The Inconvenient Christ

 

The Inconvenient Christ

By Adah Hutchcraft (Daughter of Given O. Blakely)

The Inconvenient Christ (Mark 5:1-20)

Christ’s grace changes the believing, yet it does not necessarily produce outcomes valued by all who profess peace with him. When worldly allegiances are maintained in the heart, the perception of Christ is warped to accommodate them. Such contortions do not appear far from the truth when wrapped in terms of love and acceptance. Subtly emerges the portrayal of a merciful teacher of a non-judgmental gospel. Such a christ meets us where we are and does not impose fundamental change. This soft savior is a gentleman who makes few (if any) demands on our lives. He conveniently respects the restricted territories one designates as impassable. Indeed, all seems manageable to the flesh until the true Savior arrives, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus was often thronged by eager multitudes seeking respite and healing from serious ailments and spiritual oppression. On one such occasion, Jesus sends the multitudes away and departs by ship to the country of the Gadarenes, a town east of the Jordan. It was occupied predominantly by gentiles, and farming swine was a known trade among them. For these reasons, Gadara was an unlikely place for a Jewish Messiah to visit. No one was expecting him, so it would seem. Perhaps this is one reason Jesus is not met with crowds upon his arrival. He is, however, promptly met by a local man who could not ignore Jesus’ holy presence in his territory.

This man did not appear to be a tradesman, scholar, or a soldier, and his name is unmentioned. Yet, he is well known in Gadara for a most appalling and frightening condition. Day and night his anguished screams are heard resonating amidst the tombs where he tortures himself by cutting. He is a wild man, and although his countryman have attempted to bind him with chains, he breaks their bonds into bits. One can neither socialize with him nor reason with him. No band of men can restrain his violent behaviors. Incantations, medication, nor ligatures can begin relieve his pain or prevent his self-harm. He is a prisoner in his own body, oppressed by an unclean spirit. The host is mercilessly abused, unchallenged. Yet when Jesus steps foot on Gadara’s shore, the oppressor knows a greater authority has arrived.

God incarnate comes to an unprepared Gadara. With no place to hide, the unclean spirit sends its host running to Jesus, casting him at his feet. This is not a demonstration of willing adoration, but the mandatory response for hopeless rebelliousness. Jesus’ authority marks Satan’s condemnation, and a set time has been appointed for his confinement and judgment (Revelation 20:10). The unclean spirit pleads for more time, not to repent, but to express itself. Jesus does not receive the tainted worship, and commands the unclean spirit to come out of the man. This Jesus, the true Jesus, does not come to passively observe his creation, but to “heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and... to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). This One who created the world demands the name of the pernicious perpetrator. “Legion,” it replies.

Legion must have had a leading spokesman, for at one point it speaks in the first person and at another time in the third person. The name, however, represents them all​. One spirit had made room for another and another. The nature of Satan’s oppression belies the intent of his temptations. One sin makes room for another as it gains stronger hold. We do not know how this man came into such a state because that is not the Spirit’s focus. Standing before the vexed is one greater than his vexor or vexation. Jesus comes to bind up the strong man and plunder his house, far from a passive role​ (Mark 3:27). Preparing for eviction, Legion pleads for another holding place. It begs to be sent into into a herd of swine feeding near the mountains.

The same personalities which inhabited one man now enter two thousand swine and send them into madness. Unclean enters unclean, and the herd immediately leaves grazing in the field, violently stampeding down the steep ledge, and drowning in the waters below. The capacity of the human spirit is expansive, for it is created as a spiritual habitation. We were created to be filled with the fullness of God, and Jesus takes back what is rightfully his by liberating the demoniac (Ephesians 3:19). What had once torn this man from the inside out was now removed by the authority of holiness. The captive is delivered from his oppressor, his torment, and his stolen years of shame.

What an emancipation, not just for one man, but for a whole city. No more would his tortured cries echo from the graveyard where people wished to mourn their loved ones in peace. All would be freed from the sights and sounds of his nakedness and agony, his terrible strength no longer threatening. Yet it was not the cessation of screams which captured the attention of the town. In fact, the only people who seemed to notice were those who fed the swine which had since plummeted to their death. The herdsman announced to their fellow countrymen what they perceived to be a disturbing occurrence​.

The response to this man’s freedom was fear. The Gadarenes made their living on animals that were ritually unclean according to Jewish Law, and it was a stable source of income until Jesus the Jew arrived. Inconveniences such as a man’s demon-possed state had become normalized in Gadara, for he had been possessed a long time (Luke 8:27). At least he did not pose any threat to their livelihoods, because his devils had driven him into the wilderness (Luke 8:29). Suddenly the herdsmen are thrown into disarray. The countrymen unite to investigate their tragic loss. Upon finding Jesus, the formerly possessed is observed sitting clothed and in his right mind. The witnesses are struck by such amazement that they are alarmed​.

Not everyone is glad when they witness the effects of Christ’s authority. His power over what we cannot control conforms his authority over us, too. He brings change whether or not we like it or ask for it, and at times regardless of our preparedness. In this case, one man’s release was considered by others to be a personal loss. One man was delivered from his uncleanness while others were clinging to theirs. If our landscape was so drastically changed with the casting out of one man's demons, what if this Jesus performs more exorcisms among us? What could such superior power do?​ When Jesus delivers people from sin, it often poses threat to the cherished and convenient sins of those around them. As the Holy transforms souls, accommodated transgressions are brought to light and given no place to openly flourish. The flesh considers what it has to lose of higher value than what Jesus gives. The Gadarenes were of this mind and thus pleaded with Jesus to leave. ​ Love and peace on human terms is acceptable, but impositions on livelihoods and lifestyles are unwelcomed by unrepentant hearts, even when it is the outcome of mercy. Jesus is not a convenient Christ, but therein lies his mercy. He is not willing that any should perish, which assuredly would be our end apart from his gracious imposition. Instead, at great cost to himself, he affords eternal life to all who believe on him.

Christ places limits on unrepentant influences, by gives freedom to hearts which fellowship in the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Jesus is not a gentleman, and He will unapologetically prove the foolishness of displaced worship and idolatrous reliance. He is not about making the world a better place for us, but making us a holy place for himself. The Gadarenes rejected Divinity’s presence because Jesus’ authority threatened them and their priorities. Meanwhile, the man who sat clothed and in his right mind​ requested to go with Jesus from Gadara. He wanted to be with this​ one​ who delivered him.

Since the Gadarenes desired the Savior to leave, it seemed reasonable for all of his followers to go with him, including his new convert. A fresh start in a new town would be preferable, and certainly more comfortable given his recent past. Proximity to Jesus could reassure the disciple that he would not become demonically possessed again, and wherever they went other Christ-followers would surely be nearby. Yet the Savior has a different calling for him. Jesus tells this delivered one to stay and “tell his friends the great things the Lord had done for him, how he had compassion on him​.” He had friends-- acquaintances established prior to his possession. ​ Now he will follow Jesus by going to those friends. The man’s life had taken a frightening turn in the direction of shame, isolation and destruction. His friends likely grieved his long season of torment. Now without having sought it, he knew the power and mercy of God like never before, and stood as a living testimony to who Jesus was: the Son of God. Jesus reached into this man’s life and retrieved him from Satan’s clutches, leaving neither bruise nor scar upon him. It was power manifested in anticipation of an even greater deliverance to come, “when he...disarmed the rulers and authorities, [making] a public spectacle of them, having triumphed over them through the cross” (Colossians 2:15). This delivered one’s testimony would prepare souls to receive the risen Lord after he laid down his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Welcomed or not, the Savior’s presence will not be convenient for the flesh. He will ultimately remove what unholy even if it is unwillingly relinquished, and he will send us where we do not anticipate going, though not without his power. The gift of salvation and came at a high price to himself, and we too must humble ourselves to receive our Lord. Once infamously renown for his madness, it was not convenient for the former demoniac to remain in Gadara, but it was his calling. Like all disciples of Christ, he had to forsake all to follow Jesus, a sacrifice rewarded with greater joy than sorrow (Luke 14:33). So while Jesus calls us to die to sin and self, it is a death which liberates us from the slavery of sin (Romans 6:6). The life we lose makes place for that eternal life which can never die, and the desires of which will be satisfied without exception (Matthew 16:25; John 11:25-26; Ps 37:4).

About Christ’s Coming

“Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Rev. 1:7).

Messiah, Christ, the Christ of God (Mt. 22:42; Lk. 9:20).

Messiah, Christ, the Christ of God (Mt. 22:42; Lk. 9:20). 

 Messiah, Christ, the Anointed of God.  In this blessed name given to the Lord Jesus we see that the carrying out of God's eternal purpose has been given entirely into Christ's hands.  The government is on Christ's shoulders.  Christ came into the world that He might lay down His life a ransom for many.  (This was the commandment He received of the Father, and He kept it without spot.)  By Himself Christ purged our sins (made purification for sins). He has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  Through death, Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.  In His death Christ spoiled principalities and powers, making a show of them openly.  In His resurrection, He Himself was the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:25).  Christ would be the firstfruits of them that would rise from the dead.  In Christ's death He was, and is, the Last Adam.  In His resurrection He is the Second Man (see I Cor. 15:45, 47).  In His ascension to the right hand of God, Christ has become our great High Priest in things pertaining to God. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him.  In His coming again in glory, Christ has made watchfulness to be the watchword for the time of our sojourn here in the flesh.  The prospect of His coming again in glory has become the blessed hope of the church.

Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (I Pet. 2:25).

Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (I Pet. 2:25). 

He nurtures and cares for the souls of those who have believed upon His Name, strengthening them unto the warfare of faith. 

Psalm 23 and Psalm 80 are both “Shepherd Psalms”.  Psalm 23 reflects upon a lifetime of the Shepherd’s tender care.  Psalm 80 is a plea to the Shepherd of Israel to return, and “turn us again, and cause Thy face to shine”, evidencing, among other things, that the fulness of the time had not yet come (cf. Gal. 4:4). 

But now that sin has been put away by the Lord Jesus Christ, “going astray” is no longer the norm for the people of God and it is spoken of as something associated with our past. We WERE as sheep going astray and we have now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of our souls.  This is the language of the work of salvation being brought to its consummation. 

In view of this, let us have done with doctrines that gloss the sin issue, as the times of ignorance has long passed, and the Day of salvation is now upon us. Believing men and women have been invested with new creatureship in Christ, enabling them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

About Christ Tasting Death for Every Man

About Christ’s Tasting of Death

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9).  Christ tasted death in the sense that every man must taste (the separation of the spirit from the body). And for those who have believed on Him unto life everlasting, He has taken away the fear of death with its accompanying enslavement (cf. Heb. 2:15).

But Christ has also tasted (experienced) death in the behalf of "every man" in an infinitely greater sense as He hung upon the Cross, suspended between Heaven and earth, being both rejected of men and “smitten of God” (Isa. 53:3-4). There it was that He experienced the complete separation from His Father (Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34), whom to know is life (cf. Jn. 17:3). It was there that He "bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Pet. 2:24). Christ tasted of this unspeakably dreadful separation in the behalf of “every man”. To “the honest and good heart” (Lk. 8:15), this is marvelously good news.  But only those who are found in Christ, having obeyed the gospel and are continuing steadfastly in the faith, shall partake of the benefits of the salvation which is in Him with eternal glory (cf. Rom. 10:16; Col. 1:13-23; II Tim. 2:10). One of the causes of torment for those who are finally cast into hell, no doubt, will be the consideration that Christ tasted death, even for those who are cast away, but they did not receive the salvation that God has abundantly provided in His beloved Son. –Editor

 

ただ、「しばらくの間、御使たちよりも低い者とされた」イエスが、死の苦しみのゆえに、栄光とほまれとを冠として与えられたのを見る。それは、彼が神の恵みによって、すべての人のために死を味わわれるためであった。(Heb. 2:9).

 

“Wir sehen aber Jesus, der ein wenig unter die Engel wegen des Leidens des Todes erniedrigt war, mit Herrlichkeit und Ehre gekrönt—so dass er durch Gottes Gnade für alles den Tod schmeckte.“

 

“но (мы) видим, что за претерпение смерти увенчан славою и честью Иисус, Который не много был унижен пред Ангелами, дабы Ему, по благодати Божией, вкусить смерть за всех.”

 

“Mais celui qui a été abaissé pour un peu de temps au-dessous des anges, Jésus, nous le voyons couronné de gloire et d'honneur à cause de la mort qu'il a soufferte, afin que, par la grâce de Dieu, il souffrît la mort pour tous.”

 

“Azt azonban látjuk, hogy Jézus, a ki egy kevés idõre kisebbé tétetett az angyaloknál, a halál elszenvedéséért dicsõséggel és tisztességgel koronáztatott meg, hogy az Isten kegyelmébõl mindenkiért megízlelje a  halált.”

 

“En vér sjáum, að Jesús, sem "skamma stund var gjörður englunum lægri," er "krýndur vegsemd og heiðri" vegna dauðans sem hann þoldi. Af Guðs náð skyldi hann deyja fyrir alla.”

 

“men den som var gjort lite ringere enn englene, Jesus, ham ser vi, fordi han led døden, kronet med herlighet og ære, forat han ved Guds nåde skulde smake døden for alle.”

 

“Ale tego, który na małą chwilę mniejszym stał się od Aniołów, Jezusa, widzimy przez ucierpienie śmierci chwałą i czcią ukoronowanego, aby z łaski Bożej za wszystkich śmierci skosztował.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Views of Redemptive Order

The Works of God are Precise in Every Detail!

 

Two Views of Redemptive Order 

By Fred O. Blakely 

From an overall view of the situation, two contrasting orders of the unfolding of redemption’s plan are apparent. These, of course, are in no sense contradictory of each other. They simply portray the case as regarded from different perspectives. It is a good exercise of the spirit to consider them.

The Priority of the Natural. The first presents what might be termed the priority of the natural creation in the scheme of things, and is set forth by Paul in First Corinthians 15:42-47. He points out the order of the development of God’s purpose, as shown in the respective federal heads of the race—Adam and Christ. “That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual,” he observes.

His reference is to the fact that the “first Adam” came before the “last Adam” [Christ]. Hence, the natural body which came from Adam the first is our first tabernacle, but, after it is cast off by death, comes the “spiritual body,” which Adam the last gives. He concludes with the blessed assurance that “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” i.e., Christ, our resurrected body being “fashioned according to His glorious body” (v. 49; cf. Phil. 3:21). 

The Grand Scope Envisaged. The Apostle here envisages the grand outworking of God’s eternal purpose in Christ. Insofar as bodily salvation is concerned, that purpose will ultimate in the complete undoing of the curse of corruption and mortality brought by Adam’s sin, as Romans 5:12-21 develops more fully. 

This is what was declared earlier in First Corinthians 15:20-22: “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the Firstfruits of them that slept [not only of the justified, but also of the unjustified; see John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15]. For since by man came death, by Man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “But every man in his own order,” it is added: “Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” (v. 23). 

The Two Orders of Resurrection. Only two orders of resurrection are here mentioned—that of our Lord’s and that of the general resurrection “at His coming.” The term, “they that are Christ’s,” must, in its broader sense, refer, not to His church exclusively (though by it the Apostle for the moment may have specifically meant that), but to all mankind. This is because Christ, as we have seen, is here generally contemplated as the federal Head of humanity (as regards bodily resurrection), just as the first Adam was so in the old creation. 

This must be the inclusive scope intended by “they that are Christ’s”; otherwise, the Apostle contradicts himself by saying that Christ is “the Firstfruits of them that slept,” and that resurrection by Christ is as certain and extensive as death was by Adam. Such a contradiction, of course, is unthinkable, as it is impossible that it should exist. 

The First Place of the Spiritual. It is noteworthy that, in one view of the situation, there is a reversal of the redemptive order set forth above. From this aspect, “that which is spiritual” is first, then “that which” is bodily, not the other way round, as regarded in First Corinthians 15:46. 

The Edenic “transgression” (I Tim. 2:14) was essentially spiritual, although physical activity was involved in the taking and eating of the proscribed tree’s fruit (Gen. 3:6). Accordingly, the immediately-effective part of God’s punishment of death for the sin was also spiritual. He had warned Adam that the day in which he should eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” he should “surely die” (ch. 2:15-16). And “it was so” (ch. 1:11), he being that day alienated from his Creator, with whom he apparently had previously enjoyed close communion, which spiritual separation is death. It was 930 years later that he paid the penalty of physical death. 

The Parallel in Redemption. And so it is, when contemplated from this angle, with “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). Man is first redeemed spiritually through his acceptance by faith and baptism of God’s saving grace. He, thus, lives unto God in his spirit before his bodily redemption becomes effective. The latter will take place “in the resurrection” (Mt. 22:30), at Jesus’ second coming. Not until then shall he experience “the redemption” of the body (Rom. 8:23-25; Eph. 1:13-14), realizing the consummate salvation from the condemnation and death into which the first Adam, by sin against God, plunged the human race. 

Meanwhile, those who have now “received the atonement” for sin wrought by Christ (Rom. 5:11) live unto God through Him, and “rejoice in hope” of the bodily salvation “ready to be revealed” when Jesus appears (Rom. 5:2; I Pet. 1:5). As the first Adam sinned, experienced the spiritual phase of his death sentence, so they who have obeyed Christ now have spiritual life in Him. And as Adam later tasted of the physical part of the death penalty, so they, too, shall, by and by, have their corruptible bodies replaced by incorruptible ones, and be given to live forever in full fellowship with and service of the gracious Father, as completely redeemed beings. 

So does the order of redemption, as thus viewed, parallel that of the curse’s application as a result of the fall. First the spiritual is experienced, then comes the bodily, of which the former is an earnest and pledge. Great and marvelous, of a truth, are the works of our God, and precise in every detail as to their correspondence. —The End—

Christ, Our City of Refuge

 

By Dean Boelt

 

"That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us" (Heb. 6:18).

 

In God's provision of "the cities of refuge" under the old covenant (Josh. 20:2), was a graphic foreshadowing of the blessed spiritual asylum that those who become identified with Christ have in Him.

 

The Historic Situation. Provision for the cities—six in number—was first announced through Moses (Ex. 21:13: Num. 35:9-15; Deut. 19:1-10). The determined provision was implemented under the leadership of Joshua, as stipulated in Joshua 20:1-9.

 

The cities' purpose was to provide sanctuary from "the avenger of blood," who probably would be in hot pursuit, for a person who had accidentally killed another. Ultimately, the killer's case was to be decided by "the congregation" (Josh. 20:6). In the meantime, the fugitive was accorded protection in the city to which he had fled.

 

Easy accessibility to the cities of refuge to all Israel was assured. That was done by locating three of them on each side of the Jordan River. When a person unintentionally killed another, he was forthwith to flee to the nearest city of refuge. If he could get there before the avenger of blood slew him, he would be safe until his case could be duly heard and decided.

 

The Improvisation of Solomon. It is interesting to recall that Solomon—some 430 years after the cities' creation—invoked the principle which their provision embodied. He did so in connection with his disposition of Shimei the Benjamite. He it was who had cursed David when the king fled from Absalom's insurrection (II Sam. 16:5-12).

 

Having been instructed by David his father to bring Shimei's head "down to the grave with blood," in recompense for his grievous sin of cursing God's anointed (I Kgs. 2:8-9), Solomon, in his wisdom, devised a remarkable scheme by which the charge could be carried out, yet with the show of mercy for the guilty. He ordered Shimei to build himself a house in Jerusalem and remain in the city. As long as he stayed therein, he would be spared from the death that he deserved.

 

Under stress, Shimei violated the terms of his reprieve—to which terms he had consented—and was summarily executed by the king (I Kgs. 2:36-46).

 

The Refuge in Christ. In light of the new-covenant situation, these provisions and occurrences of old time speak tellingly of "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," with its escape from God's righteous wrath against sin (Rom. 3:23-24; cf. Mt. 3:7; Rom. 1:18; 2:2-11; I Th. 1:9-10; 5:9-10). Indeed, as Matthew Henry suggests, it seems that they were designed primarily for that purpose, the necessities of the time actually being incidental thereto.

 

The Apostle, in Hebrews, makes a specific allusion to these cities of refuge, underscoring the unassailable wellbeing and shelter of those who have fled, and are fleeing, unto Christ for refuge from their sin, and from the wrath to come.  “ . . . that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the vail; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek” (Heb. 6:18-20).

 

Thus, believing sinners, relentlessly pursued by the law of Moses—the "avenger of blood" in this case—flee in haste to the divinely-provided refuge of Christ, as the text from Hebrews, printed above, declares. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them" who are in Him, is the blessed declaration of Scripture (Rom. 8:1). In that "city of refuge," we are "delivered from the law" (Rom. 7:6), being fully justified and accepted by God on the basis of our faith in His dear Son (Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 1:6).

 

So, as Henry remarks, do the cities of refuge "typify the relief which the gospel provides for poor penitent sinners, and their protection from the curse of the law and the wrath of God, in our Lord Jesus. To Him believers flee for refuge, and in Him they are found (Phil. 3:9), as in a sanctuary. There they are free from arrests, and there is 'no condemnation to them" (Rom. 8:1)." (Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. II, p. 95).

 

The Required Continuance. The requirement for continuance in the ancient city of refuge is of spiritual significance, as well. To depart therefrom, exposed one to the "avenger of blood." In the case of Solomon's improvised place of refuge, it was likewise. And so it is with our asylum in Christ from sin's condemnation.

 

We are "reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10) on condition. That is, that we get into the Son, on the terms of the gospel, and continue therein, "grounded and settled," not being "moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col. 1:20-23). Being in Christ, we are ultimately "made partakers" of Him, "if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end" (Heb. 3:12-14; cf. v. 6).

 

It is a gross perversion of God's truth to think and teach otherwise, as many do. That is, that one is eternally saved in Christ solely on the basis of a beginning faith in Him.

 

Who, in his right mind, would have it to be different from the way it is! In Christ are to be found "all the treasures," not only of "wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3), but also of "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17, ASV). Those who, having tasted of this "heavenly gift" (Heb. 6:4), turn from it to the "dung" of the mere natural life (Phil. 3:8; II Pet. 2:20-22), not only are "of all men most miserable" (I Cor. 15:19); they also are of them the most stupidly foolish.