The Shadows of a Cave or the Reality of Home?

One of the most famous illustrations in the philosophical world is Plato's allegory of the cave.  At the beginning of Book VII of The Republic, he describes a group of prisoners who for their entire lives have been chained to the blank wall of a cave.  These people watch shadows projected on the wall by people and things that pass in front of fire that is behind them, near the entrance of the cave.

In this dialogue, Plato suggests that these shadows are the closest these prisoners ever get to reality.  However, he goes on to explain that a philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and who comes to understand that the wall shadows do not make up reality at all.  According to Plato, the philosopher can see what is really real!

The Bible comes close to making some of the same points.  For instance, Hebrews 10:1 says, "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves."  That is why Christ "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself" (9:26).  Doesn't the Apostle Paul talk about how we can be freed from the illusion and delusion of sin?  And when the prodigal son "came to himself"--when he quit being fooled by the shadows and saw life and especially his father as they really were--he humbly returned home.

The singing group, Switchfoot, evokes this same imagery in their song, "Home."

It's a long way from the shadows in my cave
Up to Your reality
To watch the sunlight taking over, over
Taking over
Take me over

I've been poison, I've been rain
I've been fooled again
I've seen ashes shine like chrome
Someday I'll see home

Helpful Perspective on Harold Camping's Prediction Concerning Judgment Day

Palm Sunday's Unexpected King

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his death, people laid down their cloaks on the road in front of him.  They cried out: "Hosanna!"  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  "Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!"  "Hosanna in the highest!" (Mark 11:9-10).

This type of public procession was common in the ancient world.  A king or conquering general would ride into town on a powerful steed and be hailed by the cheering crowds.

However, Jesus departed from this script in one very significant way.  Instead of entering Jerusalem on a magnificent horse, he rode on a polos, a colt or small donkey.  So here was Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, the authoritative and majestic King of King, riding on a mount fit for a hobbit or child.  Why would he do that?  He was laying claim to a prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9 . . .

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So, at the outset of Holy Week, we are reminded that Jesus is a King, but he is unlike any king the world has ever known.  His Kingdom is coming, but it is not like the kingdoms of this world.  He will conquer, but his conquest does not come through military or political violence.  Rather, his victory comes only as he willingly endures that kind of violence.

Surprises in Jesus' "Sermon" at Nazareth

Last Sunday I began a new message series entitled "The Unexpected Kingdom."  Through Easter I will focus on Jesus' understanding of the Kingdom of God, and we distributed a booklet of daily devotions all based on Kingdom of God passages in Luke.

Much of Sunday's message, "Unexpected Announcements," focused on Jesus' visit to his hometown synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30).  When given the opportunity, he read a portion of Isaiah 61:1-2, stopped, rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant.  None of this was surprising.  But, after he sat down, he began his teaching on the passage by saying, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 

That was unexpected!  To hear someone claim that a centuries-old messianic prophecy was being fulfilled TODAY . . . I'm not sure we can fathom how shocking that announcement was.  Jesus implicitly was saying, "I am the one God has anointed to do these things (preaching good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery sight for the blind, release the oppressed, and the inauguration of the Messianic Age)!

Joachim Jeremias, the great German scholar, says there was something else in this "announcement" that Jesus' listeners did not expect.  Jesus stopped the reading in the middle of a sentence.  He read, "to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor," but he excluded "and the day of vengeance of our God" (as well as all of Isaiah 61:3-7).

This probably upset the congregation because they wanted to hear that last part.  Israel had lived in subjection to a series of world powers--Egypt,  Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and now Rome.  Given that, it is not surprising that the people longed to hear how God was going to take retribution on their enemies.  They looked forward to the part about vengeance the way many people revel in the descriptions of judgment found in Left Behind novels.  Read any of the apocalyptic writings that were popular among the Jews in Jesus' time and this will be obvious.  But Jesus omitted "the day of vengeance."  Why?

Although he talks about God's judgment on numerous occasions, the point Jesus seems to be making here is that God's Kingdom is not a Kingdom of vengeance, but a hope-filled Kingdom, a realm in which the poor, the blind, and the oppressed get to see their deepest hopes fulfilled! 

This was a completely new insight for me, but it helps make sense of the entire story.  I always have been bothered by the sudden plot twists in this account.  Why did the people all speak well of him following his announcment (vs. 22), but six verses later are so furious that they want to toss their hometown hero off a cliff?

Jeremias says that the Greek used in verse 22 is ambiguous and contextual.  In other words, Luke tells us that the people were "astonished at what he said," which is not surprising given his announcement that the prophecy was fulfilled in their hearing.  However, Jeremias says that the language here could indicate "good" astonishment or "bad" astonishment -- it just depends on the context.  Therefore, he says it should be translated:  "They were all astonished at him because of the words of grace that came from his lips."  Notice "words of grace" rather than "gracious words." 

So, according to Jeremias' interpretation, Jesus intentionally stopped reading in the middle of Isa. 61:2 as a way of explaining the nature of God's Kingdom and that the Kingdom was open to Gentiles.  This astonished the people because they always had believed that the Kingdom of God was for His chosen people, i.e. the Jews!   Jesus' "words of grace" were offensive to them.  This is why he then cites the stories of the Sidonian widow (4:25-26) and of Naaman, the Syrian (4:27). 

From start to finish, then, Jesus used Isaiah 61:1-2 to say that:

1. the Kingdom of God has arrived;
2. that he is the herald and exemplar of the Kingdom;
3. that he has been anointed to bring good news to the least and the last; and
4. that the Kingdom is going to be much more inclusive than any of them had imagined. 

That made them mad.  It was a message that challenged their deepest prejudices.

Do you think any of my sermons will ever start a riot?!