THE BIG INTERSECTION

What with all the politics flying around recently the inevitable question of how Christians should vote always comes up. The debate will usually end up over whose preferred nominee is more Christian.

Firstly, try not to care too much. Do we really want to see a Christian in charge, or Christ in charge? Certainly we are without excuse when it comes to being informed about politics and who's policies fit our Christian mould. We have the internet, so we can turn off the TV, stop listening to the news, ABC, SBS, MSNBC, David Letterman and Rove live and instead...get properly informed. But even then, Christians can, will, and should disagree at times, or choose to remain blissfully ignorant of the details (I am quite envious of such people!).

However, and this one is non-negotiable, we must pray for whoever is elected and remember that they are not there without the permission of YHWH (although, that isn't to be taken as an endorsement!).

There have been reams of stuff written on the intersection of faith and politics, because the two inevitably collide somewhere. So, is Jesus a democrat or republican? Is he socialist or capitalist? Left or right?

Hopefully neither. Probably the most used quote on this topic is Matt 25:31-46, the famous "sheep and goats" judgement. It can be as difficult to decipher as the equally famous "Olivet discourse" in the previous chapter (so, are you pre-trib, post-trib, pan-trib, a-millenial, pre-millenial, post-millenial with a touch of part-preterism?) Okay, we'll leave that alone for now.

...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I [was] naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' (Matt 25: 35-36)

and

And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did [it] to Me.' (v 40)

and I can't resist this one;

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (v41) There you have it. Verse 41 confirms that those on The Left are going to hell. Study over.

Okay, seriously now... these verses seem fairly clear cut. We must care for the poor and overlooked. The Jesus who admonishes us to care for the poor, the downtrodden, and "the least" is certainly popular both within and without the church. The question is, do those who love the social-justice Jesus do so because it's popular, or because it's scriptural? YHWH sees the intent of the heart.

There are other instructions and actions of Yeshua which support this calling to care for the poor. The most noteable is Luke 18:18-22, where He says to the ruler So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."(v22)

and

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! (v24).

Again, it looks quite simple. If you've got money and don't give it to the poor, you won't be saved.

Well, not quite. Yeshua first challenged him to answer to some commandments, namely: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. He seemed to pass those ones, but Yeshua knew exactly what the young guy's problem was; he was addicted to wealth. So He saved "Love the Lord thy God" and re-worded it by calling on him to love God more than wealth. Not all of us have that problem. Most, but not all.

But even more challenging that that, is this, the very same Yeshua, in Luke 7:38, Matt 26:7, Mark 14:7 and John 12:3-8- I use John 's account as it's the most telling;

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

Apparently 300 denarii was around 1 years' salary to the lower classes. Would you buy Yeshua our Messiah a gift worth over $50,000? Okay, don't answer that. But this does strike a contrast to the "purely social-justice gospel". In the same way, Yeshua's "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matt 5:9) seems to stand well apart from "Do not think I have come to bring peace, I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matt 10:34)



All of these statements must be viewed as part of a whole. I like to call it a "hierarchy of order", although I'm sure there is already a seminary-based term for it (probably ending in the suffix "ology"). It's almost as if YHWH is telling us "This is important, but so is this. They may sound contradictory but between you and Me we will work out how to balance them in your life".

If we didn't view it that way, then we have no choice but to give up to the professional atheist elitists like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and other quasi-intellectuals who assure us that YHWH's word is full of contradictions. No. There are no contradictions. There are no abrogations (as with Islam). There is a hierarchy. There is Law, and there is a heart of The Law.

There are those who cite the 6th commandment Thou shalt not kill to oppose military service for Christians. But the wording is Thou shalt not murder (Ex 20:13). This is the same God who endorsed capital punishment and the extermination of many pagan tribes of Canaa, yet who despises the shedding of innocent blood (Deu 19:9-13, Jer 22:3 et al). We'd be fodder for the atheist industry unless we understand the whole picture. It just takes a bit of study and a lot of prayer.

Let's go back to John 12:3-8. The poor you will always have with you. This was not giving us permission to keep poor people poor. Much like "I have come not to bring peace but a sword" was not a licence to go out and kill people who don't accept Jesus. It was a statement of fact and prophetic reality, seen by the all-seeing creator of time and space, who knows the end from the beginning (Isa 46:10). Mark's gospel elaborates on Yeshua's words:

For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. (Mark 14:7) Indeed.

But you have to love John's Gospel. He wrote long after the fact, after having time to reflect on his memories. From the opening line of his gospel you can see he was a mystic, finding Messiah in every aspect of YHWH's first testament and finding meaning in so many seemingly trivial aspects of the Saviour's life, seeing connections between every detail. That's why I like to do the same.

So, note that in John's account, unlike the other gospel writers, he tells us who complained about the extravagance of the woman anointing Yeshua's feet: Judas.

Judas was the Zealot. He was a Judean, who considered himself more sophisticated than those Galilean hillbillies. He was one of many who looked to Messiah to overthrow the Roman occupation after turning everyone back to YHWH through signs and wonders. Foremost in his mind was the reality of the injustice of their Roman rulers over his kinsfolk. You might say he was heavily into social justice.

And Yochanan (John) was considerate enough to tell us that This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; See the problem here? It looks like Judas was complaining about the very area in which he had weakness.

You see, if it was up to us, we'd pick whatever "social cause" fits our pre-existent prejudices and hide behind Jesus to justify it. That's why He gave us Torah. Not so that we can get on a power trip and stone the first person we know has commited adultery, but to learn YHWH's heart for a situation and understand how it directs us to conduct our lives.

Besides, the "social justice Jesus" does not always render a solution for all of life's challenges or callings. If we limit "the least of these" to simply the materially poor, then we limit Yeshua to a saviour who only cares about the materially poor. I don't think Yeshua was in the least bit interested in material wealth. The only kind of poverty He was concerned with was spiritual poverty. The only kind of oppression He cared about was those oppressed by sin. Which is....all of us, regardless of class or circumstance.



I can't resist quoting the "What would Jesus Do?" cult here. Not many people actually know the answer to that question in their respective situations. I don't either, but I can give you a clue: Jesus was a Torah Observant Jew. If you want to know WWJD, start by learning the Torah.




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