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Introduction
Turn with me in your Bibles to John 13.
When we were in PNG, we learned a lot of things about PNG culture that were pretty foreign to us.
But I think the cultural phenomenon that was the most difficult for me to wrap my head around was the heretical cult movement in PNG called Kago Kult, ‘Cargo Cult.’
Kago Kult is pretty difficult to pin down, and I still don’t fully understand it.
The best explanation that I’ve received so far was from a close PNGan friend of ours, but it was so bizzarre that I had to make every effort not to let my jaw gape open as he told me his beliefs.
This man proceeded to inform me that a Bible translator had come to his language group, learned their language, and then went back to the mission center and wrote a really good story about their culture.
That story was called the Bible.
Then, he proceeded to show me how the Bible is really just a clever allegory about his people’s culture and history.
Cain and Abel are two PNG brothers named Kilibob and Manup.
Kilibob, the younger brother, was jealous of Manup’s wife, so they got into a fight.
Manup, being stronger, ran Kilibob away.
Kilibob hopped in a boat with his son, Kilibob Jr., and used his magic to turn the canoe into a giant boat, which he then used to sail across the ocean to Israel.
Kilibob Jr. stayed in Israel and used his magic to found Western Civilization.
Meanwhile, back in PNG, Manup was forbidden to use his magic.
This explains why we Westerners have such advanced civilizations while PNG was in the stone age until the mid 1900s.
In this system of thinking, white people are often thought to be the spirits of their deceased ancestors who have returned to bring them kago—material goods.
So, naturally, white people are welcome.
In fact, they—and their Christian beliefs—might just be the key to unlocking the source of power that gave Western civilization the upper hand.
The belief system is complex and includes a lot more than what I’ve said here, but at its root, Kago Kult is the PNG form of the prosperity gospel.
Christianity is welcomed in, not because it offers a way to receive pardon for sins and reconciliation with God, but because it is seen as the source of power and prosperity.
We might scratch our heads over the bizzarre nature of this belief, but the fact is, we have our own version right here in America.
We serve a God who humbled himself by becoming human, lived like a homeless refugee, and then allowed himself to be crucified unjustly.
Yet, there are people who proclaim to follow him that think he is the key to financial prosperity and political power!
Talk about irony...
FCF: As fallen people, our hearts are idol factories, constantly churning out a new object of our affections.
Main Idea: But Scripture shows us, especially here in John 13, that what we love reveals our hearts.
We either love the world and betray Christ, or we set our hearts on God and loving other people.
Read John 13
Prayer for Illumination
Transition: John 13 teaches us that what we love reveals our hearts.
You can either love God and people, or you can love the world.
Love of the World is incompatible with love for God and people.
One of the ways people love the world is by loving money and what it provides
Love of money = love for what money provides
Security—independence; not needing to depend upon anyone else
Prestige—the pride of having others look up to you
Comfort—the ability to obtain whatever makes life more comfortable and enjoyable
You don’t have to be rich to be infected with love of money.
This was the great stumblingblock for Judas
Up until his betrayal of Christ, no one suspected that Judas was not a true follower of Jesus.
He was a trusted disciple—entrusted with the disciple’s treasury.
He was commissioned by Jesus and went out and healed the sick, cast out demons, etc.
When the disciples and Jesus wandered from town to town, Judas was there.
When Jesus fed the 5,000, walked on the water, raised Lazarus from the dead, Judas was there.
But the more Judas came to understand Jesus’ true mission, the more uncomfortable he became.
Jesus clearly had power; so why didn’t he use it?
Why didn’t he oust the Romans?
Why did he humbly pay taxes?
Why did he insist on ministering to the poor, the lowly, and even to Gentiles?
And why did he keep talking about dying?
That wasn’t what Judas had signed up for.
He couldn’t fathom the “waste” of money that Mary displayed when she anointed Jesus with $50,000 worth of perfume.
Matthew’s gospel seems to indicate that this was the tipping point for Judas.
Right after this anointing, Matthew tells us:
But the final straw was the foot-washing here in John 13:1-30.
No conquering king worthy of respect would ever humiliate himself like that.
(vv.
1-5)
Jesus wasn’t who he thought.
Jesus kept talking about crucifixion and speaking in parables.
This ship was sinking and Judas wasn’t going down with this boat.
So, Judas creeps off at night, when the darkness outside matches the darkness inside his heart.
But Judas wasn’t alone...
Many who profess faith in Christ show their true fruits when faith conflicts with material comfort.
Prosperity Gospel is an attempt to have it both ways—to use Jesus as a means to money.
Rich man whom Jesus sends away
Demas, who deserted Paul
Illustration of modern Christians who refuse to be discomforted to follow Christ.
Another way people love the World is by loving Power.
This was most of the disciples’ great stumblingblock
James and John
It’s no coincidence that the passage which follows this presents a picture of true discipleship which would scare off anyone seeking power in the name of Christ:
Simon the “Zealot” (not Peter), one of the twelve apostles
Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, identifies the Zealots as a freedom-fighter political movement.
He records that they were responsible for the insurrection that ultimately led to the sacking of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Hengel characterizes this movement as one that demanded a total separation from Hellenistic encroachments.
It emphasized the purity of the temple, a rigorous and precise understanding of the law, a readiness to fight enemies both external and internal to Judaism, and a willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the cause.
Phinehas and Elijah were historic exemplars for the movement, and Hengel traces continuity from the earlier Maccabean revolt through the more radical elements of first century BC Pharisaism.
Bible scholars and historians are divided on whether or not Simon “the Zealot” is a reference to his membership in this group, or simply a description of his character “zealous.”
Regardless, you can certainly see the influence of the Zealots and their ideology amongst the disciples, even amongst Simon Peter.
If Peter was willing to lay down his life for Jesus, why did he deny Jesus and flee?
Because Peter envisioned dying in battle, not the indignity and humiliation of the cross.
1st Century messianic expectations
Jews were eagerly awaiting the restoration of the ‘glory days’ of Israel
Many expected the Messiah to be a military figure.
Like Joshua, he would conquer the pagans in the land and set up worship of Yahweh.
Like David, he would unite the people of Israel into a nation free of foreign rule.
Jesus’ name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” or “Joshua,” but he didn’t come to save his people from their enemies, but to save his people from their sins.
2,000 years later, many American Christians still think God will bring about the Kingdom through political revolution
We don’t like being bullied by pagans
We want to see our nation honoring God—that’s a good thing
But many Christians have fallen victim to the ideology that God is going to bring about his Kingdom through the American political process.
The thinking goes like this:
If my people, who are called by my name, will
Elect politicians and judges who are pro-life
pass laws that support biblical morality
and force the pagans around them to live in line with basic Christian moral principles...
then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
We’ve completely re-written 2 Chronicles 7:14 in our minds!
The Kingdom of God comes through washing feet
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