Unto Us A Revolutionary Savior is Born

At this time of year, maybe particularly this year, I get excited about Jesus’s birth and what it meant for the world then and now. There are so many passages in the Bible that burn in my heart, reminding me that the day is coming when all is made right.

Isaiah 9:7 KJV - Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

But I also remember the people who were waiting so long for a savior at the time of Jesus’ birth, and then were confused and disappointed that he was slow to anger, offering grace to their oppressors in equal measure to the grace he offered the Jews. He did not come to overthrow the government that was crushing them. At least not at that time, or this time.

This is the mystery of Christmas – that Jesus came to save the wicked as much as he came to save the those being beaten and downtrodden without a space to gasp between injustices. I sit in this remembrance, weighing my hunger to see his justice flow like a mighty river, washing away the oppressors. Then realizing that I would be swept away in that same flood if His justice was complete, because I have oppressed and harmed and sinned, myself.

Amos 5:18 Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light.

So we continue to wait and to pray for him to return quickly and heal this land, but also work to reach our oppressors with the message of grace and hope, while we also cry out for justice and work for justice and demand justice.

2 Thessilonians 2:8-10 NIV - And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  

Amos 5 - 7There are those who turn justice into bitterness    and cast righteousness to the ground...10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court    and detest the one who tells the truth...12-13 For I know how many are your offenses  and how great your sins.There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes    and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil. 

Daniel 2 - 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

With these promises tumbling around inside me, and my mind on this God who took on flesh as a baby to save us from all manner of sins and oppression,  I've been Googling phrase after phrase from the Bible, trying to have a better understanding of how Jesus' word and example fit in with my desire to see social change in my country, right now. 

Without a doubt, the hardships faced by the Jews under Herod, the King of Judea (supported by the Romans) during the time of Jesus were more terrible than nearly anything in modern memory. I can only imagine the blow it must have been to someone such as myself, had I been alive at the time, that Jesus was not coming to overthrow Herod or the Romans. But neither do I believe that Jesus thought political issues or issues of social justice unimportant. Mainly, he contextualizes the troubles of the Now in the broader light of the Eternal. In the sense of the Eternal, both the oppressed and the oppressors are in need of the grace of God. Jesus doesn't ignore the fact that people are suffering tremendously in the Now, but stresses that his work at this time (the time of his life on Earth and all time since) is the extension of grace, and that on some terrible day in the future, he will make sure that those who won't turn away from oppressing others will be dealt with.  

One thing that struck me as I read various bits and pieces about Jesus and his words about authority and governments is that if he had overthrown Rome as I would have liked, it would have been all over right then and there and his message of justice may not have had quite the staying power that it does otherwise. He would have been remembered like we remember MLK - incredible in his time, but gone now.

You've probably seen through my thinly veiled hints that I'm not cool with President T and his various oppressions. Like I said, I'm not trying to compare him to Herod-levels-of-badness (which is not fully detailed in the Bible) or even equate him with "the lawless one" of 2 Thessalonians. But I do think he is an unjust ruler who does not act in a way that warrants respect. I've been trying to reconcile that with these passages in the Bible about respecting authority. The oft-quoted one is in Romans 13, which pretty plainly says that those in a positions of authority have been placed there by God and that anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and will be punished. This is contextualized by the idea that authority is there to enforce that the people do what is right and punish what is wrong. "For authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you" (Romans 13:3 NLT; also touched on in 1 Peter 2:11). 

Bob Deffinbaugh writes: It should also be said that government’s God-given role also frees the Christian from returning “evil for evil” by retaliating against those who persecute or mistreat him (see Romans 12:14-21). God has not given us the task of administering justice or of paying men back for their wrong-doings. God has given this task to governmental authorities. When we “leave room for the wrath of God” (12:19), we leave room for government to deal with the evil deeds of men against us. Government “bears the sword”79 for such purposes. And if government should fail in this task, God will make things right in that day when He judges with perfect judgment.

But what are we to do today when the authorities assist the wicked and oppress the righteous? When the government does *not* honor us for doing what is right? I suspect that any thoughtful Christian holds his or her political beliefs in part as a byproduct of their faith, and I recognize that people can act on their beliefs and land in very different political stratospheres. There's not much I can say if you agree with Trump's policies, but I believe he cares for no one but himself, and is almost thoughtless in the things he says and does in relationship to others, which is appalling to me. Not only does he not seem to care who he tramples on, he consistently goes out of his way to attack people. I feel overwhelmed with the examples I could cite, but I won't get in to that because if you don't already agree with that, then I probably won't be the one to change your mind. Suffice to say that each new day makes me wish that God was a bit more speedy in wielding justice from on high. 

 

In the very next passage in Romans (following the bit on submission) Paul is talking about how different believers have different ideas on what to eat or not eat or which days are holy or whether all days are equal. His conclusion is that even though people come down on different sides of these issues, both "camps" are doing what they do to honor God. "You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable" (Romans 14:5). I am fully convinced that I should defend the vulnerable, and not be shy about telling our elected leaders where they're failing. (Mind blown: is democracy Biblical? Who is the authority in this case? Short of the sovereignty of God, God is not appointing leaders, we are. I might have just started a cult.) 

There are some examples in the Bible of people who directly defied a ruler or authority who demanded they go against a command of God. It's different than just *not liking* a ruler. In the old Testament (before Jesus and the inconvenient talk about respecting earthly authority), we have Shadrach, Mechach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel who refused the Babylonian king's order to bow down to an idol (Daniel 3). One might recall that they get fed into a furnace for their insubordination. Then in the New Testament there were Peter and John who respectfully disagree with the Sanhedrin who demand that Peter and John stop preaching and healing in the name of Jesus (Acts 4). I noticed that in this passage, the text says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit as he defended his actions before the Sanhedrin. Surrounding both of these stories, those who watch the dissenters are in awe of God and believe. The work of resistors is a weighty one indeed, for the resistor makes a public spectacle of her beliefs. 

Dissent is not forbidden by any means, but the scriptures do seem to make clear that respect for authority means that by dissenting, we accept the consequences of the law. Even unjust laws have consequences. Again, resistance is not for the flippant. If that which we resist is truly against the tasks that Christ has given us, then our punishment for resisting the law becomes persecution. 

Matthew 5:9-12. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and celebrate, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Respect doesn't exclude strong language or political action as far as I can see, but it does clearly exclude revenge. Right before the bit in Romans 3 about submission to authority, there's a call to avoid seeking revenge (and I can't deny that it excites me that there's an accompanying promise that God WILL take revenge) and that by caring for your enemies, "you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads" (also one of my favorites - you get a sense of my personality by now). These assurances are directly proceeded, however, by the admonition to "Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone." 

I have both the authority and the obligation to oppose what is wrong as dictated by God - even/especially if those in authority are perpetuating it. But in doing this, I must respect every person, leader or not, because of their humanity and the fact that they are made in the image of God. I am at liberty to disobey authority at times, but there may be consequences from the law. I can be full of anger and sadness at injustice and the leaders who have twisted their power to oppress others, and I can keep my hope in God who can and will hold accountable those who I can not seek revenge on on my own. 

2 Philippians3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others...12-18 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Fellow agitators who sometimes wish Jesus was sending flaming arrows down RIGHT NOW: Jesus has not abandoned us or chosen not to care about the daily issues that plague us, including the political ones. His model of dissent preserves our credibility and reserves the ultimate triumph of full justice for the last, last, last possible moment. I can't help but think that I would indeed feel immediate horror and regret if I were to witness the true wrath of God inflicted on someone else right in front of my face. I would wish they had another chance. I would wish that I had another chance. And I will be thankful, in a small and begrudging way (and also in a desperately relieved way), that Jesus did not come as the Savior that I was expecting him to be.

(Artwork: unknown artists, except the last which is Hopi Madonna and Child by John Guiliani)