audience of teaching of Jesus was those to whom he was speaking –the people
at that time. The teaching of Jesus was very specific to the Jews. He
referenced the Law of Moses, and current events. He mentions the Jewish council.
He gave instructions related to their law. He spoke about religious practices
of the Jews. That being said, the principles taught by Jesus apply to all people
in every age. Christians living in the western world will not be persecuted to
the same extent as people in China or those in other parts of the world. Even
so, we need to keep in mind that Jesus never suggested that discipleship would
ever be easy. Paul urged Christians to pray for kings, and all who in high
positions, so that they would be able to live quiet and peaceable lives in
godliness and dignity.[25]
His injunction would apply to Jewish leaders and Roman governors. The Emperor
around that time would have been Nero. If the government’s disdain for
Christianity makes Christians uncomfortable, we can exercise our votes to
change what we can. But really, other than voting, Christians must remember
that Jesus warned his disciples, “If the world hates you, be aware
that it hated me before it hated you.”[26]
[1]
Mat 5:10-12
[2]
Mat 10:34
[3]
Mat 10:35, 36
[4]
Joh 19:38
[5]
Jon 7:13
[6]
Mar 10:28-30
[7]
Luke 6:38
[8] Mat 10:25-26
[9]
Luke 19:7
[10]
Luke 19:9, 10
[11]
Mat 6:19-24
[12]
Pro 30:7-9
[13]
Mar 8:34
[14]
Jer 12:1
[15]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
[16]
Mat 5:44
[17]
Php 2:4-8
[18]
Heb 11:35-39
[19]
Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen, Updated:
June 18, 2014
[20]
Mat 5:17-19
[21]
Act 3:19-21
[22]
Act 3:25
[23]
Luke 2:25-38
[24]
Mar 15:43
[25]
1Ti 2:1, 2
[26]
Joh 15:18
