The Zealot

Children’s Sermon

Bat & Jorge Soler bobblehead and Baseball loose grip...Pause to think before you rush to thump. I had friends all along the spectrum. Jason Smith, Jerod Overley?

Scripture

Acts 8:1-3 - Saul was there, and agreed with Stephen’s murder. The murder started a severe persecution against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the apostles scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and grieved deeply over him. Meanwhile, Saul went wild ravaging the church. House by house, he dragged men and women off to prison.

Acts 9:1-2 - Meanwhile, Saul continued seeking the Lord’s disciples, threatening them with murder. He went to the high priest and had letters made addressed to the synagogue at Damascus. The letters gave Saul permission to bind anyone found following the way and take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

Engage

Some of you may have seen recently where Lebron James, who is one of the best basketball players in history, got in some hot water. Long before the facts came out, he tweeted a threat to an officer who, unfortunately, shot and killed an armed young woman. As the facts became clearer, it was obvious that the young woman was trying desperately to stab or slash another young woman with a knife as they were fighting. I have a friend, Victor (PICTURE), whose been in law enforcement, in not the greatest of areas, for years. His nephew is one of my long-time friends and I played all kinds of softball, and bowled, etc, with Victor and his family. He retired from the Kansas City Kansas police department and now works protecting the Kansas City Mo housing authority. About the shooting, he said,

“Ewwww, don't want to start a bunch of chaos, but that one was justified! I'm standing by the badge on that one... In all my years of law enforcement training, that was done according to policy! He took action to save another person.... Right call. #ColumbusOhio #Hero

We’re in a dangerous time in America, and the world. More and more people seem to think it’s acceptable to use violence to enforce their views. Not just to defend their views, but enforce their views. That is a key distinction! A distinction we can shed some light on through the story of Saul / Paul today. We’re going to spend the next ten weeks or so examining the life of Paul. Rather than going through a single book, we’re going to hop around and look at Paul’s life, more or less, chronologically. Biographically. Scholars argue about some books, whether Paul authored them or not, but regardless of which controversial ones you keep or throw out, Paul authored around 30% of the New Testament. Examining his life and teachings has value as we seek to understand Christ…and, as much value today as at any time. Paul is, Scripture is, relevant.

Encounter

Friends, violence to increase conformity is likely vile to the Lord’s mentality. More about that in a minute. First, a bit of biographical background on Paul.

Paul was born somewhere around 5 to 10 CE and raised in Tarsus (PICTURE/MAP). Tarsus was a cosmopolitan city, cutting edge, favored by the Roman Empire for an extended period of time. It was a crossroads…full of culture, academics, history, and wealth. Something in the neighborhood of 100K people called Tarsus home, with perhaps a few thousand Jews. Tarsus featured a thriving textile industry…making quality goods from goats hair, for example, including shelters / tents. It’s entirely possible that Saul / Paul’s family business in Tarsus was in the area of tentmaking…a skill Paul uses to support himself most of his life. Also, somehow, Paul and, almost certainly his family, had gained Roman citizenship. Roman citizenship was of immeasurable value because it brought with it numerous rights and privileges not enjoyed by non-citizens.

There is something helpful to remember with regard to Paul’s situation in his early life, and his early ministry life. The Roman Empire had brought tremendous advancement in its 50 or so years prior to Paul’s birth, and during his lifetime. A big upswing in the quality of life was felt throughout the Empire. A roads system, and a massive focus on the value of peace. You know, everyone likes to be on a winning team. The Roman Empire was THE winning team for a long time. So, it was easier for all sorts of folks, including many Jews, to overlook the insidious underbelly of the empire with its devaluing of life, slave labor, imperialism, etc. Jews had also been given special exception to the Roman requirements to worship Caesar and the other Greek gods. So, many Jews accommodated greatly to the culture and had no desire to rock the boat.

Yet, there were the zealots. Paul, and perhaps his family, fell into the category of zealots. Zealots held, and still hold today where they still exist, that violence to increase conformity may be necessary…and, if so, is justifiable. Zealots don’t have to be Jews…they can be Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, evangelists of woke culture, anything at all. Anyone whose passion for their cause allows for violence. Zealous Jews like Paul felt that even Jews who’d lost their way may have to be violently extracted from the Jewish community…and that doing so may bring the Messiah and restore Jews to their proper place on the throne of Jerusalem. The zealousness of Paul, likely Judas, and others was almost totally inseparable from their entire religious identity. For a more modern example, go no further than the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, by an Israeli ultranationalist (zealot) who opposed the Oslo Accords and other peace gestures supported by Yitzhak.

But back to Paul. Paul and other Jews had some heroes in their ancestral history to look to as high examples of their type of Zealousness. First, the example of Phinehas.. From Numbers 25:

Common English Bible Chapter 25

6 An Israelite man brought a Midianite woman to his brothers in the sight of Moses and the entire Israelite community, who were weeping at the entrance of the meeting tent. 7 When Phinehas (Eleazar’s son and Aaron the priest’s grandson) saw this, he arose in the middle of the community, took a spear in his hand, 8 went after the Israelite man into the chamber, and stabbed the two of them, the Israelite man and the woman, through the stomach. Then the plague stopped spreading among the Israelites. 9 Yet those who died by the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.

10 The LORD spoke to Moses: 11 Phinehas (Eleazar’s son and Aaron the priest’s grandson) has turned back my rage toward the Israelites. Because he was jealous for me among you, I didn’t consume the Israelites due to my jealousy. 12 Therefore, say: I’m now giving him my covenant of well-being. 13 It will be for him and his descendants a covenant of permanent priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and sought reconciliation for the Israelites.

Also, as I talked about in detail in the series on the Apocrypha, the example of Judas Maccabeus and his family rebelling and ultimately restoring an Israelite nation for a generation or so. We believe Paul very much though of himself as a new type of Phinehas, or Judas Maccabeus, powerfully cleansing the faith and doing God’s mighty work in the process.

Yet, I see a key difference between this historical examples and the rampage Paul was on. The actions of Phinehas and Judas were, in my judgment, more defensive than offensive. In the case of Phinehas, a Moabite was trying to desecrate the altar with her foreign gods…and Phinehas defended the altar. In the case of Judas, he and others were defending the Israelite nation from the horrific attacks of a madman, Antiochus Epiphanes.

You might argue that Paul was defending the historic faith from this attack by followers of the way…perhaps, but the followers of the way weren’t advocating for a different God at all, as Paul learns later (in our sermon next week). They were claiming the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus. Also, Christians were in no way violent toward remaining Jews. Peter tried that way of thinking at the arrest of Jesus and Jesus emphatically shut it down. Yet, Paul and other zealots were horribly persecuting Christians. The stoning of Stephen, the chasing, searching, interrogating, imprisoning, etc. Ah, but Jesus. Next week, we’ll look at how Jesus miraculously intervenes...

Friends, violence to increase conformity is likely vile to the Lord’s mentality. Anytime we’re considering violence as individuals, or as a group, or as a nation, this principle deserves serious thought. Is our violence in defense from the attack of others, or are we attacking to spread conformity to OUR systems, values, etc. The just war theory first introduced by Augustine and Aquinas is a great resource as well when it comes to violence. In our own history as a nation, I think WW2 could be clearly supported by the Just War Theory. Others, like either Iraq war for instance, might be much tougher to fit.

Jesus himself, sinless and perfect, is not immune to violence. Flipping over the tables in the temple and cracking the whip, etc. In my view, he’s DEFENDING an unholy intrusion of the money changers into a holy place, much like Phinehas. Even so, he doesn’t spear them, thankfully.

Violence is always bad. It’s always, in some part, an outworking of evil…a marker that things aren’t as they were intended to be. Even when it’s endorsed for by God himself. Holy violence is something we can always attribute to God’s circumstantial will…something necessary due to the circumstances of brokenness. Violence should never rise to the level of a virtue.

Even the proverbial types of endorsement, “spare the rod spoil the child,” that sort of thing have an ultimate good in mind…protection from unholy, unwise, harmful behavior. Though I think that type of thinking has been effectively replaced by less violent, more effective methods. Those who engage in violence of any kind always run the risk of sliding down the slippery slope. Violence should be avoided at ALMOST all cost. ALMOST…

The remarkable transformation of Paul lies ahead of us…beginning next week. And, truthfully, it is a powerful illustration of the Lordship of Christ…then, and now.

Empower

Hear now this redeeming story from not all that long ago. One Christmas Eve during the Battle of the Bulge, WW2, a young boy, and his mother were alone in their forested cabin, safe from the icy cold, and they thought, from the enemy soldiers hiding in the countryside. Mrs. Vincken and her son, Fritz, heard someone at the door. She opened it to find a group of US soldiers. One had been wounded. She brushed aside her fears of execution for helping the enemy and let the soldiers in her house. She did not speak English, and they spoke no German, but the two parties were able to converse in French.

Not long after the soldiers had settled in, there was a loud and sharp knocking at the door. Mrs. Vincken was frightened it might be German soldiers, and it was. She knew that if the Germans had no mercy and followed their general orders, she and her son would be shot for hosting the Americans, even if only briefly.

The brave woman stepped outside and told the German soldiers that she would serve them a hot dinner but that it was Christmas Eve, and she had guests. She asked the Germans to leave their guns in her shed because, even though they might not like her visitors, Christmas Eve was a night of peace. She then took the guns of the Americans and hid them away as well.

The German soldiers, having honored her request, stepped inside. The atmosphere was awkward at first, until one of the German soldiers, a medic, began work on dressing the wounds of one of the Americans. Fritz Vincken recounted the incident in an interview with WII History Network: “Then we added more ingredients to our stew and invited these enemies to sit down together for dinner. One of the German soldiers, an ex-medical student, fixed the wounded American and then Mother read from the Bible and declared that there would be at least one night of peace in this war — Christmas night in the forest. After a good nights rest, they said their goodbyes and went on their way. The German soldiers even told the Americans which way their camp was and gave them a compass to find their way.

How appropriate that it was Christmas night…I have no doubt Jesus joined them in that meal and celebrated with them.