Post by Mark on Oct 22, 2009 3:43:36 GMT -8
In Matthew 3:2, John the Baptizer opens his prophetic ministry by exhorting the people of Israel to "repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." It’s not a recommended strategy for making friends and promoting ministry, if considering it from a modern perspective. Go ahead and try it. Stand up on any street corner or in any venue of public speaking and start out by saying, "You idiots have got it all wrong. You must completely change your direction if you hope to see any success at all." Unless you are already known as genuine success and everyone is already following you anyway you shouldn’t expect to see much of a turnout after the first couple of days. And yet, John’s ministry thrived based upon this singular message. Why?
First, the concept of "teshuvah" is completely lost on the modern audience. The need to turn suggests that there is something wrong with the direction that you are going. Not only that, it declares that the right way is different. If we honestly agreed with this assessment already then we wouldn’t need to be told. We would already be looking for an opportunity to turn around.
Popular theology doesn’t acknowledge a right way or a wrong way but the best collective of options. Within Christianity, this is limited only so long as the name "Jesus" is found somewhere in the equation. In Judaism, it simply revolves around "being Jewish" (whatever that means).
Here’s the problem. Throughout Scripture, the central theme, beginning with Genesis 4 and proceeding through Revelation 21 is the idea of repentance: stop doing things your way and turn in the direction of righteous obedience to the will and the Word of God.
So, why did this strategy work for John when t will not work for the Jews and Christians of today? The simple answer is that John’s audience was looking for the biblical Jewish Messiah. The prophets of old that anticipated the coming of Messiah demanded that the people would need to turn from their self-indulgence move in humility toward godliness. This was the message that John presented to them:
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse [any] falsely; and be content with your wages.
(Luk 3:10-14)
The people of Israel took notice because John picked up exactly where Malachi left off:
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
(Mal 3:1-3)
The Christian audience will not hear the message of repentance because the hope of a relationship with God rests upon their identity as belonging to the body of Christ. So long as they feel accepted in assembly on that basis, there is no sense of need for repentance.
The Jewish audience will not hear the message of repentance because the hope of relationship with God rests upon their identity as belonging to the people of Israel. So long as they are accepted (among whatever body they are prone to associate) there is no sense of need for repentance.
So long as we have an identity or an acceptance that doesn’t require us to change, the message of repentance is irrelevant. This is what made John’s audience so receptive. The people of Israel lived as exiles within their own country. The Jewish identity was floundering between equally powerful competing forces. Those who recognized the message of John could see through the hollowness of empty ritualism or the catering to Roman influence. Everything else was failing them. They had no place to turn but to God.
As we read through the historical account of the nation of Israel, we see the same pattern repeat itself. The people are delivered by God. The people grow fat and complacent. God allows Israel’s enemies to persecute them. They cry out to God. He delivers them. As we look at the current state of affairs, I surmise that the circumstances are between the second and third dispensation. Things will likely get a lot worse before we begin to see them getting any better. Yet, there is one antidote to circumvent the impending turmoil that awaits the secularized nation and self-centered church of today. "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
