Jesus a Revolutionary?
Do you believe Jesus is a Revolutionary?
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All I can say is - he’s been revolutionary in my life. I went through a tough time when I was in high school, my family had just moved to a new state, I didn’t know anyone and felt alone. I came to realize that Jesus was there - not someone far away, but someone near - near enough for me to talk to, near enough for me to know, near enough for me to follow. He changed my life then, he’s changing my life today…
Christ has been very revolutionary in my life. For many years I went to church and was confirmed. Then in 1996 me and my current wife was living together and had child out of marriage. I attended a Promise Keeper conference and realized that for years that I had been going to church I had not let Christ become the center of my life. I went home and told Karen that we needed to go and talk with the Pastor and that we needed to get married. Two weeks after this meeting we were married. Since I made the decision to let Christ be the center of my life everything in my life changef. It is hard to explain but Christ has been there for the good times and bad timed. He has been there walking with me. I am very thankful that I made that decision.
I believe that what was truly revolutionary about Jesus was His resurrection. Through the resurrection He defied the power of sin and death. We can do this as well by loving those who don’t deserve it, praying for those who persecute us, seeking to become great by serving instead of trying to lead. We can do what Wendell Berry suggested, we can “practice resurrection” this is much easier said than done, but that is the challenge of being revolutionary.
Jesus was absolutely a revolutionary - one man, choosing 12 others who were not of any ruling class,was able to change the world forever. No other person, before or since, has come even close to the influence of this single man, the Savior of the world. Even those who may try to deny him cannot deny the influence Jesus has had - and still does - on this world.
I believe Jesus was the greatest revolutionary of all time. Through his life, death and Resurrection he changed the course of mankind forever despite all of the other “revolutionaries” feeble attempts to destroy what He started and what continues.Even today other so called “revolutionary individuals” attempt to CHANGE things and offer false hope in the things of man but none will overcome or stop what Jesus Christ Started!! AMEN!!
America was founded on the principles of Christian beliefs and living. Not everything was done right but the nation was divinely started and protected. George Washington warned against turning our backs on God. As we move forward into the 21st century the nations leaders have done that and have taken this country down the dark path of taxpayers funded abortions and the acceptance of perverse lifestyles.
I hope and pray for this nation that we will turn back to God and ask forgiveness for (as a whole)killing off our young through abortion and for accepting wrong headed ideas and that God will heal this land.
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AS Thomas Jefferson once said No king but King Jesus!!!
The resurrection has been mentioned as key and I think it is the complete and eternal victory for the Jesus revolution. Paul said, “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Cor. 15:12-14)
If revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system, I believe that by demonstration Jesus introduced to us a new government, a new system, a new life. We either belong to the revolution or remain faithful to the old.
Jesus came into this world as being in the very nature of God, but did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He made himself nothing taking on the very natures of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:5). Christ voluntarily limited himself to save us while we were still sinners. His decision was not conditional like ours usually are. He had no ulterior motives other than to free us from the bondage of sin. Revolutionary may be the best human word to describe such a sacrifice.
I believe He was and still is today revolutionary. However, what I struggle with is how He is categorized to fit into a specific mindset or Christian trend depending upon the decade or social climate. For instance, right now, Jesus is no longer being portrayed by many as the harsh judge that He was so many years ago. Out of an understandable need for greater evangelism and movement away from legalism, He has recently been molded as a kind of pacifist who smells flowers, sing songs, and holds hands with everyone. And while I totally concede that overbearing legalism is destructive and that certain denominations should demonstrate more reconciliation and love, where has the revolutionary Jesus spoken of in Matthew who was also a disciplinarian and righteous father figure gone? The more I read the first gospel, the more evident it is that Christ often held others to task, and not just the Pharisees and Priests. He was also very tough on His disciples as well as strangers needing His help. He was not a peace loving hippie. In fact, I would go so far as to say that He was probably extremely annoyed with the immaturity of the day. Again, while I can appreciate the push to demonstrate more compassion to the lost, I feel many contemporary Christians are now hiding at the opposite end of the same unhealthy spectrum. God is not just love, He is love and justice. God is not just the New Testament, He is the OT & the NT. God is not just the lamb, but He is also the Lion & the Lamb. I am just tired of the preaching that is going around today in numerous congregations that states if I am a follower of Christ, I have to adhere to a high level of sugar coated pacifism, never saying anything critical of others or holding people accountable through due process. In short, the minute we think we have Him figured out, is the minute we forget His identity. The minute we try to fit Him into our culture is the minute He ceases to be revolutionary.
Proof that Jesus was a revolutionary is that He was crucified. Actually, a very few people were responsible for His death and they were the Jewish power structure of the day and were threatened by Him. However, the real revolutionary thought was that He defined love as the new law…not the silly sappy love we understand (refer to Craig’s series on that last year), but a love that could, and did lead to dying. A love based on the truth about God’s character and about ours. God is love, but not in ways we understand; we humanize it and fail to understand that it is sometimes tough, sometimes painful, sometimes surprising. One of my children is not speaking to me and actually expressed hatred toward me because I told her the truth in love about her behavior and her refusal to conform her life to her (supposed) beliefs. That’s what the revolutionary Jesus brought to us…a love that requires death - to ourselves.
Wasn’t He, and does He continue as a revolutionary in numerous other ways as well?
More than just revolutionary for our own personal lives (as many of you referred to), Jesus is revolutionary for our society. In fact he is (as one renowned author put it)…counter-cultural. He stands every value our society deems worthy upside down. It’s the reverse Kingdom. What we think is the way up, is in the Kingdom, the way down. The way down in our societies eyes is, in Jesus’ eyes, the way up. No other segment of scripture outlines this better than the Sermon on the Mount in Matt.5-7.
Do me a favor, and hit me with values you see that Jesus turns upside down. Give it whirl, it’ll expand your view of Christ and the Kingdom of God.
my point, from above to put it bluntly is that too often, most christians see jesus as a revolutionary in their own personal lives. But although that is true, he is all the more a revolutionary to our society. As long as our culture can keep our jesus caged to simply being our own personal revolutionary savior, they are content to let us sing our praises to jesus. Make sense?
I agree with Mr Ruff above. Jesus cannot and should not be contained by our own thinking. He should contain us and our society. To offen today we Christians have to muzzle ourselves for fear of being labeled “haters” or or some other derogatory phrase simply for stating the Truth. Other counties have gone so far as labeling the Bible as “hate speech” because it condemns homosexuality. The United States is not far behind them. We Christians have let our society crumble around us by being silent about immoral and amoral twists and turns that our nation has taken. The embrace of homosexuality as a healthly lifestyle and rampant abortion (America’s number one export-Thanks to Mr. Obama and Ms Clinton)have become firmly seated because we have not firmly but lovingly dealt with these issues and others like them as they surfaced. My own parents (wonderful, strong, loving people) have held the attitude that things like aboriton *** rights etc. would never take hold just because they were wrong. They didnt see the tide turning until it was to late.
Its time for another Christian revolution. its time we retook the halls of power and leadership in this nation and set AMerica back on the path to God.
During the revolutionary war, God blessed this nation and provided us with divine protection against overwhelming British forces, and Gave us victory and Grace. Over the past 200+ years we have aquandered that Grace and it feels as if we as a Nation are rotting from the inside out. I dont mean to sound negative about this nation. We are still a wonderful nation-where else on the planet can you find a Catholic church, protestant church, synogoge and mosque within a mile of each other and instead of shooting each other they are haveing potluuck suppers together. What other nation is as generous with its wealth as America? What other nation protects the weak when the need arises and provides humanitarian aid when disasters strike? America. These are all born out of our Christian heritage. I would just like to see America as a nation openly recognize Jesus as its savior. This would not violate the first amendment-no laws are made, not edicts or taxes are levied to support. Just a simple recognitionby our leaders that America as a whole, owes its Existance to The Almighty God of Abraham, Issac and jacob and His Son Jesus. As pastor Strickland asked last Saturday, what would you like to see from God. It is this. That America would as a nation turn her face back toward God and begin livng a Christian life again.
Here’s yet another way that Christ showed himself to be a true Revolutionary - He turned (and is turning) our understanding of “religion” upside down. Think about it…All religious traditions other than the Christian faith rely heavily upon an individual’s ability to adhere to rules, laws, etc. in order to be “right” with God. With one loud cry - IT IS FINISHED - Jesus came and picked up the tab of humanity’s sin for all-time, requiring only this: That we trust, confess and believe on Him as Lord and Savior.
Joe, I totally agree with you. There indeed needs to be a revolution, not just revival, in our halls of government. You addressed my earlier comments above with the specific issues I failed to utter. Amen brother! But I also think that while there will always be a need for law, order, and legal justice, we need to address the problems at their root cause which is our world’s inherent sin. And the only thing that is going to address the root of sin is Spirit filled evangelism and solid Biblical study. Unfortunately, those two things are actions I am also guilty of not engaging in enough. In other words, let’s change the heart of society while also agreeing that we need to limit sinful actions if the heart doesn’t change. Balance, balance, and more balance.
I was listening to a sermon recently and the preacher was talking about how Jesus didn’t come to earth with his own agenda. Rather, his agenda was whatever his Father’s agenda was:
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” - John 5:19
“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” - John 12:49
“Yet not what I will, but what you will.” - Mark 14:36
Talk about Revolutionary! Jesus wasn’t looking out for #1 at all - what he was all about was living his life for others and being obedient to God.