I found this profoundly thought provoking...."Something remarkable happened with the advent of Jesus the Messiah. I think of it in terms of two massive events: outpouring of the holy spirit and resurrection.
The spirit is promised to be poured out repeatedly in the Old Testament (Isaiah 32.13-18; 44.1-5; Ezekiel 11.17-20; Ezekiel 36.24-28, 33-35; 37.12-14; 39.25 – 29; Joel 2.28 – 3.2). Each of these mentions of the spirit being poured out is eschatological (it related to the events of the end of time). Furthermore, resurrection was also seen as corporate and eschatological (Daniel 12.2; Ezekiel 37; Isaiah 25). Even when John the Baptist spoke of the baptism of the spirit that Messiah would bring, he was thinking about the end-time judgment (not Pentecost). Furthermore, when Jesus spoke of resurrection he also thought of it as a corporate event and attached to it the phrase, “last day” (John 6.39, 40, 44, 54; Luke 14.14; John 5.28-29; 11.24-25). So the resurrection and the outpouring of the spirit are eschatologically grounded concepts.
But, what if God, in his wisdom, decided to have an early resurrection? What if God, to show the world that his son really is the Messiah, raised him from the dead? What would that mean? Furthermore, when Jesus is about to ascend to the Father he tells them that they will be baptized with the spirit in a few days and to stay in Jerusalem. Where do the disciples’ minds instantly go? They think of the kingdom, to God’s bright future of ruling earth through a restored Israel led by his vice-regent, the Messiah. However, Jesus gently corrects this understanding by saying that the restoration of Israel is yet future (we don’t know the times or seasons) even so, the holy spirit will come soon. Here Jesus reaches into the future and pulls the spirit, an eschatological event, and promises that it will come early.
So what are we to make of an early resurrection and an early outpouring of the holy spirit?
There is a lot that could be said but I will limit it to just a couple of notions. Resurrection means that God has vindicated his servant that the promised judgment/restoration (i.e. the kingdom) is really coming and that Jesus will be the judge/king of the age to come. Furthermore, resurrection teaches us that the power of death has been broken. Satan has been defeated and Christ is the victor. But, how did he win? Through a remarkable defeat—the cross—Jesus emerges the conqueror. Jesus absorbs all the hatred and violence of a world peopled with radically depraved and vengeful creatures and in so doing he ends the cycle. The myth of redemptive violence is squelched and the king conquers without raising the war cry. What an example for us to follow? We are to take up the cross and follow his path of nonviolent, self-sacrificial, outrageous love.
But, what do we make of the spirit? Why is the spirit of the kingdom here early?
It must be so that we can live the lifestyle of the kingdom early, right? We are the future of humanity, the eschatological community, living the lifestyle of the future in the midst of this present evil age. We are those who have already beaten our swords into plowshares as a prophetic sign of the coming kingdom when all swords will likewise be melted down. We no longer study war but seek peace in every sphere of life. The rest of the world can get on board with this or find itself left behind in the ashes of a world that never made sense, never satisfied, never resulted in safety. The Christian community lives the life of the kingdom in the present in the power of the spirit because at one end, Jesus is resurrected, and at the other, he is coming again to establish God’s righteous rule for all.
The Old Testament saints are not guilty for their use of violence, they are just outdated. To go back to that sort of morality is to tacitly insult the cross, ignore the resurrection, and empty yourself of the spirit: three things we dare not do.
2 comments:
I wonder sometimes if Christians are going to have to live the kingdom here on earth before He comes back. I have always heard that our world is fallen and we have to wait for the 2nd coming to experience the Kingdom of God. Maybe we have to experience the Kingdom for God to come back. I once had some teachers who waited until I learned my lesson before they ended the test. We might be waiting a while if that is the case.
Yah...I think much about this.
The charge of too much "realized eschatology" is often tagged onto folks who lean to much into these thoughts. But when I look at Jesus, the Apostles and the early church...I see a lot of living and action that appeared to be like they were living in and out a Kingdom not of this world.
Today...not so much.
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