Jesus Mission Statement; Isaiah 61:1-4

According to Luke chapter four, Jesus Himself saw this passage as His mission statement:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

(Isa 61:1-4)

There are many facets to this declaration. First, there is a way in which this must be seen spiritually for each person who will put faith in the redemption wrought in Jesus Christ. That is, good news for the poor in spirit, brokenhearted because of sin and its consequences, and the announcement of freedom from Satan's prison.

Still, it is more than that. It is a call for social justice. I think of the inner city and the ministries that serve this population.

Certainly the cities have been ruined by the devastations of many generations, certainly there is ample opportunity for repair. It is sad that the focus of evangelical Christianity has been only spiritual. Again, I am not diminishing the importance of rebirth of each individual but, that should not be pursued at the expense of the natural life.

If one reads the Prophets, Psalms, and Proverbs, it should be glaringly clear that ancient Israel's greatest sin, aside from idolatry, was mistreatment of the poor. Justice was subverted from the poor and the rulers and judges were open to bribery. Financial status, could buy justice. There was no justice in the gates. We must remember that the gate was symbolic of the government. Ancient Israel was ruled and judged by the elders in the gate. The gate was the seat of commerce.

Let us not forget the words of Jesus, I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink, homeless and you took me in, sick and in prison and you visited me. We should begin to take better care of our Lord!

Learning a Theology Lesson from Dr. King

On August 23, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, delivered his epic “I have a dream” speech on the mall in Washington D.C. I would like to offer a quote from this speech that shows the brilliant, if not so subtle, criticism of Christianity at the time. It was a reference that he made in the speech. Here’s the quote:

“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹”

The scripture passage that he used in the above quote is from Amos chapter five. The exact clause is “until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” I would like to include the scripture passage where this quote is taken from, so that I may give it the context, that no doubt Dr. King, wanted it to have.

They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins-- you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: "In all the squares there shall be wailing, and in all the streets they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation, and in all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through your midst," says the LORD. Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

(Amo 5:10-24ESV)

As you read the above passage, it should become clear that Dr. King was showing any and all who would listen and hear, that the white religious establishment in the south, was truly hypocritical, and that if they would in fact read the warnings that God had given Israel through the prophet Amos, they would have been given pause considering their treatment of fellow African American Christians. The gate is symbolic for government and commerce. Amos was telling Israel that their national sin was injustice.

As I look at the current situation here in the richest country in the world, we have not made much progress since the days of Dr. King some forty-four years ago. There is little concern for the poor and disenfranchised. Taxes are still exacted at the expense of the poorest Americans. Most of our charity efforts, allows too much of the finances meant to help with the distribution to the poor, to be consumed by unnecessary administrative costs. All to often in our courts, justice is not available for the poor but can be bought by the wealthy. If God is the same, yesterday, today and forever, and I believe He is, then we as a country, as Christians, should reflect on the fact that God brought judgment to Israel because of the warnings of the prophet Amos.

When will we let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a might stream?

Faith Working Through Love

I thought it might be good to explore what the phrase *faith working through love* means. How does faith work through love?

It begins with God's LOVE/AGAPE. It is summed up in this verse and thought.

Rom 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

The concept that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more shows the Father's unconditional love for His creation. Forget the retort "should we sin so that grace may abound? God forbid" for a minute. The fact is this, to the one who is truly SEEKING the Lord, there is NO LIMIT to the Father's mercy and grace and this translates into AGAPE/love.

Now then, where does faith come in? Well, when one TRULY GRASPS the Father's unconditional love, this causes them to genuinely love the Father and Christ Jesus. In other words, when one apprehends by faith, trust and confidence, this causes a love for God to well up inside them producing Love for God. This love for God begins to constrain the individual to begin to do the works prepared before the foundation of the world. The Spirit has told me that as we busy ourselves with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless and visiting the sick and prisoners, we will be too busy and tired to do so much sinning. :)

Again, using David as an example, David believed in the mercy of the Father and knew that God was a forgiving God. God then testified through the Prophet Samuel, "David is a man after my own heart."

Death Swallowed By Victory

I would like to share a partial preterist reading of First Corinthians chapter 15. To begin with, I am positing that this would be a way of looking at it with respect to national Israel and the Old Covenant. I want to point out that I am leaving the door open for future spiritual fulfillments.

1Co 15:23-26 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (24) Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (25) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

I believe that when he speaks of destroying every rule and authority and power he is speaking of the Jewish system, the Sanhedrin and the temple complex. The temple complex was the center of all rule, authority and power. Now then, within the context of this passage, the last enemy, death, is the ministry of death, the Old Covenant.

Paul is speaking here of the TORAH of sin and death. When the Jews rejected Jesus the Messiah, they in effect rejected the TORAH of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Certainly, in Jesus ministry, his only enemies were the ruling Jews. They are the ones who crucified the Lord of glory. The great symbol of the TORAH of sin and death was the temple.

Further, Peter declared; "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers."

(1Pe 4:7) It was the expectation of all the apostles and disciples of Jesus, the expectation of the rabbis, the expectation of the Qumran community that in fact, the END OF ALL THINGS was at hand.

1Co 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

We find in Colossians, that in the glorified Christ, all of the fullness of the God Head dwells bodily. Jesus was in the "Son capacity" during the incarnation only. In fact, the concept of the trinity is only applicable during the incarnation. Following the reasoning in Col 2:9 and John 17:21, God is in fact the all in all.

1Co 15:35-37 But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" (36) You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. (37) And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.

1Co 15:50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

The two above passages demonstrate that it is a Spiritual existence that we are transformed into. In fact, the kingdom will NOT be operated by those of flesh and blood. It was a spiritual kingdom during the book of Acts prior to the judgment of the Jews and the end of the Old Covenant and it will be a spiritual kingdom after that also.

1Co 15:54-58 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is

written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (55) "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (58) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

How was death swallowed up in victory in 70AD? Well, the TORAH of sin and death, that is the sacrificial system was done away with never to return. The only TORAH left was the TORAH OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE in Christ Jesus. Death was swallowed up in victory. It has no sting.

The strength of sin was the TORAH of sin and death.