Jesus strikes back: a sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter

     The comeback.  Easter is the ultimate comeback story.  However, unlike many movies, the Easter story isn’t simply a tale of injustice followed by revenge.  That’s too simple – and doesn’t lead to sustainable peace and justice.  This simplistic storyline – which we observe daily in the news – simply perpetuates an endless cycle of violence (think of Gaza, Ukraine, Kashmir, etc.).  So, how to “comeback” and establish a situation where justice will flourish?  Well, that’s the story that the New Testament is telling, though – I suggest – we aren’t used to reading it in quite that way.  We tend to focus on one of two poles of this complex story – either we fixate on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew’s Gospel), when he said to love our enemies; or, we latch on to the apocalyptic scenes in the book of Revelation, where we are presented with, among many other images, Jesus the cosmic warrior who destroys his enemies with “the sword of his mouth”.  However, the New Testament tells a tale that integrates both enemy-love and victory over injustice.  The answer to the riddle is – resurrection.  Let’s take a look back to Good Friday to see how Jesus predicted his “comeback”.

“When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought Jesus to their council. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” (Luke 22.66-69; cf. Dn. 7.13-14; Ac. 2.33)

When Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man, he is referring to a key text in the book of Daniel, in which Daniel has a high-octane, image-laden dream about pagan empires attacking the people of God, and of God’s people finally being vindicated as the kingdom of God is established in the world as the Creator triumphs over all rivals to his authority.

     The book of Daniel: the justice of the kingdom of God

     Historical context.  You might be aware of the Jewish festival called Hanukkah (in many ways, Christmas is a Christian version of Hanukkah).  This festival originated in the 2^nd century BC and marked a high-point in the Maccabean Revolt, a revolution which saw the Jews win their independence from foreign rule for a short time.

     Some pagan rulers did their utmost to destroy Jewish distinctiveness, all in the name of the cohesion of the empire.  Following the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), his empire was divided between 4 of his generals.  The Hellenic-Syrian (Seleucid) successor to Alexander, Antiochus IV (215—164 B.C.), was one such tyrant.  He passed laws forbidding the circumcision of (male) children, as well as the observance of the Sabbath and the kosher laws (cf. 1 Maccabees 1—6).^[1]  Not content to ban the public practice of Judaism, Antiochus also insisted on transforming Jewish monotheism into a form of Hellenic syncretism; to that end, he set up a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple and sacrificed a pig on its altar (referred to as the “abomination of desolation”: Dn. 8.13, etc.).  Of course, it was common practice for conquered nations to integrate the gods of their new rulers into their local pantheon.  Of course, for the Judeans, this was unthinkable (cf. Ex. 20.1-6).  Finally, the people of Yahweh had had enough; a certain Mattathias killed a fellow Judean who had acquiesced to the demand of a local Hellenic official to offer sacrifice to the gods of Greece.  The “Maccabean^[2] revolt” was underway!  Against all odds, the sons of Mattathias and their troops defeated the forces of Antiochus, cleansed the Temple in the year 164 (thus inaugurating Hanukkah^[3]) and established the Hasmonean dynasty, which would rule over a renewed Jewish state for a century.^[4]

     During this momentous period of Judean history, the book of Daniel was composed.  This “apocalyptic” text (esp. chapters 7—12) seeks to understand Yahweh’s purposes for both his people Israel and for the nations of the world, who, ever since the Babylonian exile, seem bent on the destruction of the people of God.  When will Yahweh act to deliver his people?  This is the burning question of the figure of Daniel, the main character in the narrative, himself said to have been exiled during Nebuchadnezzar’s first deportation of Jerusalem nobles in the year 605 B.C. (cf. Dn. 1.1-7).^[5]

     Theological interpretation of Antiochus IV’s oppression: the book of “Daniel”.  The Scriptures are clear – the Creator is King (e.g. Pss. 93—99).  Another thing is clear – Israel is the people of Yahweh, the one God (Ex. 19.1-6).  If these two statements are true, the historical circumstances of the people of God from the 6^th to the 2^nd century B.C. place a giant question mark beside the double affirmation that there is one God, and Israel is his people.  Ever since the Babylonians put an end to the line of Davidic kings, destroyed Yahweh’s Temple along with the city of Jerusalem and exiled the Judeans to Babylonia, there had been no evidence “on the ground” that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is king.  Where is the kingdom of God?  When will Yahweh vindicate his suffering people?  How long will it be before the “exile” finally comes to an end?  Where is the fulfillment of the promises of the prophets?  How long will pagan empires continue to mock the Creator with their arrogance and their violence?  How long will people like Antiochus IV bully and persecute Israel and blaspheme her God?  When will justice be done…and what should the people of God do in the meantime?  These are the questions that drive the book of Daniel.

     We should not be surprised when, in chapter 7, Daniel has a dream of the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, followed by four monsters emerging from the sea to attack “the holy ones of the Most High” (Dn. 7.1-8, 21-22; cf. Rev. 13.1-18).  One of the horns of the fourth “great beast” has human eyes and a mouth that speaks arrogantly.  Once all four beasts have emerged, Daniel is ushered into heaven and is granted a vision of the divine throne room (7.9; cf. Rev. 4, 20).  Many thrones are set in place and a session of the celestial court begins – while uncountable multitudes surround and serve the Ancient One enthroned on his chariot of fire.  Finally, the books are opened (7.10; cf. Rev. 20.12).  The “little horn” (7.8; i.e., a king; cf. 7.24-26) continues to speak arrogantly^[6] as the fourth beast is condemned and executed…by fire (cf. Rev. 20.10-15)^[7]; the other beasts are judged by the Ancient One, but their lives are prolonged “for a season and a time” (7.11-12). 

     Following the sentencing of the four beasts (i.e., empires: Dn. 7.17; cf. chapter 2), Daniel sees “one like a son of man (human being)” coming with the clouds of heaven to be presented before the Ancient One.  This Son of Man is endowed with an eternal dominion and glory and kingship which will extend over all peoples, nations, and languages and which shall never be destroyed (7.13-14).  The kingdom of God (the Ancient One) has been entrusted to a human being, which, we are told later, represents “the people of the holy ones of the Most High” (Dn. 7.18, 22; cf. Rev. 5.9-10).  The people of God will rule over all the nations of the earth (cf. Ps. 2.7-9)!  No more oppression, no more subjugation, no more “being trampled” (7.7, 19, 23) underfoot by the empires of the earth!  There will be one God, one people of God and one world!  Divine justice will be served and the people of God vindicated over the “beastly” empires.  This is the dream of the coming of the kingdom of God.^[8]

     The people of God today.  So, this is what Jesus is evoking as he stands trial before the Sanhedrin.  He is casting the justices of the Jewish Supreme Court as the “monsters” that attacked the people of God in Daniel’s dream.  He is casting himself as the representative of the suffering people of God, the One who will be vindicated and exalted to God’s right hand after having endured the attack of the monstrous beasts.  Needless to say, this was not something the members of the Sanhedrin wanted to hear.  What would Jesus’ vindication and eventual victory over his enemies look like?  How would Jesus “come back” from the humiliating defeat that he was about to undergo?

     When we look at our church as well as the wider Church today, we may well think that the Church is due for a comeback.  We must never lose heart; our God is the Creator of all things.  Life will have the final word.  A great book to read during the Easter season is the Acts of the Apostles, a book which shows us just how Jesus “struck back” at every enemy of the kingdom of his Father.

Acts of the Apostles: Jesus strikes back

     In chapters 2—7 of the book of Acts, the Galilean “Jesus-movement” takes Jerusalem by storm! (cf. Ac. 2.7).  In these opening chapters, we see the same pattern of “ministry” that had previously occurred in Galilee through the activities of Jesus and the disciples that we find in Luke’s Gospel (= preaching and healings).  Compare this part of the book of Acts with Jesus’ “holy week” in Jerusalem (Lk. 20—23), which had been characterized by daily preaching in Temple, constant questioning by religious leaders, hostility from Temple leadership, the crowds serving as Jesus’ “bodyguard” and finally, Jesus’ arrest and trial.  In Luke’s Gospel, most of the action takes place in Galilee and involves the renewing of Israel through the 12 apostles.  In Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts, the action begins where it had ended in his Gospel – in Jerusalem.  In volume 2 of Luke’s work, the renewed Israel grows, and prepares to renew the world.

     Both Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts depict a series of “ironic trials” which take place in Jerusalem.  Jesus: While Jesus is constantly “interrogated” during “holy week” and is eventually formally tried before three different “courts” – the Sanhedrin, Herod Antipas and Pilate – everyone who questions Jesus finds themselves to be the ones actually on trial (cf. Lk. 20—23).  Jesus’ presence in Jerusalem is the city’s “visitation” by God, and the people of God do not realize what’s happening and thus doom themselves to destruction due to their culpable negligence and spiritual blindness (Lk. 19.41-44).  The apostles: though the apostles are constantly being arrested and questioned by the Sanhedrin, they are actually the ones who are “convicting” the crowds of pilgrims in Jerusalem as well as the city’s religious leadership of their guilt and complicity in Jesus’ death (cf. Ac. 2.23, 36-37; 3.15; 4.10; 5.30).  Every healing performed by the apostles is proof, not only of Jesus’ resurrection, but also of the fact that he was a “righteous” victim of the Sanhedrin’s injustice (cf. Lk. 23.47; Ac. 2.22, 37; 5.30-33).  Courtrooms and courtroom imagery are prevalent: the apostles are “witnesses” to Jesus’ resurrection and they offer “testimony” before the Sanhedrin.

     The vindication of Jesus: Jesus is vindicated vis-à-vis (the leaders of) the people of God who had condemned him by a series of events:

·        His resurrection.

·        His ascension/exaltation to the right hand of the Father (cf. Dn. 7.13-14).

·        The proclamation by the apostles of his resurrection and his messiahship/lordship (cf. Ac. 2.36) and the demonstration of the power of (the name of) Jesus to heal the sick.

·        The destruction of Jerusalem “within one generation” as he had predicted (cf. Lk. 19.41-44; 21.5-28).  This occurred in the year AD 70 (forty years after Jesus’ crucifixion).

As chapter 2 of the book of Acts opens, it’s “I told you so!” time.

Perhaps we feel like we’re living in Daniel’s nightmare.  The Church (especially in the Global North) seems to be currently under attack from several “monsters” – secularism, loss of credibility due to sexual abuse scandals, bitter in-fighting over questions of justice and equality, not to mention aging leadership and the distressing absence of a new generation of young adults who could take the Church forward into the future.  What is to be done?  Perhaps the Church in the Western world is experiencing yet another “Good Friday”.  Perhaps certain things in the Church have to die before new life can bloom.  As G.K. Chesterton once said: “Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.”  As we read the book of Acts this Easter season, let us rejoice in the hope of our risen Lord and courageously embrace the mission that he has entrusted to us, his invitation to join him in his work of reconciling all things to himself and establishing his Father’s kingdom of true justice in the power of his Spirit.  Amen.

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[1] I.e., those aspects of the Mosaic Law which distinguished Jews from other peoples.  Many New Testament scholars believe that it is precisely these 3 practices which lie behind the expression, often found in the letters of Paul, of “the works of the law”.  If this is indeed the case, then Paul’s critique of Judaism didn’t consist of a blanket condemnation of Jewish morality (or “moralism”), but rather of either the continued practice of these customs by Jewish members of early Christian communities or the belief that such things (especially circumcision for men) were necessary for one to join the church (cf. Acts 15; Gal. 1-5; Rom. 4, etc.).  All this to say that if Paul (and his opponents!) seems uptight about such things, it is understandable considering the historical backdrop of Jewish resistance to imperial cultural genocide.  The policy of Antiochus IV and its aftereffects also help us understand why Saul of Tarsus was so “zealous” in his attempts to destroy the community that he perceived as flouting the very traditions that faithful Jews had died defending not so long before… (cf. Ac. 7-9).

[2] Named for Mattathias’ son Judas, whose nickname was “Maccabeus”, i.e., The Hammer.  Compare this with the moniker of Charlemagne’s grandfather, Charles “Martel”, king of the Franks (AD 688—741).

[3] Not surprisingly, the date of the cleansing of the Temple, if we project our Western calendar back to the 2^nd century B.C., was December 25.  Hence the falling of Hanukkah close to Christmas on the calendar… Similarly, the Festival of Purim was established after the attempt of Haman, a Persian official, to initiate a genocide against the Jews living in the 5^th-century B.C. Persian empire (cf. Esther 9.26-32).  As it has been said, every time someone tries to eliminate the Jews, a new feast is inaugurated! (cf. Passover and the exodus from slavery in Egypt).

[4] Until sibling squabbling led to one aspiring Hasmonean king to appeal to Rome for help, which of course Rome was all too happy to provide.  In the year 63 B.C., Pompey “the Great” arrived in Jerusalem at the head of his legions, and the rest is history… The Romans had a vested interest in maintaining control over Judaea, since it was the backdoor to their breadbasket, Egypt.  Indeed, a certain Idumean warlord by the name of Herod (who would also come to be known as “the Great”) recaptured Jerusalem from the invading Parthians in the year 37, and for his service, was granted the title “King of the Jews” by Rome, in whose name Herod ruled Judaea until his death in the year 4 B.C.  During his reign, Herod undertook to expand the Jerusalem Temple and, appropriately enough, named the Fortress adjacent to the Temple precincts “Antonia”, in honour of his patron, Mark Antony.  The Antonia Fortress would serve as the home of Jerusalem’s Roman garrison.

[5] In chapter 9, Daniel stands in for the entire Jewish people as he reads the book of the prophet Jeremiah, who had predicted that the exile in Babylon would last 70 years (cf. Jer. 25.8-14; Dn. 9.1-2).  Of course, by the end of the reign of Antiochus IV, around 420 years had passed since the beginning of the exile.  Daniel’s concern is rooted in the fact that though a small minority of exiles had indeed returned from Babylon and had rebuilt the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, the prophetic promises (cf. Jer. Chapters 30—33; Is. 40—66) of the glorious restoration – not only of Israel, but of the entire creation! – that would surely follow the release from Babylonian captivity had (to put it mildly) not quite been fulfilled (cf. Neh. 9.36-37).  In many ways, those Judeans who had returned to their homeland remained in a state of “exile”, fighting for their life against pagan empires.  After a prayer of repentance and petition for understanding (Dn. 9.3-19), Daniel is granted a revelation from the angel Gabriel, who informs him that the “exile” will last, not for 70 years, but rather for 70 “weeks of years” (i.e., 70x7=490 years: Dn. 9.20-27).  This places the “time of the end” (cf. Dn. 12.4, 9) approximately 70 years after the end of the Maccabean revolt.  This is interesting; Gabriel tells “Daniel” that there is yet another “period of exile” to undergo before Yahweh’s plan for his people and his world will be fulfilled.

[6] This “little horn” (7.8) that “seemed greater than the others” (7.20) was understood to refer to Antiochus IV; cf. Dn. 7.21-27; 11.29-39.

[7] While the holy ones of the Most High are impervious to earthly flames (cf. chapter 3), pagan empires are destined to be destroyed by divine fire.

[8] Did the author of the book of Daniel believe the with the success of the Maccabean revolt and the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty, the kingdom of Yahweh had finally arrived?  If so, this kingdom would turn out to be anything but eternal… of course, once Rome annexed Judaea, readers of Daniel began to identify both the fourth metal of the statue of chapter 2 (legs/feet of iron) and the fourth beast of chapter 7 with the Roman empire.  Note that just as the legs/feet of iron has 10 toes (2.41-43), so the fourth beast has 10 horns (7.19-20, 24).  Note also that Daniel, who has so far in the narrative been the one to interpret dreams, is now in need of “one of the attendants” (cf. 7.10) to interpret his dream for him (7.15-27).