Evacuation Plan

In recent weeks we have seen plans for evacuating Greek islands and Maui in Hawaii. It makes obvious sense to have a plan, albeit some might question the implementation of those plans. Fo many, Christianity has its own evacuation plan. Do you recall that the mnemonic BIBLE is supposed to represent Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth? Have we got this totally wrong?

In last week’s Gospel message, we may have heard that Jesus was asking the disciples “Who do they say that I am?‘. It’s Simon, nay Peter, who comes up with the term Messiah. This is actually ground breaking stuff. The word Messiah doesn’t just mean ‘anointed’ but signifies many other descriptions in the current political world…the world when the Gospel was written.

Messiah anyone?

Now we may be aware of possibly Barabbas, who was a ‘revolutionary’ or a ‘bandit’. But there were so many more of them, in fact a long time, who all called be given the term Messiah. Around the birth of Christ, which Christ also means anointed, we have ‘The Egyptian’, who raised an army of followers but was slaughtered by the Romans. What was his objective? to overthrow the Roman regime and free God’s people. There’s a theme here. There’s Athronges who placed a crown on his head and claimed to be the King of the Jews, and was slaughtered by the Romans. ‘The Samaritan’ was also killed by Pilate despite not actually threatening Roman rule – such was the perceived potential. Theudas is mentioned in Acts for his mercenary acts. The list goes on: there was Hezekiah the bandit chief, Simon of Peraea, Judas the Galilean, his grandson Menahem, Simon son of Giora, and Simon son of Kochba—all of whom declared messianic ambitions and all of whom were executed by Rome. Jesus is not alone.

What does it mean to follow the Messiah?

Even if we have established that Jesus is the Messiah, what might it have meant to follow a Messiah back then? The passage (Matthew 16:21-28) doesn’t paint a great positive picture. Jesus paints his own death, that he would suffer. Interestingly, it isn’t from the hands of the Romans, but the ‘Chief Priests, the elders, and the teachers of the law’. So his main threat comes from the Chief Priests (who were generally appointed by the Roman Consul), the elders (surely not a reference to the Jerusalem church led by his brother James?), and the Pharisees?

Peter steps in and tries to tell Jesus some basic facts. ‘God, forbid it Lord’. Work your way through that slowly.

• God, the one in control, the all powerful.
• Forbid, deny what was just said.
• Lord, my master.

An odd Master.

Jesus responds with ‘Get behind me satan’; or accuser or deceiver. It is not the red horned creature from hell – see Gehenna and Hades. Those that take up their cross will live, but those who hang onto your life, will die. Ouch.

Abuse

Cue the calls for living an abusive life. We must suffer because that is what Jesus would want for us….really?

In the political climate when the Gospel was written, I can see that, following Jesus dying on the Cross, and the purge undertaken by the Romans post 70AD and the destruction of the Temple, suffering for the Gospel may have been considered appropriate. Many did die trying to overthrow the foreign occupiers.

So do we see parallels that we should remove migrants to keep our country pure? Should we suffer abuse to follow the statement written 2000 years prior?
Or should we look for what Jesus was continually going on about: transformation?

Evacuation Plan for Heaven

When people see that becoming a Christian means prosperity, comfort and success, it’s not long that realise that riches are not what was promised. When people become Christians because it offers them survival so they will go to Heaven, it might strike them odd that Jesus spoke of ‘heaven on Earth’, God’s kingdom here, not there.

It isn’t about an evacuation, nor leaving, but partnering in building the kin_dom here, wherever we live.

Perhaps that’s what following Jesus the Messiah means?