When Jesus Manned Up

Lake Wendouree, Ballarat at evening.

There is something beautiful in the picture of God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening painted in Genesis 3. After all it is something many of us enjoy. The tranquility of that moment, surrounded by nature’s beauty can be quite therapeutic. It can be calming uplifting while at the same time giving my spirit a much needed lift. How different is that garden from the world around me, full of turmoil, anger, hatred, sorrow and ugliness.

On that evening God came looking, calling to Adam ‘Where are you?’ Didn’t God know? Isn’t He the all-seeing One? If God knew what Adam and Eve had done and knew where they were why the pretense?

As our children grow we slowly allow them greater freedom, giving them the opportunity to understand that their decisions, good or bad, come with consequences. If we don’t we are setting them up to fail as adults for our community expects adults to be responsible for what they do, or what they should do but don’t.

Adam and Eve failed on this point. In response to God Adam said ‘I hid because I was naked and afraid.’ It so reminds me of my own childhood. ‘Kenneth, come here.’ One day I heard the dreaded call and I bolted. When hunger finally got the better of me I tried to sneak home only to feel the switch from the peach tree on the back of my legs before I saw Mum.

Yes, God came to confront. Was it because He is vindictive, just waiting for us to step out of line? No. When confronted with the fact of their wrong-doing, of eating the forbidden fruit, they attempted to excuse their own action by passing blame. Said Adam, ‘You gave me the woman and she gave me the fruit’. Which interpreted means ‘If you had not given me Eve then I would not be in this pickle. It’s your fault.’

And Eve? ‘Blame the snake. He deceived me.’

There is always the ‘what might have been’. They could have said ‘God, we blew it. We understood what you said and we chose to disobey’. Does our idea of a perfect world mean we will never fail? Or is it a place where we are free to learn by trial and error, accepting responsibility for our failings and seeking to learn from them?

God could have turned a blind eye, pretending it didn’t happen. Can you imagine a society where no one was held accountable for what they did? Just look at the world around us and you will see that society.

Perhaps Genesis three is best understood in that light. God treated Adam and Eve as adults. He knew it was important that they, and us, learn the law of consequences no matter how much pain it may have caused Him and us.

But what of God’s part in this. Could He not foresee that humanity would fail? Did He not create the Serpent, the tempter? What of the Serpent itself? Was it created to tempt, or was it created with free will, the freedom to chose to obey or rebel and in doing so lead others into rebellion?

Our society expects us as citizens to give thought to what we do or fail to do. That means we should have an insight into the potential consequences of the choices we make. There are many lawyers making a living out of proving that the negligence of one party has resulted in injury or loss to their clients.

Should we expect any less of this all knowing God who is able to see the end from the beginning? If He could not foresee the potential consequences of His act of creating He is hardly the God He claims to be. He cannot claim to be just and fair if He holds us accountable for our actions but applies a different standard to Himself. Consider this.

Through Jesus God created everything (Col. 1:16). He was chosen before the Earth was made to rescue us from the mess resulting from our poor choices (1 Peter 1:20). So Jesus came and lived the perfect life of obedience but the Church of the day didn’t want Him. So they crucified Him.

God was not caught napping. He had a plan to respond to the possibility that free will could lead to a disaster. In contrast to Adam and Eve who tried to pass the buck, Jesus manned up and took responsibility for His part. He stepped into the Creation as a helpless baby. He grew to maturity in perfect harmony with the will of God, demonstrating faithfulness was possible.

Read the Gospels. He knew shame as the bastard child of Mary. He was rejected by the Jewish leaders, betrayed by one of his closest followers, and deserted by all in His hour of need. Falsely accused, he was flogged, had a crown of thorns thrust on His head and forced to carry the instrument of His crucifixion to the place of execution. There He hung naked, exposed to the world, an innocent man dying the death of the vilest of criminals.Just before He died He cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mat. 27:46)

Why would Jesus put Himself through all this?

The answer is found in three words: confession, repentance and forgiveness. Confession is the ‘manning up’ bit, accepting responsibility for what we have done. Repentance shows we are not simply going through the motions. Rather, it shows we properly recognise our failures and aim not to repeat them. And forgiveness?

Let me suggest three things. First, we accept the forgiveness of God. We believe Him when He says our past is behind us, that He is fully committed to helping us become the people we meant to be. If we are to accept that we must learn to forgive ourselves. Like Jesus we must recognise our past is behind us and live for the future. Once we accept our own forgiveness, we can accept that we are no better or worse than anyone else. As God has forgiven us, so we are to forgive others.

Can you imagine a community that lives this out? What I said in the previous paragraph is not a one of. In this life - and might I suggest the life to come - we will be continually failing, continually learning, continually growing. So the cycle will be continually repeated. But as the cycle repeats, community bonds will grow and our love for one another increase.

That is the community Jesus invites us to enter - a community that understands communal cohesion revolves around responsibility and accountability.

Quotes from the New Living Translation.

Under Orders - a Soldier's Faith

I was 16 when I joined the Royal Australian Air Force, or RAAF. One medal in particular gives me great satisfaction, the Defence Force Service Medal with clasp. One qualified for the DFSM after 15 years service with the clasp recognising an additional 5 years, or 20 years service. Probably less than 25% of those enlisting in the Australian Defence Force achieve the 20 year milestone. Yes, I am proud of my service.

Back in the days of Jesus Roman soldiers typically did 20 years service. There were some differences though. Officially they were meant to remain single although their commanders normally looked the other way when they formed relationships with local women, and these relationships tended to be recognised as marriages when their service ceased. It was also normal for them to remain in a particular place rather than experiencing the regular posting cycle I experienced.

It may come as a surprise but in the New Testament soldiers are generally seen in a positive light. Maybe it is only those of us who have had military experience who can begin to appreciate fully what the Bible is saying with its references to soldiers.

An example is found in Luke chapter 7. The much valued slave of a Roman Centurion is at death’s door. He is highly regarded by the Jewish leaders and at his request they seek Jesus and ask Him to come and heal the servant. The story continues in verse 6:

So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

It seems that as he waited he had time to think and as he did so reflected on his experience as a soldier and what he knew of Jesus. In Jesus he saw someone who had great authority, the type of authority he could well relate to.

Doubtless the Roman Army of the first Century operated differently to that of modern military forces. That aside there are no doubt close parallels. Members of the Australian military forces are required to obey the laws of the land but they are also bound by Military Law. Unlike their civilian contemporaries they cannot strike, withdraw labour, resign at will or disobey a lawful command regardless of the threat to their safety. A command is a command is a command. It must be obeyed and, if circumstances so dictate, without question.

It is this that the Centurion saw in Jesus, one who had the authority to command with the expectation of instant compliance. Not however over subordinate soldiers but over nature and those forces, however understood back then, that caused illness and death. He saw in Jesus one who had authority over sickness and health, life and death.

So his friends went and conveyed his message to Jesus. ‘Just say the word … and my servant will be healed.’ And the Scripture says in verse 9: ‘When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’

The Centurion was a Roman soldier, not a Jew. It was generally not the done thing for a good Jew to enter the home of a Gentile, although an exemption could be made if there was certainty the home was ceremonially clean, which in effect meant free of idols. Maybe this was something the Centurion considered before he sent the instruction for Jesus not to come.

The Jews came seeking an exemption, extolling the virtues of this Roman who had been so generous to them. We read in verses 4 and 5: ‘So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

I am certain Jesus did not head for the Centurion’s home because of his ‘worthiness’. Throughout His ministry He demonstrated compassion and acceptance to society’s outcasts, the unworthy. Jesus was motivated by compassion.

Jesus makes no comment on the Centurion’s deservedness and expresses no surprise that a Roman could be so generous to the Jews. Rather Jesus extols the man’s great faith - faith that exceeds anything He has seen in the Jewish community, among the good Church people. The whole point of His mission was to bring people to the point in their lives where they would put their faith in God. And in this man He found someone with the type of faith He was looking for. Someone who was obviously attracted to the Church, but not part of it.

Is there a lesson in that for those of us who are members of the Church of the 21st Century?

Bible quoted: New Living Translation

Acknowledgement: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible