Jesus declared Himself "the Truth" (John 14:6). He only spoke truth. He didn't lie ... because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). So why did we get so many lies from Him?
Jesus said, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" (John 10:9). Really? Where is the handle, the hinges? Jesus told the woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14). Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Really? We all still hunger and thirst. Jesus walked out of the desert where He was tempted and walked into the synagogue and read Isaiah 61:1-2 (Luke 4:18-19), announcing the gospel to the poor, the release of the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, the freedom for the oppressed. He declared, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). But ... Jesus lived and died and, with some exception, the poor were still there (Matt 26:11), the captives were still captive, the blind were still blind, and the oppressed remained oppressed. It was fulfilled?
Just a smattering of examples, but clearly they could not be taken at bare face value. Clearly it's not as simple as that. He called Himself "the good shepherd" (John 10:11) but never appears to have herded any sheep. Because, as I'm sure you understand, He wasn't being blatantly literal. He was being metaphorical. If we are to properly understand Jesus, we need to hear carefully. So when He claimed to be "the door," we understand Him to say He is "the access point" to spiritual salvation. When we hear Him talk about His "water" or being "the bread of life," we understand Him to be speaking of satisfying spiritual thirst and hunger ... the kind that is blessed (Matt 5:6). And when He speaks of "the gospel" that is good news to everyone, it isn't about fixing poverty or injustice; it's about spiritual poverty and blindness, captivity, oppression ... and, as He declared on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30) As Jesus claimed, "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). So ... Jesus didn't lie. We just need to properly understand Him.
Dan, without posting your question, I will point out that I answered it in the post. He "preached the gospel to the poor" and we still have the poor. He proclaimed "the release of the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, the freedom for the oppressed. He declared, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:21). But ... Jesus lived and died and, with some exception, the poor were still there (Matt 26:11), the captives were still captive, the blind were still blind, and the oppressed remained oppressed." If you say He meant it literally (as you do), He lied. It still is not fulfilled in that sense. Or ... He meant it spiritually. You complain that the gospel that Paul gives (which he calls "the gospel of Christ") isn't "good news" for everybody, but your version of a "social gospel" isn't either since all those categories of people are still suffering and it's not good news to anyone who isn't suffering. Or ... the gospel isn't merely the physical reality of suffering, but an actual remedy for spiritual suffering available to all.
ReplyDelete“Let God be true and every man a liar.” (Rom. 3:4) To the “Dan Trabues” of the world I say, "Either believe in God and His Word or don’t believe in God and His Word. Stop the pretense of doing the former while unequivocally proving the latter to everyone around you."
DeleteUpon my very first reading through the Gospels as a new Christian, I would have been prompted to stop and ask myself, “What does Jesus mean here? There are still poor, oppressed, hungry, thirsty, and blind people.” Very easily and quickly a reasonable person can see these are spiritual metaphors addressing the true plight of us humans trapped in a sin-cursed existence. Nor only did the Fall bring physical death but--much worse--spiritual death; the former is bad enough but the latter is devastating and will continue for eternity. Both kinds of death are appropriate punishment for man’s sin against his Creator, but the everlasting spiritual separation from God is too horrible to contemplate. Thus Jesus came for the ultimate purpose and fulfilled our greatest need--eternal salvation and rescue. What truly Good News--for everyone who receives the Truth from the lips of the Savior!
ReplyDeleteWhich is why some people struggle with those aspects of Jesus' ministry, and elevate the social gospel beyond it's appropriate position.
DeleteThis ties into a conversation at my blog as well. I've posted much from Mark's Gospel, and the text includes Jesus miraculously healing many people and delivering people from demon possession. The argument has been made that Jesus was unaware that those who are identified as "demon possessed" were really simply "mentally ill". So that we must assume that Jesus and the author or Mark intentionally misled those who witnessed Jesus' actions and those who read Mark's Gospel. This has come up elsewhere as well. By what standard would Jesus (The Truth) do anything less than tell His followers The Truth. Why would He lie by omission and simply go along with the false narrative that those possessed by demons are only "mentally ill"? Or why would He actively lie and lead people to believe that "mental illness" was really demon possession? If Jesus literally embodied/was The Truth, how is it possible that He would communicate less than The Truth.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, the first three chapters of Mark (the first Gospel written, and used as a source) tell a completely different story that the snippet that Dan builds his entire "theology" on and uses to define his gospel.