Concerning the Crucifixion of Christ
by
Philip du Nard
In Luke 9:26, the Lord Jesus Christ is quoted as saying the following, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father's, and of the holy angels."
I will not expound at length on the deity of Christ. Suffice it to say, Christians believe that, according to the Scriptures, Christ is " the Word made flesh" and is one with the Father. Therefore, we do not consider the words of Christ to be limited to the Sermon on the Mount, for example, but consider the entire Bible to be His words. To be ashamed of Genesis or Revelation and any light and truth contained therein is to incur the same shame cited above before God and His angels as to be ashamed of the book of Matthew. Many Christians will shout "Amen" to this but prefer that the more controversial portions of Scripture be kept under wraps.
If someone were to hold up a sign at a ballgame referencing the familiar John 3:16 or if it were to be quoted on a sign in front of a church, most likely it would be met with yawns and indifference. But when one church paraphrased on its sign I Thessalonians 2:15 in connection with the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's film about the crucifixion of Christ, it created a bit of a stir. One woman in the community was so offended, she took it upon herself to remove a portion of the message, considering it her moral obligation and right to so so. Other Christians objected to the message as well. I suspect if the passage had been quoted fully and not merely paraphrased, it would have been met with a similar response.
The sign read, "Jews killed the Lord Jesus Christ." The pastor of the church later claimed that, listening to the controversy started by the Gibson film over who killed Christ, his motive in putting up this sign was to get people to examine "the fine print" of the Scriptures and that he was citing the passage in I Thessalonians.
Whether or not this pastor's actions can be considered in the same vein as Martin Luther pounding 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, should any Christian find fault with the manner in which the apostle Paul treated the matter in his epistle to the Thessalonians?
I Thessalonians 2:14-16 reads, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they [have] of the Jews:
Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."
Let's understand that the apostle Paul once referred to himself as the "chief of sinners" and he certainly considered Christ's preordained death to have been to atone for his sins as well those of the whole world but he didn't water all this down by saying we all put Christ on the cross. He just flat out said the Jews did it and the remainder of what he said was not too flattering either and went a bit further than the sign in front of the church did.
Whether or not you, the reader, believe these words to be inspired by the Holy Spirit as Christians do, Paul was not trying to incite violence against Jews. He had more important things to tend to. He was stating the facts as he saw them and he and the Gospel writers were a bit closer to the situation than we. No one denies the Romans physically drove in the nails as the Gospel accounts reveal but to deny Jewish intrigue as the principal, sine qua non ingredient to the crucifixion of Christ is to deny Scripture.
The Lord warned against rooting up the tares so He would not have countenanced violence against Jews. But Jewish groups have called the teaching under discussion a "canard" that is wrong and should not be considered theology. They have, in effect, asked that the Gospel accounts and Paul's thoughts on the matter be disregarded. Sadly, and foolishly I might add, some professed Christians agree.
When matters of controversy arise, it is time to examine ourselves as we are exhorted to do as to whether or not we are in the faith.
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Philip du Nard
In Luke 9:26, the Lord Jesus Christ is quoted as saying the following, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father's, and of the holy angels."
I will not expound at length on the deity of Christ. Suffice it to say, Christians believe that, according to the Scriptures, Christ is " the Word made flesh" and is one with the Father. Therefore, we do not consider the words of Christ to be limited to the Sermon on the Mount, for example, but consider the entire Bible to be His words. To be ashamed of Genesis or Revelation and any light and truth contained therein is to incur the same shame cited above before God and His angels as to be ashamed of the book of Matthew. Many Christians will shout "Amen" to this but prefer that the more controversial portions of Scripture be kept under wraps.
If someone were to hold up a sign at a ballgame referencing the familiar John 3:16 or if it were to be quoted on a sign in front of a church, most likely it would be met with yawns and indifference. But when one church paraphrased on its sign I Thessalonians 2:15 in connection with the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's film about the crucifixion of Christ, it created a bit of a stir. One woman in the community was so offended, she took it upon herself to remove a portion of the message, considering it her moral obligation and right to so so. Other Christians objected to the message as well. I suspect if the passage had been quoted fully and not merely paraphrased, it would have been met with a similar response.
The sign read, "Jews killed the Lord Jesus Christ." The pastor of the church later claimed that, listening to the controversy started by the Gibson film over who killed Christ, his motive in putting up this sign was to get people to examine "the fine print" of the Scriptures and that he was citing the passage in I Thessalonians.
Whether or not this pastor's actions can be considered in the same vein as Martin Luther pounding 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, should any Christian find fault with the manner in which the apostle Paul treated the matter in his epistle to the Thessalonians?
I Thessalonians 2:14-16 reads, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they [have] of the Jews:
Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."
Let's understand that the apostle Paul once referred to himself as the "chief of sinners" and he certainly considered Christ's preordained death to have been to atone for his sins as well those of the whole world but he didn't water all this down by saying we all put Christ on the cross. He just flat out said the Jews did it and the remainder of what he said was not too flattering either and went a bit further than the sign in front of the church did.
Whether or not you, the reader, believe these words to be inspired by the Holy Spirit as Christians do, Paul was not trying to incite violence against Jews. He had more important things to tend to. He was stating the facts as he saw them and he and the Gospel writers were a bit closer to the situation than we. No one denies the Romans physically drove in the nails as the Gospel accounts reveal but to deny Jewish intrigue as the principal, sine qua non ingredient to the crucifixion of Christ is to deny Scripture.
The Lord warned against rooting up the tares so He would not have countenanced violence against Jews. But Jewish groups have called the teaching under discussion a "canard" that is wrong and should not be considered theology. They have, in effect, asked that the Gospel accounts and Paul's thoughts on the matter be disregarded. Sadly, and foolishly I might add, some professed Christians agree.
When matters of controversy arise, it is time to examine ourselves as we are exhorted to do as to whether or not we are in the faith.
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