An Unexpected Rebellion

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place. (John 18:36)

Some two-thousand years ago, the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua, as He would have been called in His native Hebrew tongue) walked the earth. The writings we have about His life tell how He was a great Teacher, a Man of great wisdom, and could do the impossible just by speaking it. He drew large crowds wherever He went, received immense praise, built a loyal following of disciples, and was labeled the Messiah (Savior) of the Jewish (Hebrew, Israeli) people. Therefore, many expected Jesus to lead a rebellion against Rome, for Israel was subject to the Roman Empire and their oppressive ways. But what they did not see coming was the actual rebellion which Jesus led against a greater evil - sin and death.

Unlike a typical rebellion which involves two-way violence, the rebellion led by Christ did not require fighting. Rather, it required Him to die. When He was betrayed, captured, and delivered up to be executed, He did not fight back. Jesus knew what He had to do.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

Jesus knew the scriptures and He knew His Father's will. The scriptures tell us that the punishment for sin is death (Romans 5:8). Therefore, God, who is fully just and righteous, must issue an equitable punishment for sin. But here is God's dilemma: He loves us too much to see us be the recipient of such punishment. Therefore, God would first allow animals to be offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. Their blood would be spilled instead of ours (this was an early display of God's mercy on mankind). In Exodus 24 we read how God confirms a blood covenant between Himself and the Hebrew people. But realistically, the blood of animals could in no way please God (Hebrews 10:4). Think of it like putting a band aid on a wound that won't stop bleeding. The blood sacrifices the Hebrew people would make were merely a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that God had planned to completely cleanse us of our sin: His own Son.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)

God prepared Jesus as that final sacrifice, the stitches that would bind up sin forever. Jesus knew from the beginning that this was His Father's will. God did not send His Son into the world to fight in hand-to-hand combat against the forces of evil. Not yet, at least. Rather, He first came to fight evil with good. In His famous "sermon on the mount," Jesus teaches that we must forgive those who wrong us, love our enemies, and turn the other cheek when we are struck (Matthew 5-7). His definition of rebel would not be a typical one, as you can see.

Reflection

When I think about these truths, I find myself convicted. It's in my sinful nature and yours to fight back against evil and want to change the physical world we live in. We seek justice, peace, and even vengeance at times. We seek to pass laws and focus so much energy on trying to stamp out evil. But at the end of the day, these efforts will fall short of what God actually has planned for us. Yes, God hates evil and Jesus will return to crush evil and establish His Kingdom (that is the only way we will ever experience a perfect, peaceful society). But right now, the world changers that God calls us to be is not political or social. If Jesus came to overthrow Rome, He would have also had to destroy us too (remember, we are all sinners). So instead, Jesus came to preach repentance and forgiveness for the sins of all people, the good and the bad. This Gospel is what we should preach and it should be the only care we have as His disciples. His rebellion was against sin and not the powers of the world. It's our job to keep that rebellion going. So therefore, go and preach to the world that the blood of Jesus, shed on the Cross, makes atonement for all sins - because God loves each of us and His will is that nobody should perish, but that all should be saved.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)