“He answered, “I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew 15:24
Ukraine…what
to say about Ukraine. I am not going to give my expert opinion on Ukraine,
because I am not one (update: if you wish to hear an expert opinion click here). I am not an expert on Eastern European relations, and I
have never been to either country. However, I do have an opinion; I lean
strongly towards Russia being provoked by a few factors: continual NATO
aggression, pressure on his country, and the plight of the Russians in the
Donbass region. I also see Putin’s moves as broadly fitting in with the obvious
decay of the strength of the West. It’s not a coincidence that he is moving
now, after witnessing the West ruled by anxiety and fear for nearly 3 years. I
have no idea of the true extent of Putin’s intentions, and I do not believe him
to be a saint, however he puts his people first, and a leader should do that.
Putin has also not spent the last three years directly oppressing or
gaslighting Aussies like our leaders have, and continue to do to many, so I am
not upset at all about the liberal world order being shaken. God shakes things
when they have fallen out of his favour, and it is clear the West is under
judgement. A lot more could be said and has been said by many. What I want to
do is look at this whole affair from a different perspective, the ministry of
Jesus.
You may
immediately think: what relevance does the ministry of Jesus have to this whole
situation with Ukraine? If you are a Christian, then let me tell you, this is
precisely the problem with how we engage in world affairs as Christians. We
think too much like the world and too little like the Scriptures, and the Lord
of those Scriptures. Many Australian, and indeed American, Christians are big
believers in intervening militarily in foreign wars. Never mind the fact that
none of these interventions have been successful since 1945, and even the
“successful” intervention of World War 2 ended up empowering the Soviet Union
and is part of the causal chain underpinning the current crisis. Despite all of
the West’s disasters many people believe that Western interventionism, though
imperfect, is still benign and therefore should be encouraged in times of
crisis. Troops on the ground prevents larger wars, sort of thinking. People believe this still, despite
all of the evidence to the contrary.
This is
worldly thinking. It is not righteous thinking. It is not our job, even as part
of some global policing alliance, to interfere in wars of other nations with
military force or support. Especially when they are far away, constituted of a
very alien culture, and regard issues that are none of our concern, and I want
to demonstrate that this is biblical thinking. I particularly want to
demonstrate this from the ministry of Jesus.
Have you
noticed how rarely if ever Jesus criticizes or speaks about the actions of the
Romans? This is remarkable to observe, because Jesus was a Jewish man living
under an unjust occupation of his own homeland and people, yet very rarely does
he even speak about the Romans. We know from the few times he does that he
doesn’t appear to like them very much (except of course the Roman Centurion c.f.
Matt. 8:5-13). We never see anything even kind of similar to an, “I stand
with….fill in the dots to support the current country,” statement in Jesus’
ministry. Yet, Jesus lived in the same world of conflict that we do. Look at
this (the numbers are years in the first century, for example 9AD, etc.):
- “Battle of the Teutoburg
Forest (9) – German leader Arminius ambushes three Roman
legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus.
- Battle at Pontes Longi (15)
- Indecisive battle between a Roman army under Aulus Caecina
Severus and German tribes led by Arminius.
- Battle of the Weser
River (16) - Legions under Germanicus defeat German tribes
of Arminius.
- Roman conquest of
Britain (43–96)
- 43 – Battle of the
Medway – Claudius and general Aulus
Plautius defeat a confederation of British Celtic
tribes. Roman invasion of Britain begins.
- 50 – Battle of Caer
Caradoc – British chieftain Caractacus is defeated and
captured by the Romans under Ostorius Scapula.”[i]
This is a
list of major wars that were happening in the general era of Jesus’ ministry
(these wars dates from 9AD to 50AD[ii]).
None of these wars were co-terminus with the ministry of Jesus, yet the Romans
were committing all sorts of atrocities around their empire, and they had
continual border skirmishes on every boundary of the empire. The Germans along
the Rhine were a particular problem for the Romans and would eventually conquer
Rome and pretty much all of Europe. Small scale border conflict was pretty much
continual. Rome was up to its neck in attacking various peoples often.
So where is
Jesus’ “I stand with Germania Libera”[iii]
statement? Where is Jesus’ I stand with the victims of Roman aggression
statement? We don’t have one, because Jesus was not focused on such things in
his ministry. He was a Jewish man (also God in the flesh) who was concerned
about how the Jewish leaders were treating his people, and he was here to
achieve salvation for all people in the midst of the Jewish people.
It is
important to note in this context that we never see Jesus railing against the
Jewish leaders for not involving themselves in the affairs of other nations.
Indeed, we never see Israel being judged for this reason anywhere in Scripture.
Jesus’ ministry is thoroughly consistent with the teaching of the Old
Testament, when God judges a nation’s leaders it is because: a) they have
committed idolatry, b) have been unrighteous, c) have harmed their own people,
d) have harmed or interfered with other peoples. There are many variations of
these themes. Yet, never are leaders in the Bible challenged to solve the
problems of other nations, and never does Jesus rebuke the Jewish leaders for
not seeking to interfere, in say, the border regions of Rome.
Jesus was
concerned with the Jewish leaders neglect of his own, and their own, people.
“35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he
had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of
the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:35-38).
People often
forget that at least one of the statements about the harvest being plentiful
was in the context of the utter neglect and abandon that the Jewish leaders had
shown for their people, creating great desperation and need. Jesus observed on
many occasions how the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were hurting or
neglecting his people, the Jewish people. This infuriated him.
“23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the
law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without
neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing
a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the
outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and
self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and
the plate, that the outside also may be clean” (Matt. 23:23-26).
Jesus
criticized the Jewish leaders on many occasions and he was not afraid to list
their many faults. Never among those faults was that they were not doing enough
about issues far afield in other nations. Indeed, think about how silly such an
accusation would be, national leaders have no sovereignty over foreign nations.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were among the national leaders of Israel, especially
the Sadducees. Remember in this day the religious and secular leaders were not
distinguished, the religion of Israel was intrinsically wound up in the state.
So, it is reasonable for us to observe how Jesus weighed and measured the
Jewish leaders and apply this to our own modern national leaders. His priority is
clearly on their neglect of their duties to their own subjects and people, and
the temporary sojourner within their midst.
Make no
mistake, Jesus himself was focused on the Jewish people in his ministry. We see
an interesting example of this in the gospel of Mark:
“24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of
Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he
could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an
unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the
woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And
she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her,
“Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's
bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even
the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her,
“For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30
And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone” (Mark
7:24-30).
This is a
remarkably brutal passage on the behalf of Jesus. Over the years I have seen
people try to explain the response of Jesus here away, because he hits the
woman with a pretty harsh statement, “27 And he said to her, “Let the children
be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to
the dogs.” Here is this woman, who comes to him in need, and he appears to slap
her down, almost appearing to want to drive her away. Why would Jesus respond
like this?
Well, simply
because he is a Jewish male, and she is a Syrophoenician woman. Matthew calls
her a Canaanite (Matt. 15:22). The Syrophoenicians[iv],
or ancient Phoenicians, were a Canaanite people who were often allies of the
Israelites, evening aiding in the building of the temple under Solomon, but
they also had an incredibly negative impact on the Israelite nation. Jezebel,
for example, was a Phoenician woman, from Tyre and Sidon, and she had great
influence over the corruption of the worship of Yahweh in Israel greatly
encouraging the worship of the Baals and Asherah’s, “25 (There was none who
sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom
Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as
the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel)” (1
Kings 21:25-26). Women like Jezebel were literally the epitome of a dangerous
snare to a righteous Jewish male. Indeed, Jesus himself would speak about this
in Revelation (Rev. 2:19-23). When you understand the danger such Canaanite
women posed, it is not surprising that Jesus would respond with contempt and suspicion.
But this is
also an important nationalist argument about the role of national leaders, the
children should be fed first, before the dogs. Leaders should prioritize their
people. Because Jesus is a good leader, he is prioritizing his people. You may
not like how Jesus phrases this, but this is simply the meaning of his
statement: I must prioritize my own people first and foremost, others can wait.
Matthew states this directly in his version of the account where Jesus says to
the woman, “He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel’ (Matt. 15:24). Jesus did not care about political correctness at all in
his ministry, which is part of why he was so cruelly executed.
The woman’s
response is remarkable because she shows that she understands this. What does
she say, “28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the
table eat the children's crumbs.” In other words, the dogs get the leftovers.
Jesus loves this answer, because it shows she is: a) not a threat to his
ministry, and b) she recognizes her place as not being part of his Jewish
people, and so he grants her the answer to her request, “29 And he said to her,
“For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30
And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”
We see here
that Jesus has a deep understanding of the role of a leader of his people. A
national leader should be focused on his people. Of course, once your people’s
needs are met, then it is reasonable to help others. In the case of Jesus he
has unlimited resources, in the case of national leaders they do not, and they
have no right to use tax power funded resources that are to be dedicated to
their own peoples to help foreign peoples. Unless of course their nation is not
in need of it. Such a society doesn’t yet exist does it?
Jesus’
unique love for his own people carries through to the end of his ministry,
“37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not
willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you
will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord’” (Matt. 23:37-39).
Jesus loved
his people, like a loyal son of Jerusalem should. Modern readers forget that
most people in the world today do not, and most people in history did not, live
in a state of cultural or ethnic self-loathing. This is a particularly sinister
wickedness of modern westerners; any loyalty to your own nation is seen as out
of date, not right, even evil in some quarters. But the Bible is not like that,
read the Psalms, see how the Jews loved their nation, the Romans loved theirs
just as much, as did the Greeks, so did the Persians, Egyptians, and more.
Jesus is
truly a Jewish man, he truly did come in human flesh, and he felt the loyalty
and love for his own that is natural for a person to feel. Of course, Jesus’
ministry has multinational implications, and his message has as much
application for Gentiles as it does for the ancient Jews; but you can see in
his focus a determined dedication to his own people. Now, he did not believe
that people of other nations were not of value, or should not be extended
grace, that is not my point at all, and I want to state that outright so there
is no confusion, for the parable of the good Samaritan displays this deeply. So
does Jesus’ answering this woman’s prayer. He just shows with his perspective where
a leader’s loyalties should lie; with his own. This is not radical; it used to
be normal; but in a globalist world it is frowned on.
If a
national leader is supposed to interfere in other nations affairs, why does God
never condemn them for not doing so? Why does Jesus never even broach the
topic? Because this is not the purpose of a government; this is the Satanic-Babel-empire-building-corruption
of the purpose of government that has infested many nations. The kind of
thinking idea that leads to ideas or movements such as: nations should be
joined together into empires, one king ruling over many nations with many
vassal states, or nations interfering with each other for global goals, should
be condemned. This is not God’s intention for the nations, it’s an evil
inversion.
God
determined for nations to be separate and self-governing, limited by their own
borders, “26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all
the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of
their dwelling place,” It is the human desire for empire, and for going beyond
our God given role that causes us to want to do more. For a nation to seek to
enlarge its borders is unrighteous, “Amos 1:13, “Thus says the Lord: “For three
transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the
punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they
might enlarge their border.” Note here it is the ripping of pregnant women and
enlarging borders that are sins. In fact, Proverbs says, “28 Do not move an ancient
boundary stone set up by your ancestors” (NIV). A government only has
sovereignty up to its borders, it ends there, and its borders are not to be
moved. Of course, people move them all the time and many modern borders are
disputed, which is part of why we have so much trouble in the world.
But here is
the good news: the Scriptures DO give believers ONE way to interfere in the
power structure of other nations; through the spreading of the gospel. Jesus
told us to take the gospel out into the world and command the nations to obey
him (Matt. 28:18-20). When you do this, you will come up against pagan kings
who are opposed to the gospel, or sometimes open to the gospel,
“17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts
and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors
and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When
they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are
to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is
not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew
10:17-20)
God has
given us authority to come before kings and leaders of people to tell them to
repent, turn to God and submit to the King of kings. I am not one of those
people who believe Christians should not be involved in politics; the gospel
has direct implications not just for people, but for nations,
“1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his
prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from
David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus
Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring
about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6
including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ…” (Romans 1:1-6).
As citizens
our priority as people of our nation is to work for its good, the priority of
national leaders is to focus on their own people, and if there are leftovers it
can go to other peoples. But as Christians we have the authority to take the
gospel to all nations and seek to work for the obedience of kings and
presidents and all kinds of leaders. The Church is for all people everywhere,
and the world needs this message.
I encourage
those Christians who are eager to get involved in Ukraine that this is your
avenue of influence: take the gospel. Stand before leaders you disagree with
like the brave Roman and Irish missionaries that stood before Anglo-Saxon kings
and proclaim repentance. The Church has a history of such brave missionaries.
Don’t get me wrong, at times the Church was advanced at the point of a sword,
Charlemagne comes to mind here. But that isn’t how we were told to spread the
message. The mandate we have been given from our king, if we choose to accept
it, is to say to people and national leaders everywhere: turn to Jesus and bow
before the King.
But outside
of this, we need to follow the example of our Lord, and stop interfering with
other nations because it causes more trouble than it solves. If you love your
neighbour you don’t constantly interfere and make things worse. You treat them how you want to be treated: in
this case, as a sovereign nation.
List of
references
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