Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Hated For Christ


(Audio version; Music: "Treasure" (Jared Anderson)--WorshipMob--Real Live Music)



Introduction

            I came across a headline this week that introduced a new book by yet another “Christian leader.” The headline quoted the author in part when it read: “Stunning Revelations About Bible-Believers Should Send ‘Shock Waves’ Through Christian Leadership.” Ok I’ll admit, the headline got me and I had to read the article. I’m not a “Christian leader” but it sounded like a pretty big deal and maybe something I should know about. I won’t go through all the details of the article but I’ll give you a quick summary: Unbelievers hate Christians because they focus too much of their time at war with the sinful world and not enough time being accepting, loving, and compassionate of the sinful world. Wait! I was so disappointed! Where was the shock wave? I want a shock wave! Are Christian leaders supposed to be shocked that unbelievers hate Christians for being salt and light in a sinful world? If you want a shock wave, I’ve got my own headline: “Stunning Revelation About Christian Leaders Who Are Shocked That Unbelievers Hate Christians—They Haven’t Actually Read The Bible!” Here are a few things that are supposed to send “shock waves” through Christian leadership: ‘Christians devote too much time opposing abortion.’ Really? So much opposition that only 56,000,000+ babies have been murdered in America since 1973 {read sarcasm}. ‘Christians spend too much time engaged in politics.’ Let’s see, did Jesus ever engage the leadership of his day? There was hardly a day that went by during Jesus’ earthly ministry when Jesus didn’t manage to pick a fight with the leaders. ‘Christians spend too much time talking about sin.’ Is sin a big deal? Well only if you think that Jesus died on a cross because of sin. Otherwise, I guess it’s not a big deal {read sarcasm again}. ‘Christians spend too much time fighting against homosexuality and not being more welcoming and compassionate toward sinners.’ It’s been more than 40 years since I was kid in elementary school and 40 years ago there was never even a consideration that homosexuality was an acceptable alternative lifestyle. In the 40 years since I was in elementary school, the percentage of Americans who have self-identified as Christians has remained right around 80%. Today, homosexuals, bi-sexuals, and transgenders represent a little less than 3% of the population. Same-sex marriages are now legal in more than half the states in America. Christian businesses are being forced out of business because they refuse to cater same-sex ceremonies. Christian pastors face fines and imprisonment for refusing to perform same-sex weddings. If there really is a battle going on between Christians and homosexuals, Christians appear to be losing. ‘Christians are too obsessed with judgment and condemnation and don’t spend enough time focusing on the love and grace of Jesus.’ That always seems to be the trump card doesn’t it? What unbelievers don’t seem to understand is that warning them about the dangers of sin is an act of love not an act of judgment. As a parent, I warned my girls with the most earnestness I could muster about the dangers of running out into the street without looking or the dangers of wandering away from me in a crowded place. I told them stories about children who were killed when they ran into the street without looking or stories about children who were stolen away forever from their parents when they wandered out of sight even briefly. When I warned them about these things, I did so because I loved them deeply. I’m not so naïve as to believe that there aren’t some, even many, Christians who abuse their call to be salt and light in a sinful world. However, I believe most Christians take this calling very seriously and with all humility knowing that they too are sinners—just forgiven sinners.

            The English author, George Orwell, not a theologian or stalwart of Christianity, had a very lucid understanding of the culture around him and its long-term trajectory. Orwell once wrote, “The further a society drifts from the Truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” I am convinced more than ever that Christians are becoming more and more hated every day as society continues to drift farther from the Truth. Salt’s influence becomes all the more pronounced when applied to something that is tasteless and light seems brightest when it is introduced into an environment of profound darkness. This principle has been clearly understood throughout the history of Christianity but seems to be lost on some “Christian leaders” today. Consequently, for some, the revelation that Christians are hated for their Christian witness is now supposed to send “shock waves” throughout Christian leadership. Clearly it’s time for a refresher course on why Christians are Hated For Christ.

Subject Text

John 15:18-25

            18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

Context

            By this point, Jesus is closer to the end of his earthly ministry than He is to the beginning. In fact, in the last chapter, Jesus promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit because He would soon be leaving them. Jesus spent three years trying to tell the people that He was the One who would rescue them; the One who would set them free from their bondage to sin; save them from the condemnation resulting from their sin. Many came to Jesus because they believed His offer of salvation even if they didn’t fully understand it. Many came to Jesus because they had some need and heard that He could fill that need somehow. Many others, maybe even most others, refused to believe in Him and hated Him. Some hated Him because of who He claimed to be and others hated Him because He exposed their sins. Hatred toward Jesus would soon reach its pinnacle and would lead to His death. In our Subject Text, Jesus warns His disciples that they will be hated in the same way that He was hated, not because of who they claimed to be but who they claimed Jesus was and because they exposed the people’s sins and need for forgiveness that was available only through faith and belief in Jesus.

Text Analysis

            18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

            When Jesus makes reference to the ”world” in v. 18, He is referring to the sinful culture that refuses to believe in Him. It is important to remember that the use of the word “world” is intended to be pejorative in this case not referring to all unbelievers but specifically to those who have been given the opportunity to believe and have fervently rejected that opportunity. The “world” are those who have picked a side in the war between good and evil; right and wrong; sin and salvation, and stand in opposition to Christ and all those who follow Him. Let’s not forget that sin has caused us to be enemies of God. And enemies of God naturally hate Him. It is therefore inevitable that those who hate God will also hate those who have aligned themselves with God; friends of God. Jesus no longer considered His disciples to be His servants but instead considered them to be friends because they were faithful in doing what He commanded (Jn 15:15). Like the first disciples, Christians are friends of God when we do what is commanded of us. Consequently, we will be hated in the same way that Jesus was hated because He was faithful in carrying out His task of becoming the means to atone for humanity’s sins. “‘The world’ (kosmos) in John’s gospel is described as actively hostile to God, which illustrates sin as enmity. Jesus explained that the reason the world hated him was that he testified to its essentially evil nature (Jn 7:7). The hatred of the world is therefore assumed by Jesus, who warned the disciples to expect it. ‘The ruler of this world’, who is judged and cast out at the ‘hour’ of Christ, has clearly usurped the place of God and has brought men into a similar alienation.’ Since the disciples of Jesus are distinguished from the world even though they live in the world, it is evident that Jesus himself is the key to the division. Man’s attitude to him profoundly affects his position in the world, i.e. whether or not he becomes a target for hate.”[1]

               19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

            The first disciples, like all those who have come after them, are not longer part of the world in the way that John identifies “the world.” Specifically, everything the world is; what the world believes; what the world values; the world’s priorities, no longer defines the disciple. And, according to v. 19, this is precisely why the world hates Christians—because Christians no longer belong to the world and its way. “Former rebels who have by the grace of the king been won back to loving allegiance to their rightful monarch are not likely to prove popular with those who persist in rebellion. Christians cannot think of themselves as intrinsically superior…But having been chosen out of the world, having been drawn to the Messiah’s love into the group referred to as the Messiah’s ‘own’ who are still in the world, their newly found alien status makes them pariahs in that world, the world of rebels.”[2]

               20Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

            Back in chapter 13, Jesus teaches the disciples an important lesson during a foot-washing ceremony where Jesus washes the feet of all the disciples. In doing so, He teaches them that no service to humanity, no matter how menial or degrading, should be beneath them as servants because nothing was beneath Him, the Master. Even though He was by His nature God, He didn’t come to us heralding His divinity. Instead, He made Himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant; a man. Jesus was fully obedient to His redemptive purpose and in ultimate humility, allowed Himself to be put to death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8). Jesus returns to this principle in v. 20. Where previously Jesus taught that they must be willing to serve in the same way He served, He now teaches them the principle is the same when it comes to the way people react to them. If people hate Jesus they will hate His disciples. If people listen and obey Jesus they will listen and obey the disciples. Disciples are emissaries; ambassadors; an extension of Christ. Since Christ was hated and put to death, His emissaries or ambassadors should expect no less. “The sayings about bearing the cross form a part of the warning the disciples to count the cost [of following Jesus]…For Jesus the inevitable implication of being the Christ is suffering, death, and the opposition of men. Inevitably, therefore, those who associate with him as the Christ are liable to the same fate.”[3]

            21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

            What Jesus says in v. 21a seems a bit odd when He says that we will be mistreated because of His name. Unfortunately v. 21b just adds to the confusion. Let me explain it this way: In our present day, parents usually give little thought to the meaning of the names they give their children. Names or a derivation thereof are often passed down from one generation to the next. Or perhaps a name is chosen based on personal preference (that’s how we picked the names of our children anyway). But in ancient Judaism, this wasn’t the case. Ideally, a name represented a person’s personality. Names may also be prophetic in nature; foretelling a person’s hoped-for destiny. A child’s name could also be a form of prayer that the person bearing the name will live up to the potential conveyed by the name. Let’s see how this works in relation to the name of Jesus.

The name “Jesus” is the English translation of the Greek name Iesous. The ancient Hebrew translation is Yehoshua which is translated back to English as “Joshua” (I know it’s weird that it doesn’t translate back to “Jesus,” but that’s not really unusual. In fact, the Greek Iesous is translated as “Joshua” in Heb 4:8 so clearly the names are interchangeable at times). The Hebrew translation, Yehoshua, is derived from the same Hebrew root as the word signifying “Jehovah is salvation.” The name “Jesus” is significant because it means “God our Savior.” In this sense, the name of Jesus represents his personality; “Savior.” When the angel appeared to Joseph, while Mary was pregnant with Jesus, the angel said that Mary was to name the child Jesus because He would save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21). In this respect, Jesus’ name is prophetic as it foretells his divine destiny. Consequently, Scripture tells us that, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11a).” Can you see the personality trail? Let’s string the words and ideas from above together: Yehoshua=Jehovah + Savior=God our Savior. Jesus=Yehoshua; Jesus = God our Savior. The fullness of God in “Jesus” (Col 1:19)! The writer of the Book of Hebrews as well as Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, say that Jesus is the exact representation of God in His nature and essence. To know Jesus is to know God. It should therefore follow that to know God is to know Jesus. And that’s Jesus’ point in v. 21b that they mistreat Jesus because they don’t know Him because they don’t know God. “The guilt of the world consists in its rejection of the revelation brought by Jesus, and since that revelation is from God in entails the rejection of God himself, which is direst sin. Moreover the works of Jesus are God’s works in and through him; hence it can be said that the world has ‘seen’ God, i.e., seen him in action in the person of his Son, but its response has been to hate both the Son and the Father in him.”[4]

               22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

            It’s hard to understand v. 22 in light of the nature of sin that began with Adam in Genesis. Based on what Jesus says in this verse, it seems to imply that sin didn’t exist before Jesus revealed Himself to the world. But now that Jesus has revealed himself and given the world the opportunity to believe in Him, if they refuse to believe then they own their sin. So what is Jesus saying about the guilt of the world’s sin before His revelation? What Jesus is saying is not that sin didn’t exist before He came. What Jesus is saying is that there was nothing the people could do about their sin. They could sacrifice animals year after year after year and meticulously keep the Law but the effect of their sins would remain—separation from God. Consequently, God provided another way; a way to deal with their sins once and for all and that way would be Jesus. Jesus was the answer to dealing with their sins and now that he had presented Himself to them as the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the means of dealing with their sins, if they refuse to accept Him then they have no excuse for being separated from God because of their sins because God has given them a way out—Jesus. “Although sin was obviously present long before Jesus came into the world…The contrary-to-fact condition also recalls what Jesus said to the Pharisees after he healed the man born blind: ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now you say that “we see.” Your sin remains. This too he said against the background of an announcement that ‘I came into the world’ for a dual purpose—not only ‘that those who do not see might see,’ but ‘so that those who see might go blind’ (Jn 9:39). In this sense the ‘coming’ of Jesus creates not only ‘friends,’ but ‘sinners’ as well. In both passages, the phrase ‘but now,’ or ‘as it is,’ brings us back to reality, and the reality is that ‘Your sin remains,’ or, here more specifically, ‘they have no excuse for their sin.’ That is, they are now fully accountable. They cannot claim innocence on the basis that they have not been warned, or have not heard the word of God! They have heard it from the lips of Jesus, but have not recognized his words as words from God. In hating him and persecuting him they have (unwittingly) hated as well the One they worship as God.”[5]

            23He who hates me hates my Father as well.

            Jesus issues quite an indictment in v. 23 against those who oppose Him. At this point Jesus has made it pretty clear who He is so when the people hated and rejected Him they hated and rejected the Father. We take this for granted today because at least most Christians have a rudimentary knowledge of the Trinity—God the Son, God the Father, and God the Spirit. But for those to whom Jesus first revealed Himself, there wasn’t even a rudimentary understanding of the Trinity. It is important to understand that this is precisely why Jesus performed the many miracles He did. It wasn’t specifically for the purpose of healing just some people or raising just some people from the dead. No, the purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to validate who He was. Jesus’ miracles weren’t a show, they were a sign; or, more specifically, the signature of God. “Jesus is the uniquely commissioned agent of God who, in his task of bringing the salvation of God to the world, exercises a unique, mediating function between God and human beings. Because Jesus is the designated agent of God, he also represents God to human beings in such a way that the Gospel can say that to encounter Jesus is to encounter God, to have seen him is to have seen the Father, or to know and receive him is to have known and received the Father. As God’s agent Jesus carries out a mission which mediates God’s salvation to the world, as is manifested in the signs which he does.”[6]

            24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

            In v. 24 we find out from Jesus Himself the purpose behind the miracles He performed among His followers and others who didn’t yet believe in Him. People, usually unbelievers, tend to get twisted in knots about Jesus’ miracles. Many use the absence of miracles as proof that God doesn’t exist. I suspect that this attitude is generally prevalent in the West or in more modern cultures. But I know that some of you are first-hand witnesses of miracles in your own lives or in the lives of someone you know. You know God’s power and it makes it difficult to deny His existence. However, many of the people who witnessed Jesus’ miracles nevertheless refused to believe in Him. Many continued to call for miracles so Jesus could prove who He said He was. But Jesus said they didn’t believe Him in the face of the miracles He had already performed. The people just used the demand for miracles as an excuse to not believe. In fact, after Jesus’ greatest miracle of all, rising from the dead, people then and now still refuse to believe. They witnessed Jesus’ many miracles and eventually they knew the tomb was empty so they had all the evidence they needed to believe yet they persisted in their unbelief. “He had not only come and spoken, but had done works which none other had done. The miracles wrought by Christ were themselves of a kind fitted to produce faith. In them men were meant to see God. So that He could say…This is their guilt, that they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.”[7]

               25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

            Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law (Mt 5:17). And, according to v. 25, the fact that the people hated Him was just another fulfillment found in Psalms 35:19 and 69:4 that those anointed by God are often hated for no reason. In the case of these two Psalms it is the anointed king David who is hated for no reason and in our Subject Text it is the Messiah (Heb. ‘anointed’) who is hated for no reason. Think about it, what did Jesus do that warranted the peoples’ hatred? Was it giving sight to the blind? Was it healing the sick? Was it turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony? Was it feeding thousands of men, women, and children? Was it raising a son or daughter or brother from the dead? It would be foolish to think that Jesus was hated for any of these reasons although I suppose in some strange way it’s possible. A pretty good argument could be made that He was hated because He claimed to be equal with God. Although I’m sure there were probably some sincere and pious Jews who were offended by this, most of the religious leaders hated Jesus because the people began to follow Him instead of them. No, I think that Jesus was hated for another reason unrelated to either of these things and I think it explains why His followers since then have also been hated for what seems like no reason. Jesus convicted them of their sins and their need for forgiveness that was available through Him. “God’s own action and demands are represented in him, Jesus. The world, however, like everyone who does evil, hates the light. It hates the Revealer without cause, because he bears witness that its works are evil. This hatred is directed also against Jesus’ disciples. They are counted blessed when men hated them for the Revealer’s sake. Those, on the other hand, who do no reckon themselves separated from the world are not hated.”

Application

            Can we stop pretending for a minute that there’s a way we can get unbelievers to stop hating us and accept the fact that Christians are destined to be hated because Jesus was hated. Do you want to know something that really should send “shock waves” through Christian leaders? That there are Christian leaders who think that the key to winning unbelievers to Christ is to get them to like us even though that is not taught anywhere in the Bible. Here’s the thing, no one wants to be hated. But serving others and preaching the Gospel does not require that people like us. In fact, the objective is for our lives and our words to be a bright light that shines in the darkness that sin has created in the world. Unbelievers don’t like it when Christians share their biblical beliefs and speak out against unbiblical practices, they don’t like the biblical ethics of Christian business owners and leaders, they don’t like Christians to influence politics with their Christian worldview, they don’t like Christians insisting that Jesus is the only way to be saved, for that matter the don’t like that Christians insist that people are sinners that need to be saved. So what must Christians do to be liked by unbelievers? Well let’s start by taking the inverse of all the things I just listed. Unbelievers like Christians who keep their beliefs to themselves. Unbelievers like Christians whose business practices are influenced by profits at any expense. Unbelievers like Christians who don’t allow their Christian worldview to influence their politics. Unbelievers like Christians who believe that Jesus is their personal means for salvation but others may believe in equally valid means for salvation. Unbelievers like Christians who don’t talk much about sin or the need for salvation. Wait! I think I’ve figured out how Christians can be liked by unbelievers—don’t be Christians!

            So I have a word of instruction for unbelievers and Christians. If you’re an unbeliever and you’re waiting for all Christians to come around to your way of thinking and acting, you’re going to have to be satisfied with the few who have given in to your demands for them to be more like you. For you Christians out there who are trying to figure out how to make unbelievers like you, stop! You’re wasting your time! You don’t belong to the world and that’s why unbelievers hate you. The only way to get then to like you is to rejoin them in the world. Instead, I would like to suggest that you change your perspective. You cannot be friends with God and friends with the world at the same time. There have been religious leaders in all ages that have tried to figure out a way around this because they just can’t accept that the two are mutually exclusive even though that’s what the Bible teaches. No one likes or wants to be hated. It seems counter-intuitive I know but just because we are hated doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong. In fact, the exact opposite is probably true in most cases. So here’s what you must resolve to do and be if you confess to be a Christian: Proclaim that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that salvation is found in no one or nothing else but Jesus. Live holy lives according to the example left us by Jesus. Expose the sin and evil in the world for what it is leaving room for redemption through repentance. Hate sin but do not hate the sinner. Count the cost that comes with your allegiance to Jesus and accept the biblical fact that that allegiance will mean that you will be Hated For Christ.



[1] Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), p. 194.
[2] D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John—The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991), p. 525.
[3] Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), p. 404.
[4] George R. Beasley-Murray, John—Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 276.
[5] J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John—The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010), pp. 821-822.
[6] Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), pp. 378-379.
[7] W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol. I, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983), p. 833.



Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Useless Branches


(Audio Version; Music: "Here v3" (Jobe, Leonard, Jordan), "From The Inside Out" (J. Houston)--WorshipMob HD Cover)


Introduction

            “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”—Thomas Jefferson

            So often we take our liberties for granted here in America. Thomas Jefferson also said he couldn’t imagine a country could go more than 20 years before that tree had to be watered. Our founding fathers, in addition to being a brilliant assortment of men, had a keen understanding about the sinful nature of humanity. Unfortunately, one of the many ugly by-products of sin in all times and in all cultures is tyranny. In some countries tyranny reigns because the government dictates power to the people under its charge by force. It can be an awful existence for the people, especially for Christians in countries where Christianity is prohibited. In many countries in the world, Christians don’t have the liberty to worship freely without severe persecution and even the threat of death. Here in America, however, we have a habit of doing things differently. Here in America we freely give up our liberties at the ballot box all with the help of Christians. Let me give you an example: The residents of the Houston, Texas recently elected an openly practicing lesbian Mayor. Not long thereafter, the city adopted new legislation that allowed transgenders (For those of you who aren’t familiar with that term, a transgender male believes he is a female and a transgender female believes she is a male.) access to public restrooms of the opposite sex. Some pastors in the area have spoken out against the enforcement of the legislation. In response to these pastors, the Mayor had her henchmen subpoena the sermons of all these pastors in an effort to determine what they were preaching from the pulpit. It was a clear attempt by the Mayor to send a message to area pastors specifically and Christians generally that they had better fall in line or else. You might think that this behavior would be an affront to all Americans and especially Christians here in America but sadly it’s not. In fact, many Christians, whole denominations in fact, have embraced homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle contrary to all sound biblical teaching. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Christians participate in electing officials that enact legislation in contravention to God’s word—not just as it relates to homosexuality but to countless other matters that eventually have a direct impact on Christian liberties. Christians are complicit in the election of some of the most ungodly leaders one could ever imagine. Not just Mayors of large and small cities but even officials of the highest offices in the land. Often then, Christians decry the losses of their religious liberties that inevitably ensue. Many parts of the body of Christ here in America are sick and dying. I worry about the Church here in America. So many have wandered so far from biblical truth I doubt they would recognize it if it were standing right in front of them. It’s like they’ve lost their way; like they have no idea what’s right and what’s wrong anymore. I believe Christians in America are at a dangerous crossroad right now. They’ve cut themselves off from God’s truth in Jesus Christ to their own peril. Jesus said that He was the vine and we are the branches and apart from Him we could do nothing. Jesus said that branches cut off from the vine were good for nothing but to be thrown into the fire—just Useless Branches. Like some Christians today, Israel lost its way and was unfaithful to God. Like Christians during the New Testament era, God intended Israel during the Old Testament era to be a signpost pointing the nations to God through their faithfulness, holiness, and righteousness. But when they abandoned their calling, God said they had become nothing more than a useless vine destined for the fire.

Subject Text

Ezekiel 15:1-8

            1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? 3Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? 4And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? 6Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. 7I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD. 8I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

Context

            Ezekiel was an Old Testament prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah. He was a younger contemporary to Jeremiah. Our Subject Text contains a dire prophecy about Israel’s future. Let’s take a look at a bit of history to get a better understanding of what was going on during Ezekiel’s ministry. The Book of Ezekiel was written around 571 BC. The 6th century BC was a tumultuous and bloody time for Israel and Ezekiel was a first-hand witness to the devastation of Israel. Unfortunately for Ezekiel, he found himself ministering to Judah in the midst of the Babylonian onslaught. King Nebuchadnezzar extended the Babylonian empire’s control west and invaded Judah in 605 BC. From there, Nebuchadnezzer set his sights on Israel. In 597 BC Ezekiel was taken captive and exiled to Babylon along with many of the Jews. A few short years later, in 593 BC, Ezekiel had his first prophetic vision during the fifth year of what is known as the Babylonian exile. In 588 BC Ezekiel predicted the fall of Jerusalem and in 586 BC Nebuchadnezzer burned the temple and every other major structure in Jerusalem to the ground. For 22 years Ezekiel was street preacher in Babylon telling anyone who would listen not just about God’s judgment but also about God’s salvation. Ezekiel’s number one goal; the thing God called him to accomplish was to shine a bright light on Israel’s unfaithfulness and call them to repent and obey. Ezekiel’s ministry was to guide Israel back to faithfulness in spite of their exile. Remember this: Faithfulness to God did not require liberty from Babylonian captivity.

Text Analysis

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?

            Before I go too far into trying to explain v. 1-2 of our Subject Text, I want you to see something that is the key for all ministers of God’s Word—it comes from God. One of the biggest traps for pastors in all ages is wandering away from God’s Word into the murky waters of personal opinion. In seminary we were taught to hold on tight to what God says is right and true and what God says we should do and hold on loosely to what we think is right and true and what we think people should do. Ezekiel wants to make clear in v. 1 that what he is about to say comes directly from God. V. 2, however, is less clear. V. 2 is the first in a series of questions at the beginning of our Subject Text that create a trajectory for God’s instruction given to Israel through Ezekiel. We think the answer to v. 2 is easy but only because we know the rest of the verses. But what if you didn’t. What if you didn’t know the whole story of Ezekiel and Israel and I were to ask you, ‘How is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?’ You might not know or you might say there’s no difference or you might say, ‘That depends on what its intended use is.’ That last response seems right to me because it takes both of the other two responses into consideration. However, what if the vine can’t or won’t serve its intended purpose? Well then the answer is pretty simple isn’t it? There is no difference between the two and that seems to be the point of the question isn’t it? Israel had a specific purpose but they refused to fulfill that purpose. The vine represents Israel and the branches of the trees in the forest represent the other nations of the world. Israel was supposed to be different; a holy nation set aside as a symbol of God’s righteousness. Israel was supposed to be an example for the way the nations were supposed to live, relate to, and worship God. Instead, they became just as unfaithful and corrupt as the surrounding nations. As a result the vine has become no different than the branches of the trees in the forest. “Ezekiel’s use of this parable was an answer to those who thought that the vine, that is Israel, was sacred and indestructible. The only purpose of a grapevine is to produce grapes. Otherwise it is useless except as the fuel to burn. Israel was punished because it had abandoned that purpose that gave it value, the bearing of fruit.”[1]

3Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

            God takes it a step farther in v. 3. The implication is that Israel had one purpose like a grape vine has one purpose. If that purpose is not fulfilled, it can’t be repurposed to take the place of the purpose of something else. All people and all things have their purpose in God’s created order. It is not anyone’s place to repurpose what God has purposed. “yātēd [Heb. ‘peg’] also designates a peg inserted into a wall, from which on hangs household implements. Ezek 15:3 observes that one cannot make a peg that would support a vessel from the wood of a vine…The peg would then give way, and the load would be shattered.”[2]

4And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? 6Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.

            God seems to continue along the same line of His initial questioning to demonstrate the uselessness of a vine, this time after it has been charred by fire. Specifically, if a vine is useless for anything other than supporting fruit, how much more useless would it be after it is thrown in the fire? Vv. 4-6 seem obvious but God is revealing something else in these verses—Israel’s destiny. Israel would suffer the wrath of Babylon in part first in 605 BC, then be defeated in a second wave in 597 BC that resulted in the exile of its inhabitants and finally Israel would be burned to the ground in 586 BC. The point being that a partial destruction of Israel wouldn’t suffice to bring Israel back to faithfulness. Although the temple would be rebuilt under Persia’s King Cyrus in 516 BC, Israel’s cycle of unfaithfulness would reach its pinnacle with the crucifixion of Jesus in AD 30. Forty years later, in AD 70, the Romans would completely destroy Jerusalem leaving only one wall, the Western Wall, standing. The Temple would never be rebuilt after that. “Jerusalem is like that vine wood, and its fate is therefore (inevitable) going to be that of half-burnt vine branches, fit for nothing but to be thrown back onto the fire and consumed completely. Just as the Lord has ‘given’ vine wood to be burnt because of its uselessness, so also the inhabitants of Jerusalem have been ‘given’ by the Lord. This implies not only a comparable divinely determined fate (burning) but a comparable divinely determined assessment of value (useless)…The initial defeat of Judah in 597 BC and the first exile, has not achieved a redemptive purpose: The people have not been made any more fit for God’s purposes, but on the contrary even more useless than before…Back into the fire they will go, for they are fit for nothing else, and this time the destruction will be complete.”[3]

7I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.

            We have to remember that Ezekiel didn’t speak of a coming flame when he revealed God’s intended destruction of Israel, the fire was already smoldering and it would only be a matter of time before it became an inferno that would consume them. Think about this for a moment—what’s the first and maybe the only thing you can think about when you’re faced with a difficulty in your life? ‘What do I have to do to get out of this mess?’ Although we don’t really know, I have no doubt that there were at least some people that came to Ezekiel and ask something just like that—‘What do we have to do to get out of this mess?’ ‘What do we have to do so God won’t be mad at us anymore?’ Unfortunately, Israel’s destiny was set. Clearly God knew that they would never fulfill their purpose of being a royal vine that would bear the fruit of turning the nations toward God. The people are about to learn the hard way that God is an immovable force against which they would smash their sinful lives. At some point God’s patience with unfaithfulness will wear thin and his righteous judgment will rain down on all those who believe they can rub their sins in God’s face without suffering any consequences. “Where God begins to put the question about the true nature of his people, then fearful depths open up. God’s word affirms of his people that they are useless; and this not simply on account of a passing defect which will quickly disappear. On the contrary, by its very nature it is useless. Again and again therefore it fails on account of its sinful human nature…Wherever God’s people think that the can dodge this divine judgment, by whatever form of piety they attempt to do so, then they are deceiving themselves. Gods word summons the community to accept this judgment upon itself and to recognize that under the revelation of the living God all its honor will be turned into shame and all its righteousness…will be destroyed.”[4]

8I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

            As has always been the case, the people and the “land” are inseparable. Canaan, the land that was given to Israel after they were delivered from their Egyptian bondage, is part of their inheritance and a source and symbol of God’s blessing. It was described as a land flowing with milk and honey. We learn in v. 8 that the land will not escape the judgment resulting from the people’s unfaithfulness. A royal vine planted in a land flowing with milk and honey has become fuel for the fire and the land will become nothing more than a wasteland. Nothing escapes the reach of God’s judgment—not even the inanimate object that is the land. “When the Lord threatens to make the land a ‘desolation,’ the land receives the threat, so that both the soil itself and the inhabitants of that territory stand under judgment.”[5]

Application

            What I usually get after a lesson like this one is something like: “Yeah, yeah but we live in an age of Grace so this doesn’t really apply to us.” Well it is true that Ezekiel lived during the age of the Law and we live in the age of Grace. However, God has been and will remain the same during all ages! Here’s the real question that I’d like someone to answer: When did the age of Grace become an age when God could be openly mocked without consequences. In my introduction, I told you about Thomas Jefferson’s ideal with respect to liberty. Jefferson believed that liberty was essential for humanity to be all God created it to be and that liberty was the fertile soil in which religious expression could grow and prosper. However, what Jefferson perhaps failed to consider was that faithfulness to God does not require liberty. It would probably be less painful and dangerous but it’s not essential. Israel had no reason to be unfaithful to God who provided everything for them. Instead, they began to adopt the ungodly practices of the surrounding nations. It wasn’t something that happened all at once but eventually God’s patience ran out and judged Israel to be like a vine that didn’t bear fruit—worthless!

            My greatest fear for the Church in America is that we have squandered our gift of religious liberty. Christians live in the perfect environment to be faithful to God. We have been called to be a light in a world filled with darkness and are supposed to be free to be able to do so without obstruction or persecution. And what have many Christians done with their gift of religious liberty? They’ve elected officials to enact legislation in direct contradiction to God’s Word. To make matters worse, some of those same Christians have not only adopted the sinful behavior of the surrounding culture but have invited it with open arms into their churches! If we lose our religious liberties here in America we will have no one to blame but ourselves. I’d like you to think about something: 80% of Americans claim to be Christians. It would be better if that number were grossly overstated because if it is true then how is it possible that we have elected so many officials who enact such ungodly legislation? How is it that so many of our religious leaders have not just closed their eyes to sinful behavior but welcome it through the doors of their churches? In a nation with unprecedented liberties claiming a population of 80% Christians, how do 50% of Christian marriages end in divorce? How have we had more than 56,000,000 abortions since 1973 when a “Christian” nation first gave its consent to infanticide? Lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, and transgenders represent less than 3% of the entire population of America. If 80% of Americans claim to be Christians, how is it possible that Christian businesses are being forced out of business because they refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage ceremony? How can homosexuality be accepted as an alternative lifestyle inside the Church? How can Christian pastors be threatened with incarceration for refusing to perform same-sex marriages? Do you want to know how religious liberties are lost here in America? By being unfaithful to God. We live in an age of Grace but there has never been, nor will there ever be, an age where God can be openly mocked by His people indefinitely without consequences.

            Thomas Jefferson may very well be right that the tree of liberty must be watered occasionally with the blood of patriots and tyrants, I don’t know. But faithfulness to God is not dependent on liberty as so many Christians around the world have demonstrated by their faithfulness to God in the face of severe persecution and threat of death because of their faith in Christ. Conversely, liberty does not produce faithfulness to God as America’s 200-year history demonstrates. Like Israel, the Church is called to be salt and light to a lost and dying world. Again, I believe the Church in America is at a crossroads. We can either commit or recommit ourselves to being faithful followers of all of God’s Word or, like Israel, be judged by God to be Useless Branches good for nothing but fuel for the fire.





[1] Lamar Eugene Cooper, Sr., Ezekiel—The New American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group), p. 166.
[2] Willem A. VanGemeren, Gen. Ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), p. 569.
[3] Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), pp. 200-201.
[4] Walter Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1—Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1979), pp. 320-321.
[5] Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville, Eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), p. 844.