Does Jesus actively intervene to deliver us from evil? Or does He just empathize with us as evil destroys us? Jesus few hours on the cross are being cited today by many as proof that Jesus is a God who ONLY modeled and embraced weakness. Jesus is sadly portrayed as a deity who just sat there and took evil without lifting a finger of resistance. And therefore, by extension, we are called to do likewise-- to become divine victims who embrace personal suffering while worshipping a non-intervening God who, though He may love us, will never lift an actual finger to deliver us from the evil we encounter here. The practical result here is that we are left with a God who sides with the victims of evil, NOT by delivering them FROM evil, but RATHER by joining them IN their powerless suffering BY evil. And while it is certainly true that Jesus is a priest touched with the infirmities of both evil assailants and crushed victims, does this also mean that He has no intention of EVER working deliverances from evil here? Is this consistent with Jesus ministry He modeled-- as an empathizing observer who wielded NO overcoming power toward evil events, evil conditions and evil entities? During the few hours on the Cross, Jesus certainly did absorb ALL our evil onto Himself without any resistance? But does this mean He NEVER displayed, either pre-Cross or post-Cross, the power of divine deliverance and active resistance to overcome the evil He encountered? Certainly not! Peter described Jesus posture toward intervention as follows: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power : who went about doing good , and healing ALL that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him . Acts 10:38. Some things are stated in the Bible from man’s limited view, while others are described from God’s limitless view. For instance, from man’s limited view, it was the kings of the earth, the Jews and the Gentiles who killed and crucified Jesus (Acts 2:22-23; 3:13-15; 4:26-28). But, from God’s view nobody took Jesus’ life. Rather, He voluntarily laid it down (Jn. 10:18). Do you see? It wasnt Jesus being attacked by evil and then choosing to not respond. Rather, it was Jesus implementing His plan to overcome ALL evil with the delivering power of God. The Cross was His vibrant and valiant form of response. The Cross WAS His intervention to deliver us from all our bondages to sin and Satan. Instead of cherry-picking a few hours out of Jesus life to paint Him as a non-intervening, non-resisting, weakness-embracing God, lets consider His life as a whole. Here is the power-arc of the Gospel: 1) Jesus LIFE during His 33 year human life on earth: -----He lives here as a human, leaving behind certain divine qualities (Kenosis) -----He continually yields to the Holy Spirts leading here as a Son of Man -----He performs miracles galore: healings, exorcisms, resurrections, matter-transmutations (water to wine) and matter-multiplications (bread and fishes), dominion over nature (water-walking, storm-breaking, mob-dodging). -----(Philippians 2:7; John 5:8; 20:26; 8:59; 11:43; Lk. 4:36, 39; Matt. 8:26; 14: 24-27; 26:53; Acts 10:38; Mark 8:13-21). 2) Jesus LIFE during His three days in Hell. -----He descends into Hell. -----He defeats every demonic principality and power, stripping them of all power. -----He leads captivity captive and carries Hells gates to Heaven. -----(Colossians 2:15; Acts 2:22-36; Ephesians 5:8-10). 3) Jesus LIFE resurrected as the Son of God. -----He performed 40 days of COUNTLESS miracles (John 21:25). -----He ascended to the right hand of Father (Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3). -----He gifted the indwelling Spirit of Christ to empower US to perform His same and greater works (John 14:12-14; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 10:19; 24:49). -----He awaits in expectation until we, as the Church, put all enemies manifestly underfoot, the last one being death (Hebrews 10:13; Ephesians 1:22-23). In truth, Jesus did nothing BUT actively resist, boldly intervene, and decisively deliver all those who were oppressed by evil. Jesus did become weak on the Cross, but it was SO THAT we could THEN become strongly enveloped in His delivering energies. Sure, God empathizes with victims, but He also empathizes with their assailants. He wants BOTH sides delivered from the power of evil.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 20:52:12 +0000
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