Jerusalem - Jesus And The City; Part 2
ZADOK PUBLICATIONS - Dr. C. R. OLIVER
September 1, 2015
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Introduction:September 1, 2015 Jerusalem - Jesus And The City Part 2 In the last issue of the newsletter, I concentrated on an overview of Jerusalem's significance and how the early church viewed it. In this issue, the focus is on "Jesus and the city," beginning with His birth and continuing through His death. Jesus was born outside the city, which I believe is significant, for at this time God's steerage avoided interaction between Him and Jerusalem's depravity. For four hundred years, Jerusalem satiated itself with continual sacrifices and holy days, but with no prophetic word. The state of affairs controlled by its power elite had denigrated to a religious caste system that excluded any general input from the Spirit. Although the Temple had been restored, there was no indication that God dwelled there (as in the days of Solomon). Division segregated its religious leadership into Pharisees and Sadducees and all the things that inherently issue from religious separation took center stage. Even though the Torah was held as sacred, the codified words of the Rabbis and the Talmud were consulted regularly. Through this dense and rigid framework was sifted the moral and ethical code for daily life. One could forsake his obligation to honor his mother and father by making calculated moves. One could rise in the Temple order through offerings and the overt display of wealth (hence Jesus' words about the widow's mite). The rich young ruler could pride himself in keeping the commandments from his youth up, with the emphasis on Pride. The woman at the well could demure from truth with, "You Jews say…." Religion and government, though separated by Law, respected the wishes of each other in a strange political arrangement that would foster the death of the Messiah. Jerusalem became the "profit" center for the economy of the nation. Brandishing its centrality for feasts and special days with required attendance, it relished being the center of sacrificial atonement. (It was profitable for its inn keepers, food mongers and trade merchants.) The High Priest dwelled in luxury and prestige at the expense of spiritual advancement. (Saul of Tarsus was licensed to kill by this wayward clergy. This was the same clergy who were willing to spend Temple money [30 pieces of silver] to purloin Jesus.) Yet, within the Temple, some honest and spiritually aware souls found ways to practice their faith. Simeon and Anna were perfect examples of those, who in spite of the conditions surrounding them, were sold out to God and worshipped Him in Spirit and Truth. Even when Jesus had the disciples search out the place for the Lord's Supper, there were willing property owners who acknowledged His kingship. The triumphant entry to Jerusalem was afforded by the owners of the donkey He used. So, like today, within the corrupt and errant structure of the Temple, there was a remnant of saints who were the Lord's people. His Birth and the City The astrologers from the East entered the city in their search for Jesus, but they became suspicious of the establishment. (I find the bold words above interesting.) Jewish King Herod was deeply disturbed because a Messiah could disrupt his kingship. This would have been indicative enough of the system in place in Jerusalem, but the Scripture adds "all Jerusalem" joined him. (Those who support the religious system have vested interest in maintaining the status quo. This is why one is "condemned by what he condones.")Matthew 2:1-3 What kind of rumors circulated? Where did they originate? First, the reaction of King Herod evidently was one source, for he was distraught and such news got around. His reaction in calling together the leadership council, as if there was a national threat, caused speculation to increase. The intensity of the rumors must have increased to the degree it affected every man, woman and child in the uproar. Interesting indeed! Herod, the leader of all Israel, was a hypocrite, and the Lord steered the astrologers away from him. He claimed he wanted to know the "whereabouts" of the immaculate birth in order to worship Him. Not getting his answer increased his unease, until he called for the death of all children under two years in order to include Jesus. The question is, "How could a murderer be the head of a nation which existed in order to be a witness to the loving goodness of God?" That question just might apply to national policies in modern times. Joseph wasted no time in carrying out the angel's command. Without normal preparation and documentation, he moved immediately to Egypt (since the Jews hated Egypt, in-migration must have been minimal in those days).Matthew 2:11-18 Spiritual adherence to required matters: Jesus was taken to Jerusalem by his parents, to be dedicated as "holy to the Lord." This was scripturally correct, and they were protected while there. Since He was the first born and under the old covenant, it was necessary to adhere to this commandment. It was on this occasion that Simeon and Anna received answer to their prayers, and it was her testimony that roared through Jerusalem. She went everywhere (among the faithful) saying she had seen the Messiah. (Those who walk with God know each other in a unique way; they communicate on a different level. Bless the Lord! Anna joined Simeon's praise for "she also began thanking God.")Luke 2:22-23 Again, at age twelve, and in keeping with the Law, His parents took Him to Jerusalem--this time He stayed. He was found in the Temple discussing heavy subjects and proving Himself to be beyond the scope of the great intellectuals of His day. Jerusalem was under assault from His unadulterated Word of God.Luke 2:38 During these times, John, the Baptizer, had matured enough to begin his ministry. He too avoided Jerusalem and required those who would accept his message to come out to the wilderness and be baptized for repentance. (Perhaps this is why so many find the need to come out of organized systems and go to the wilderness.) Ah yes, when he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming from their high positions in Jerusalem, he denounced them. Their divisive character called for more than an outward sign!Luke 2:46 The Temple became a spiritual non-entity, though filled with worshippers. Remember, satan took Jesus, in the second temptation, to its pinnacle. The devil did not fear to be near it-nothing in it caused him alarm. He was so familiar with it, he didn't flinch in saying, "Jump and prove." (The gravity of this temptation is apparent when one thinks of the ramifications of doing a great feat before all the Temple leadership while garnering popularity and favor with the power elite. To impact the Temple-ites, and do so in Jerusalem the capitol city, had a wow factor! Most preachers would have jumped at the chance.)Matthew 3:5-7 Jesus, in His preaching about the Law and how He viewed "beyond the letter" behavior, said that Jerusalem was meant to be more than it had become. In this comment, He set straight the place of Jerusalem and its true identity. However, He did not hesitate to set things straight inside the Temple either. He confronted, on numerous occasions, the Temple leadership and their cohorts. Those guys would soon seek to "interview" Him, as if they were making legitimate inquiry. (Such reminds me of current media.)Matthew 5:35-36 Their first question was, "Why do your disciples break Moses' Law?" Jesus replied that what one thinks and says is the root of uncleanness, not the traditions of Pharisees.Matt 15:1 His own Disciples took Him to task for dishonoring these prelates of power. (How many pulpits would be upset if Jesus appeared and said, "Your worship is worthless?") If some prophet could be able to squeak by the "gate-keepers" and make such judgment-how many deacons, elders and church leaders would rush to defend their cause?Matthew 15:7-11 Jerusalem, the killing cityMatthew 15:12-13 Jerusalem and those who officiated over it were killers. Jerusalem became the "killing city." Roman soldiers had to quell insurrection and dissidence through force--for blood ran in the sacred streets. These questions were both open-ended and loaded. The two questions had one answer, "Better be prayed up, repented and ready to face death if you stick around this city." Random selection and the dangerous structure of the territory precluded bloodshed from many sources. Be assured, the Temple itself was not sacred to the Romans.Luke 13:1-2 Soon, His disciples and followers would witness His death at the hands of a mixed adjudication. Jesus' disciples began to view Jerusalem from a different perspective. (Often familiarity and reverence for a place blinds one's eyes from reality. Is it not time to examine why Jesus spoke to the fig tree which would not respond to entreaty and care?)Matthew 16:21 Israel and Jerusalem were often seen as the "fig tree."Luke 13:6-9 Jerusalem was no longer to be viewed in light of its historic place, but as God saw it--a city no longer governed by a responsive collective. (Perhaps it is time to view ministries and movements in light of their fruit, rather than their mission statements. Just maybe, it is time to put the axe to the root of the unresponsive, rebellious constructs which are posing as churches and ministries.) Jerusalem: The Subject Matter of the Transfiguration As a matter of fact, the subject matter discussed by Moses and Elijah was Jerusalem. Moses had never been there as a mortal. Elijah had fled its gates under indictment by a wicked governance. Jesus' disciples needed to see the plan of God and what part Jerusalem played in it. They were to view the city, not as a familiar and favored spot, but as a place where the covenant of Jesus' blood would stain its streets and forever change its significance.Luke 9:28-31 Transfiguration: (What has the church "handed over" to government in our day? The list is lengthened daily. "Handing Over" is the "smooth" way to accomplish the church's venial goals.)Luke 18:31-33 The Triumphal entry targeted Jerusalem: Turn now to Jesus' intent in cleansing the Temple. The people hailed Him, the authorities did not. Nonetheless, He taught the Word all day long to those in attendance.Luke 13:33-35 A great divide can be seen in the citizenry of the ancient community. Those of the power elite were threatened and sought a plan to jeopardize His popularity. The general public saw His miracles and wanted more of them. The general population wanted to hear Him. The governing agents did not want what He offered because repentance was far from them. (Jerusalem, today, is still a [nation and] city divided between two groups: the Sephardic and the Ashkenazim.)Matthew 21:10-12 In another place:Luke 19:47-48 In verse eighteen, the Jewish leaders issued the exact same challenge satan chose with Jesus. Why? They were of their father, the devil, just as He said. When the house of God is ruled by those who have not been born again, the religious system becomes exceedingly untrustworthy. Jesus didn't trust the people to know the difference. He knew they would be swayed, as they eventually were, against Him.John 2:17-24 Jerusalem, prepared for the crucifixion and the birth of the early church. In order for a new covenant to be established, the transition had to take place in Jerusalem.Mark 14:12-13 (It is not necessary to cite the passages concerning the new covenant significance of the elements of bread and wine at this point. The Last Supper, when combined with the crucifixion, along with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, gave life to the final covenant. The early church had to be birthed on the day of Pentecost (in that same upper room--which was symbolically tied to the new face of Jerusalem in prophecy). After His payment for our sins, and the shedding of His blood as the supreme sacrifice, came an earth shaking conclusion which was followed by God raising Jesus from the dead. So powerful was that forthcoming many graves were opened and Jerusalem saw the Godly dead come to life and walk the streets and visit loved ones.Luke 23:26-31 Notice, this was a selective group that came back to life: the Godly dead. The ungodly remained in the grave!Matthew 27:51-53 After His resurrection, Jesus remained in Jerusalem to prepare the Disciples for the birth of the church. Jerusalem transitioned from the city of the Ancient Jews--to the city where Christianity was founded. Naturally, the Disciples considered the Temple as the place for proper worship, but not for long. Their kind soon understood how Jesus' Supreme Sacrifice had negated the animal offerings. The attitude of those "running the show" was raw and unfriendly toward them. Finally, the Jerusalem Christians saw their numbers increase at first, then decrease as more and more fled before the persecution.Luke 24:46-53 (ascension) As the persecution increased, Christians feared for their lives. The city began to be drained of its glory, and Jerusalem lay fallow for two thousand years, until the end time.Acts 1:3-4 Notice, everyone fled except the apostles. Jerusalem was now the hub from which the spokes of the gospel projected. When Rome burned the city and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, it's key role changed from the center of religious Judaism, to the birthplace of Jesus' Spiritual Kingdom.Acts 8:1-5 Today, its central role is that of a "marker" to show the "time of the Gentiles" is ending and Jesus' return is any day now. In Acts 8, the verse above, be aware that gender and age meant nothing to those persecuting Christians. Approval came from the highest religious authority, the High Priest. (Here is where I wish to observe that in the future, Christians may again find persecution comes from religious "sell outs" supported by governing officialdom. For many years, I had the privilege of traveling with Rev. Chas. A. Gruber of Riga, Latvia. He told me that when he was a child, the pastor of his church (Baptist) disappeared just before the Communist invasion of the Baltics and re-appeared, some month later, in military uniform--telling his congregation he had "informed" the incoming authorities about them, their locations and the number of family members in each unit. To Charles, it was a devastating revelation to see his pastor "sell them out" to the enemy. They fled to Brazil, and there his father died of malaria the first year. He warned me, before his death, of the impending "sell out" that might again take place. Judaism, like Roman Catholicism, was so deeply rooted in the lives of the early converts that subversion of the gospel (through compromise) began almost immediately. Exclusivism took its toll, for the phrase "only to the Jews" was a powerful restriction. Instead of the freedom which the gospel brings, the "add ons" reached out to choke that freedom. (Can anyone see modern similarities?)Acts 11:19 (Early on, as a senior in college, I had a colleague who was working on a text for a book entitled, "The Tentacles of the Octopus." All of us, in those days, were serious-minded beyond our years. His book explored religious systems and how they wrap around every segment of life and influence decisions which are far afield from their source. Gene F., was an observer of the power elite in all segments of society, and how their clandestine decisions were often flavored by religious dogma. Their conclusion:Acts 15:4-6 Notice how James found (in the words of Amos) his answers in the Old Testament. He also found credence in the traditions of Judaism for abstaining from fornication and unbled meats from strangled animals. Though the larger issue of Gentile inclusion was Biblically oriented, the traditions of the past had to be included to satisfy the leadership. (How long has it been since you heard a message on either of these subjects? Hmmm?)Acts 15:13-21 In spite of the decision in Jerusalem, among the elders, observe the following passage. (My, how Jerusalem's octopus found places to attach their tentacles.) Jerusalem had changed from the Holy City to a place of terror. Nonetheless, the Holy Spirit led Paul to it as a witness. Renowned for his former credentials, Paul now came to be the "touch stone" for a new age and would serve as the "firebrand" igniting the Temple's demise.Acts 16:3-5 However, the church at Jerusalem initiated a plan of appeasement. It was decided that Paul must go to the Temple, offer a sacrifice and thereby align himself with the Jerusalem church's thinking. (Compromise and circumvention has never been the plan of God.) Look now at the early leadership's reasoning.Acts 21:18-22 Meanwhile, the Turkish Jews arrived and kept Paul from carrying out this charade. From the moment of their arrival and interference, the movement of Paul from one court to another led to his appeal to Rome and to Caesar. Here is the text of the Turkish Jews.Acts 21:24 The last mention of Jerusalem in Acts is found among the Jews at Rome.Acts 21:28-32 When God instructed Paul to "Say to the Jews," the transition was complete.Acts 28:22-31 Until Next month, Dr. Cosby R. Oliver, PhD. |
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