The Shame of it All

I just finished the book Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Cross by Martin Hengel. It is a little book coming in at merely 90 pages, however those 90pages pack a lot of information and insight.

Hengel's thesis deals with Paul's words to the Corinthian church found in 1 Corinthians 1:18 and 1:21-25:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him,, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. - 1 Corinthians 1:21-25 (NIV)

For Hengel the main question is this: Why is the message of the cross such an offense to the Jew and the Greek? The book is really a historical/cultural study dealing with the background of crucifixion in antiquity. This brings to bear for the reader a deeper appreciation for precisely the means of salvation brought about by God through Christ.

In the summary of the book Hengel provides 10 key results from the historical/cultural background (pp.87-90):

1. Crucifixion as a penalty was remarkably widespread in antiquity.

2. Crucifixion was and remained a political and military punishment

3. The chief reason for its use was its allegedly supreme efficacy as a deterrent; it was, of course, carried out publicly.

4. At the same time, crucifixion satisfied the primitive lust for revenge and the sadistic cruelty of individual rulers and of the masses.

5. By the public display of a naked victim at a prominent place - at a crossroads, in the theatre, on high ground, at the place of his crime - crucifixion also represented his uttermost humiliation, which had a numinous dimension to it.

6. Crucifixion was aggravated further by the fact that quite often its victims were never buried.

7. In Roman times crucifixion was practised above all on dangerous criminals and members of the lowest classes.

8. Relatively few attempts at criticism or even philosophical development of the theme of the boundless suffering of countless victims of crucifixion can be found.

9. In this context, the earliest Christian message of the crucified messiah demonstrated the 'solidarity' of the love of God with the unspeakable suffering of those who were tortured and put to death by human cruelty, as this can be seen from the ancient sources.

10. When Paul talks of the 'folly' of the message of the crucified Jesus, he is therefore not speaking in riddles or using an abstract cipher.

So then, what we have is Jesus, the Son of God, coming in human flesh to ultimately die a cursed death on the cross. It was not only a death that was cursed by the Jew (Deut. 21:22-23), but it was "folly" for the Greco-Roman world because the cross was the widespread means of death for the traitor, common criminal and the slave. This is what Jesus willingly took upon himself for us.

I think this message is timely, being that is the Advent season and all. When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus what we see are bookends of shame. Not only was his "exit" (the cross) shameful in the eyes of the world, but also his entrance was shameful. God took on human flesh and was born of a woman in a filthy stinking stable surrounded by animals and shepherds. Shepherds were of low ranking class during that time. When we compare this to other ancient writings, just as Hengel points out in his book regarding crucifixion, this too is beyond compare. So then, the life of the Creator and Savior of the world (cf. Col. 1:15-20) has bookends of shame, but this is what he did for us.

There is application here for us today. We are called to imitate Christ in life, word and deed. If this is the attitude of our Savior how much more should it be the attitude of those who call upon his name? Life is not about titles, status or any such related things. Our life should be one that is focused upon loving God and loving others. As Paul wrote in Romans, "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited" (Romans 12:16, NIV). This is what Jesus did for us. He become like us in every way, yet was without sin. However, he took our sin upon himself and became like a slave, ultimately dying a cursed death of the slave on the cross.

Think about that as you look upon the nativity scenes around town this season.

Pastors At Risk...But Why?

While I was in seminary on of the books I had to read for a class was Pastors at Greater Risk by H.B. London and Neil B. Wiseman. Each chapter of the book begins by sharing some statistics regarding pastoral ministry in the traditional sense. For example:

- 90% of pastors work more than 46 hours a week
- 80% believes that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively
- 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job
- 90% feel inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands
- Churchgoers expect their pastor to juggle an average of 16 major tasks
- Pastors who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35% more likely to be terminated
- 25% of of pastors' wives see their husband's work schedule as a source of conflict
- 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse
- 48% of pastors think being in ministry is hazardous to family well-being

These statistics are just a few of the many that are shared in the book. As I look at information like this I cannot help but think that something is broken or out of alignment somewhere.

One statistic that jumps out at me is the one where churchgoers expect their pastor to juggle on average 16 different tasks. Is that pastor Superman? I think one way to go about remedying this is to refocus on the "priesthood of all believers" (cf. Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 1 Peter 2:5, 9; Exodus 19:6). God has given all believers a Spirit-given gift to use for the primary purpose of building up the body of Christ (i.e., the church; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:26). The role or gift of pastor is but one gift among many and I fear that we have forgotten this and lifted the gift (or vocation?) of pastor to a level that is far above all other gifts rather than seeing them all equally of God for the same purpose. In Ephesians 4:11-13 we see again that the gift of pastor is similar to all the other gifts in that it is to be used to build up other believers. Instead, the pastor today is the "one stop shop" for the local church.

This is something I am trying to gently and subtly press against for the betterment of the church. For example, I do not have any financial prowess or know-how. Our local church just passed the proposed budget that was put forth by our finance team. The members of this team have giftedness with numbers and are local business people. In other words, they know what they are doing. I, as the pastor, just let them do their thing. Now if they had questions, etc. I would chime in, but they planned it and oversaw the process. I was less stressed because brothers and sisters in Christ who had that giftedness handled the task. I know that some might think that the pastor needs to have a key role in this type of process, but I disagree with that line of thinking. If I do not allow others to use their gifts for His glory then I am guilty of not using my gift in the way that God intends, and the whole church can get bogged down in the process rather than built up.

How have any of you seen any of this play out in your own context?

Book Review - "Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to 'Holy Land' Theology" by Gary M. Burge

I just finished reading Gary M. Burge's book Jesus and the Land: A New Testament Challenge to "Holy Land" Theology (2010, Baker Books). In truth, I couldn't put the book down. The book itself is short coming in at 131 pages, but I'll say that the pages are loaded with information and insight. Burge earned his PhD at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and is professor pf New Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School.

This book deals with a topic that I think permeates American Evangelicalism more than we may realize. Specifically, the book examines the claims of Christian Zionism in light of the teachings found in both the Old and the New Testament.

In the book Burge adopts an approach that encompasses what I believe to be the whole of Scripture rather than picking and choosing. He also focuses on keeping the Scriptures in their context. The book emphasizes the New Testament focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets (cf. Matthew 5:17), this includes the promise of the land from the OT.

One example of how this is demonstrated in the Scriptures is found in John 15. After the Passover meal Jesus and the disciples are making their way across the Kidron Valley, from there the Temple could be seen with its large golden vine. Josephus tells us that the clusters on the vine were as large as a man. In the OT Israel is often referred to as a vine (both God's choice vine and also a wild vine at times). It is here that Jesus makes the profound and emphatic statement, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener" (John 15:1, 5). In this instance Jesus declares He is the location of the people of God, it is no longer a physical or ethnic boundary. The Gentiles have been grafted in to the vine (Israel) and this is by faith in Jesus Christ.

Although some have accused Burge of holding to a "replacement theology" of the church, I would not go that far. While Burge definitely makes numerous strong arguments in favor of Christ being the fulfillment of the Jewish promise of the land (and all other OT promises), he does not say that God has neglected or completely turned His back on the Jewish people. He points out that Romans 11 is clear on this. However, what is also clear is that while God still has a special place for the Jews, the land promise has been fulfilled in Christ. According to this view Christian Zionism comes up a little short. I would recommend this book to all Christians, especially those who have particular interest in the land of Israel and seek to have a Christian persepctive on the topic.

This is only a short review and I know it doesn't do the book justice. Just go out and pick it up for yourself. :-)