The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd).

The Church and the World Religions:  It is to  be admitted  that according to the soteriological necessity all religions can be said to be necessary for salvation for their followers. If so, what is the special relevance of the Church for the salvation of the whole world? Its special relevance derives from the claim of being the Body of Christ whose head is Jesus Christ himself. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ in the plan of salvation devised by God is a matter of faith revealed as a part of the revelation of the full truth into which the believers are gradually led. It is a free gift of God to those who genuinely believe according to the graces given and there is nothing to be argued about. However, the external manifestation of this faith in Jesus Christ may take many forms the most outstanding of which is the visible Church. It does not mean that all those who are visibly members of the church are real believers in Jesus Christ nor that all real believers are invariably members of the visible Church.  
Relevance of Religions:  What then is the relevance of all other religions, if the church claims for itself such an exalted status? The answer to this question may be gleaned from what Paul tells us about the need and relevance of the Jewish Law before the revelation of faith. It may be added here that in as far as the Church projects itself as a religion, it would be bound by the requirements and limitations of any other religion. As promoter of faith in the one and only God and Jesus Christ, the Church transcends the limits and requirements of any religion and permeates through the boundaries of all religions.Thus we see that according to Paul, all religions are mere tutors with a view to bringing about true faith in their adherents. "Before this faith came, we were close prisoners in the custody of law, pending the revelation of faith. Thus the law was a kind of tutor in charge of us until Christ could come , when we should be justified through faith ; and now that faith has come, the tutor's charge is at an end" (Galatians, 3: 23-25). The tutor, that is all religions, should disappear and allow the faithful to grow on their own once they are trained to be on their own. It should be like a mother who should be happy that her son is on his own feet and does not need her anymore for which she had prepared him all along.  
Savior of the World:  How should we understand explicit references to Jesus Christ as the sole savior of the world, if salvation may be attained through other means? Peter himself, the chief of the Apostles, strongly believed in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ when he was examined by the Jewish authorities. He said: "This Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders which has become the keystone - and you are the builders. There is no salvation in anyone else at all, for there is no other name under heaven granted to men, by which we may receive salvation" (Acts, 4: 11-12). In order to understand this and similar passages of the Bible we should make two vital distinctions that have far reaching consequences. The first distinction is between objective and subjective salvation . In subjective salvation, the second distinction is between explicit and implicit belief in Jesus Christ. We shall explain them in some detail for a clear perspective of the issues involved.    
Objective Salvation:  By objective salvation is meant the infrastructure of salvation prepared by God Himself independent of all human appropriation of the same. It derives directly from the Will of God and is freely offered to the humans for their acceptance. It is something which comes from above and not from below and is deeply associated with God's revelation of Himself that always comes about by the self-revelation of the humans themselves. The self-understanding of the humans and the true understanding of God are always interdependent. The Scriptures of all religions present us with this kind of interdependent knowledge of the humans and God that is called revelation. Faith in the revealing God is set up by God Himself as the objective salvation to which all are called. It becomes subjective salvation the moment the humans submit themselves to the Will of God by an act of faith in Him. There are different levels and shades of this faith that is seen in various Scriptures. The faith seen in the old Testament of the Bible is only a preparatory phase for the fuller faith in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Similarly, the Scriptures of other religions reveal various grades of faith required to please the one true God. In the above quoted passage of Peter's address, Jesus is proclaimed as the only means of salvation in the objective sense. It is clear from the fact that it is God Himself who has set up the name of Jesus for salvation of the whole world. It is an act of God constituting the order or the infrastructure of salvation and therefore refers to the objective salvation.
                                                    Objective salvation refers to the new creation resulting from the death, resurrection, ascension and sitting of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God till the end of time. It is independent of our acknowledgement of the same just like the old creation of the entire universe. That is why it is called objective salvation as distinct from subjective salvation whereby the fate of individuals is decided. Thus it is clear that every single human being starting with Adam and ending with the very last person to be born into this world comes under the sway of objective salvation. There is no distinction between religions, race, cultures, creeds, sexes, ideologies, etc., when it is a question of coming under the objective salvation constituted by God Himself. By the very fact that Christ died for all on the cross defeating death itself and vanquishing the power of Satan, human nature has been propped up by eternal hope fatally shattered by the sin of Adam. If the first sin committed by our first parents could affect the fate and prospects of all their progeny, the reversal of the same fate by the saving act of Jesus Christ could not be less pervasive. This state of affairs affecting the whole humankind is called objective salvation. Baptism is one of the concrete ways of appropriating this objective salvation into subjective salvation, if the implications of the meaning of baptism are understood and practiced by the baptized.  (To be Contd).     

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

The Necessity of the Church for Salvation (Contd):
Necessity:  When it is said that the Church is or is not necessary for salvation, what kind of necessity are we talking about? People take sides according to their perceptions and therefore it is imperative to clarify the very concept of "necessity".
Metaphysical Necessity:  We talk about different kinds of necessity in various fields of everyday life. It is very rare that we talk about absolute or metaphysical necessity that flows from the internal structures of the very concepts concerned. Thus we have absolute necessity when we talk about God as almighty or as omnipresent, omniscient, etc. We cannot understand the concept of God without at the same time connecting these concepts with "God" with absolute necessity. The same is not the case in Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry where some would like to see absolute necessity in concepts like 2+2=4. The necessity involved here does not flow from the very concepts, but is the result of a human construct whereby it has been decided that two and two should make four and not five. If it were to be decided that hereafter two and two should be five and three and two should be four there would be nothing repugnant in itself. Therefore, they need not be categorized as absolutely or metaphysically necessary, but only as fundamentally necessary for laying foundation for sciences.
Physical Necessity:  The next category is physical necessity. We have examples of this necessity in physical laws like "fire burns", "water extinguishes fire", etc. An exception to the operation of such laws is called a miracle. Walking over the water is considered to be a miracle because the physical laws governing the nature of water do not allow it. If a dead person is raised to life, such a miracle again goes against the normal operation of the physical laws regarding life and death.
Moral Necessity:  Moral necessity is about the laws of human interaction and right behavior. While the physical necessity deals with the laws of nature, moral necessity involves the natural laws applicable to human beings alone. Moral and ethical standards derive from such laws. "You shall no kill" carries moral necessity and not absolute or physical necessity. it is forbidden by an explicit or implicit command in as far as it is necessary to order one's life in relation to God.
                                                                        None of the above categories of necessity can be applied when we talk about the necessity of the Church for salvation. At the same time, no other category of necessity is usually considered in the discussions of Philosophy and Theology whereby confusion is created in Ecclesiology with regard to the necessity of the Church with regard to salvation We propose below another kind of necessity in God's plan of salvation applicable in Ecclesiology.
Soteriological Necessity:  We shall term it "soteriological necessity" as it pertains to God's plan of saving the world. The first point to remember about God's plan of salvation is that it was not an after-thought by God when Adam and Eve sinned. Even before the creation of the world and the foundations of the Universe were laid, God had His plan of salvation in His Word who became flesh as Jesus Christ in the course of history. That is why the Fathers of the Church and Ecumenical Councils repeatedly teach that God was working out the salvation of the World from the very beginning. This background should throw light on the concepts of both "necessity" and "salvation". It should caution those who consider the Church as a monopolistic agency to dispose salvation as a right to be enjoyed by some privileged chosen ones forgetting that they are mere servants to be at the service of humanity!  
                                                                   Soteriological necessity occurs as a result of the interaction between the actions of God and the humans. As God is by nature absolutely free, there can be no necessity in Him as far as actions outside of Him are concerned. Thus even the creation of the universe including the humans is an absolutely free act of God. He need not have created it as God is self-sufficient in Himself. However, all creation is an expression and manifestation of His Infinite Love as He is Love itself. Humans are the only earthly creatures who are modeled on God's own image and likeness (See Genesis, 1: 26-27) With the creation of angels and the humans, God shared freely His own freedom with the creatures in a limited way. When sin entered the world through their disobedience, God devised ways to save the world from utter destruction. Thus soteriological necessity has its origins in the irrevocability of  God's gift of freedom to his creatures, especially to the humans.. God wants to save the humans through love without doing violence to their free nature bestowed upon them. It is done through Jesus Christ whose Body is the Church and is governed by soteriological necessity.    
Salvation:  "Scripture says, 'Everyone who has faith in him will be saved from shame' - everyone: there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich enough for the need of all who invoke him. For everyone, as it says again - 'everyone who invokes the name of the Lord will be saved' " (Romans, 10: 11-13). The Scripture reference is to the book of Prophet Joel 2: 28-32 quoted also by Peter in his address to the people on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out  (See Acts, 2: 17-21). Just before the above quoted text of Paul, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is stressed by Paul (See Romans, 10: 5-10). Similarly, immediately after the above cited text of Paul, he argues for the necessity of Gospel Proclamation in relation to the salvation of the whole world (See Romans, 10: 14-15).  
Salvation of All:  The fundamental reason why all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved is that the same Lord is the Lord of all who is rich enough to cater to the needs of all. In his First Letter to Timothy, Paul urges him to pray for all men and those in authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. This would become possible if all live in full observance of religion and high standards of morality. "Such prayer is right, and approved by God our Savior, whose will it is that all men should find salvation and come to know the truth" (1 Timothy, 2: 3-4). It follows that if people were to sincerely practice the precepts of their religion and morality, they would gradually come to the knowledge of full truth besides attaining salvation. The full truth consists in the fact that there is but one God and one mediator between God and the humans. Jesus Christ is this one mediator who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind, which is the Good News or the Gospel meant for the whole world (See 1 Timothy, 2: 5-7).  
Gospel Proclamation:  God's will that all the humans should find salvation and come to know the truth is not half-hearted or ineffective, but is restrained by the free will of the humans who cannot be coerced into attaining their own salvation. Here is the fundamental reason why any "forced conversion" is no conversion at all as it involves a contradiction in terms even in the case of a coercive Will of God for our salvation! The need of Gospel Proclamation is all the more evident in the background of this Will of God for the salvation of all respecting the freedom of all. For, Gospel Proclamation is essentially an invitation freely to be accepted or rejected by people just like an invitation to a marriage feast (See Matthew, 22: 1-14). The symbolism of marriage feast stands for the reality of the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus Christ. The Church is commissioned by Jesus Christ to strive for building up the Kingdom of God, which is essentially an act of God. It has to be done in coordination with all people since all have stake in it according to the plan of God whose grace appeared in Jesus Christ for healing all the humans. (See Titus, 2: 11-14). Let us remember that salvation is primarily an act of God to cooperate with which the Church has been called with soteriological necessity ( See Titus, 1: 2-3; 1 Peter, 1: 1-2). (To be Contd).  
    

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

The Necessity of the Church for Salvation: The answer to the question whether the Church is necessary for salvation depends very much on the proper analysis of language with reference to the concepts "the Church", "Necessity" and "Salvation". This analysis should be based on an adequate understanding of those concepts propounded in the Bible.
The Church:  "Ecclesia" is the Greek word used in the New Testament to denote the Church, which is an assembly called together by God Himself. The initiative, therefore, is from God and He calls whom He wills and forms them into a community. The death of Jesus on the cross was for the purpose of gathering together the scattered children of God (See John, 11: 52). It entirely depends on God the Father who would come to Jesus and no one can do it on his or her own (See John, 6: 37, 44). Jesus himself called his disciples whom he will and reminded them that it was he who chose them and not vice-versa. Even in appointing the Apostles, Jesus did not worry about giving wide representation as we see that Peter and Andrew as well as James and John were brothers. There was also representation from those who were called his brothers. Peter, Andrew and Philip were from Bethesda and all the Apostles were from Galilee. Thus, no democratic spirit was apparent in the selection of Apostles as they were directly called by God Himself. The same is true of the first member of the Church, Mother Mary, as well as of all the women disciples of Jesus. Therefore, the first condition of being a member of the church of Jesus Christ is the call extended by God Himself.
External and Internal components:  There are both visible and invisible elements constituting the reality of the Church. The call from God, through the action of His Spirit, is the first invisible component of the Church. It takes shape in each human heart as true faith in the living God expressed variously through visible forms of worship, actions, attitudes etc.To nurture that faith and develop it according to the Will of God is the mission of the Church. It follows that, as St. Augustine noted, there are some who think that they are in the Church while they are not really in it and others who think that they are outside the Church while they are really in it. This shows the preponderance and importance of the invisible element in the Church, although it has also to be expressed in visible forms. The Spirit of God needs and uses visible forms, without being restrained and restricted by them. The purpose of the visibility of the church through various sacraments and institutions including the priesthood, is not to create boundaries but to open up to the entire world. In the process of opening up to the world, if the Church were to lose its own identity, it succeeds in fulfilling the mission of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself for us. The delicate balance between the individuality of a Church and the work of the Holy Spirit has to be maintained for the Church to remain the Body of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, the many individual Churches in the One Church would tend to be disparate groups governed by selfish motives instead of becoming vehicles of organic outgrowth in the Body of Christ.    
The Spirit:  The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles clearly indicate how the Holy Spirit was guiding the Church in its beginnings. Nothing was done without the promptings of the Holy Spirit and even the visible manifestations of those promptings were not allowed to be excessively influenced by the human proclivities of wielding power over others. The best example of such a visible element was the administration of baptism to those who believed in Jesus as the Christ. Baptism was never considered as a means to segregate people but as a symbolic expression of dying and rising with Jesus Christ. It was not the only means to receive the Holy Spirit as we see from the case of Cornelius who, with his family, was baptized by Peter after the outpouring of the Spirit on them (See Acts, 10: 44-48). Peter also tells us that baptism is not a mere ritual to wash away our bodily pollution , but an appeal made to God for a good conscience in virtue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (See 1 Peter, 3: 21). Let us also remember that Jesus never baptized anyone (See John, 4: 2 that clarifies John, 3: 22) and Paul understood his mission as proclaiming the Gospel and not baptizing anyone (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 17). It only means that baptism and as a result membership in the Church should never be considered as a means for increasing numbers for the purpose of building power-blocks in the name of Jesus Christ. In this context, one can see that any idea of "forcible conversions" even by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the weak is a contradiction in terms.
Sources of misunderstanding:  The reason for the importance and necessity of the Church for salvation is its identity with Jesus Christ. Saul, who turned out to be Paul, knew this identification through a direct encounter with Jesus at Damascus. Saul was very zealous in persecuting the believers in Jesus not only at Jerusalem but also in the Synagogues of other places. He was struck down near Damascus, on his way to arrest the believers in Jesus in the Synagogues there, by the power of the Lord Jesus who identified himself with the believers and considered their persecution as his own (See Acts, 9: 1-5). According to the faith of the Church, derived from the Bible, Jesus Christ is the one who is appointed by God Himself as the sole savior of the world. Since the Church is identified with Jesus Christ as his Body, the necessity of the Church for salvation is thought to derive from the necessity of Jesus Christ for salvation. This is, however, a half-truth resulting from the fallacious identification of Jesus Christ with the Church in place of the identification of the Church with Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ is much more than the reality of the Church of which he is the head and at the same time the head of all creation. Nothing is excluded from his sovereignty except God the father to whom he himself is subject. Thus the unreserved interchangeability of the identity of the Church and Jesus Christ is one source of misunderstanding of the true necessity of the Church for salvation.
                                                Another source of misunderstanding of the same is due to the exaggerated importance of the visibility of the church at the expense of its invisible nature. Thus the view of Cardinal Bellarmine in the 16th cent. that the Church is as visible and palpable as the Republic of Italy or Germany completely undermined the essential invisible component of the Church and rendered it equivalent to any civil society. It was forgotten that while civil societies have physical and geographical boundaries, the Church of Jesus Christ, representing the Kingdom of God, has no such boundaries. Other consequences with rules, laws, discipline, etc., would accordingly be different in the Church and the civil societies. The former is governed for the welfare of its faithful in the coming world, while the latter is governed for the welfare of its citizens in this world. However, there should not be any dichotomy between the two since men and women cannot lead a divided life between the two kinds of societies. The problem of this division would be solved the moment one sees that life in the Church is nothing but a life in the Spirit whereby all our activities are suffused with the Spirit of Jesus Christ.        
                                                            There is still another source of misunderstanding about the nature of the Church whereby the Kingdom of God and the Church are identified. The most one can say about this identification is the one we have pointed out about the similar identification of the Church and Jesus Christ. While the Church may be identified with the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God is not to be identified with the Church in its visible manifestation. This is all the more so since Jesus Christ himself is the concrete expression of the Kingdom of God manifested to us through his Paschal Mystery. (To be Contd).  
       

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

The meaning of Belief in Jesus Christ (Contd):
Faith in Jesus:  It is evident from what Jesus said to Nicodemus that implicit belief in him meets the requirement of faith in him for salvation."No one ever went up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man whose home is in heaven. This Son of Man must be lifted up as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness, so that everyone who has faith in him may in him possess eternal life" (John, 3: 13-15). That this faith is satisfied by an implicit belief in him may be seen from what follows the passage quoted above. There Jesus elaborates on certain preconditions and consequences of faith in him that would justify the sufficiency of implicit belief in him for salvation. The preconditions are these: The reason why God sent His only Son into the world was that His love for the world was beyond measure with the purpose of granting eternal life to all those who have faith in His Son. Similarly, the intention of God in sending His Son was not for judging the world, but in saving it through him. The consequences immediately follow those preconditions in that the man who has faith in God's Son does not come under God's judgment. On the contrary, the unbeliever has already been judged because he did not give his allegiance to God's only Son (See John, 3: 16-18).
Verification of Faith:  Faith in Jesus required for our salvation is verified by a test proposed by Jesus himself that equiparates faith with implicit belief in him. "Here is the test: the light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil. Bad men all hate the light and avoid it, for fear that their practices should be shown up. The honest man comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all he does" (John, 3: 19-21). Faith in Jesus is necessarily tied up with our practices in daily life whereby it is verified or falsified. If our practices conform to the light, we shall not hide ourselves in darkness and would come out into the open for everyone to see what we really think, say and do. On the contrary, evil people cannot afford to do that as their evil thoughts, words and deeds cannot stand the scrutiny of light that enlightens everybody. If faith in Jesus implies verification of it by our practices, our practices necessarily reveal the kind of faith we have in Jesus. When the practices of someone correspond with the attributes of light , he or she has implicit belief in Jesus who is the light of the world.  
Belief in Jesus in the Old testament:  If anyone were to still think that implicit belief in Jesus Christ does not sufficiently meet the Gospel requirement of faith in Jesus, we may point out the biblical understanding of the same in the very first century. Jesus himself endorsed the sufficiency of implicit belief in him by referring to the faith of Abraham and David in their lifetime. "Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see my day; he saw it and was glad" (John, 8: 56). Jesus asked the Jews how Christ could be the Son of David when David himself in Psalm 110: 1 called him his Lord (See Luke, 20: 41-44). It means that David's knowledge about Christ could only be implicit and yet he was saved by his faith in him. The same is true of all those who were justified by faith as detailed out in chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews. Explicit mention of Christ is made by the author of this Letter while talking about the faith of Moses. "He considered the stigma that rests on Christ (God's Anointed, the Messiah) greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed upon the coming day of recompense" (Hebrew, 11: 26). By the very fact that Moses preferred to suffer hardship with the people of God rather than enjoy the transient pleasures of sin as the prince of Egypt, he implicitly took part in the destiny of Jesus Christ and was justified. Similarly, Christ was the spiritual rock that traveled with Israel through the desert during their exodus from Egypt (See 1 Corinthians, 10: 3-4)    
Walking Models:  If a case could be made out for implicit belief in Jesus Christ from the very beginning of the world, much more should it be relevant after the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ with the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel. The Church has to bring to the fore what is already implicit in every human being, i. e., the image of God enhanced by the presence of Jesus Christ. Education in general is an activity that attempts to draw out the potentialities inherent in children and Gospel Proclamation is an activity of education for every human being. Education implies training that presupposes models and specimens which we believers are called to be. Believers are expected to be walking models of Gospel values in their everyday lives. (To be Contd). 

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

The Meaning of Belief in Jesus Christ:  The problem in dealing with this topic pertains to an inadequate Christology. When the Bible demands faith in Jesus Christ, the only Son of the living God, as a requirement of our salvation, what is the concept of the Savior assumed to be operating in this requirement? For, the reality of Jesus Christ is not restricted to any stereotype usually propounded by theologians of various persuasions, if we go deep into the Word of God we have in the bible.  
Our Understanding:  It is obvious that the meaning of belief in Jesus Christ is determined by our understanding of the reality of Jesus Christ. We can see in the Bible various aspects of the reality of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the question might arise as to believing in which aspect is really believing in Jesus Christ. Is it necessary to believe in all of them at once or is it enough to believe in any of them without denying the other aspects and remaining open to them? We believe that the latter attitude is sufficient to have genuine faith in Jesus Christ as is the case with most, if not all, believers. The titles "Son of Man", "The Messiah", "The King of the Jews", "The savior of the world", "Christ" meaning the anointed one, "The Lord", "The Good Shepherd", "The Light of the world", "The Way, the Truth, and the Life", etc., refer to various aspects of the reality of Jesus. As the pre-existing Word of God , Jesus was with God from all eternity and by becoming man, the Word became subject to the human condition except sin. Living as a human being on this earth, Jesus identified himself with our way of being in this world. His identification with us became complete and total with his death and that too death on a cross. Jesus went even to those who were already dead to announce the Gospel to them and thus extended his mission to the whole human race. By his resurrection, ascension and sitting at the right hand of God the Father, another dimension was added to the reality of Jesus Christ. We earnestly hope for his second coming at the end of the world when the whole universe will be reconciled to God.    
Church's Proclamation:  When the Church proclaims Jesus Christ as the Good news to the world, all of these aspects are understood to be included. Yet, there are various levels of proclamation in various contexts. For instance, when Christ crucified can be proclaimed even to non-believers, Christ as the risen Lord can be proclaimed only to those who already believe in Jesus Christ. Christ himself appeared only to believers after his resurrection and even Paul only heard his voice without seeing him before his conversion. Although Paul saw Jesus Christ later (See 1 Corinthians, 9: 1) and learnt everything through direct revelation and instructed the believers about the risen Lord, what he preached to the non-believers was Christ crucified (See Galatians, 1: 12; 1 Corinthians, 1: 23). This was in spite of the fact that probably he was not a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus, and if he was, he was not a sympathetic witness as he persecuted the Church afterwards.
                                                      The practical reason why Paul insisted on proclaiming the crucified Christ as the Good News to all was its easy accessibility to all as suffering and death are basic features of the human condition. Theologically speaking, by voluntarily undergoing suffering and death, Jesus Christ identified himself with humanity at its very core and turned out to be our advocate before God the Father. Those who take their own suffering and death in the spirit of Jesus Christ truly believe in him. It is part of the mission of the Church in proclaiming the Gospel to teach and train people to accept their own suffering and death as part of God's plan whereby they may implicitly believe in Jesus Christ. The Letter to the Hebrews describes how Jesus became the representative before God forever. "In the days of his earthly life he offered up prayers and petitions, with loud cries and tears, to God who was able to deliver him from the grave. Because of his humble submission his prayer was heard: Son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering, and, once perfected, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, named by God high priest in the succession of Melchizedek"(Hebrews, 5: 7-10).  
The Priesthood of Christ:  While the priesthood of Aaron was restricted to the tribe of Levi for the benefit of the people of Israel, the priesthood of Melchizedek was unrestricted and was for the benefit of the entire human race. The superiority of the latter over the former is explained in chapters 7-10 of the same Letter to the Hebrews. By becoming a priest like Melchizedek, Jesus represents the whole of humanity before God in virtue if his glorified body. The priesthood of Jesus is operative wherever there is suffering and death through which he passed on to his own glory. All those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus in their sufferings in this world obey him and will find eternal salvation through the merits of Jesus Christ. It is a very fundamental and basic kind of belief in Jesus Christ without any sound and fury of pompous exhibitionism aimed at selfish human gratification under the garb of devotion to God! There are innumerable examples of this phenomenon of implicit belief in Jesus Christ cutting across religions, races, cultures, etc. Two outstanding contributions to Gospel Proclamation in this way may be seen in the cases of Fr. Joseph Damien of Belgium who went to the Moloccoi islands to live with the lepers who were considered outcasts and the Albanian Mother Teresa who worked in the slums of Calcutta. Wherever there is genuine self-giving in order to empower the weak and the humble , there is true Gospel Proclamation. (To be Contd).  


  

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

Transformation of the World through Gospel Proclamation:  By proclaiming the Gospel we ask people to repent and return to God's love in order to fulfill their destiny. God has a plan for each individual that has been marred by our wayward thinking, acting and living in this world. As the constant theme in Indian Thought says we take the unreal to be real and the real to be unreal. If not by words, our actions and life itself bear testimony to this false attitude permeating our entire existence. Repentance or conversion is the means to turn back from the grip of the world to ourselves and realize the truth of our state as it is and it should be. We are invited to be ruled by the ways of God rather than by our own worldly ways. These two ways are diametrically opposed to each other as even Peter used to think as humans think and not as God thinks (See Matthew, 16: 23). What is designed to be honorable before the humans is despicable before God. The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and scoffed at him. "He said to them, 'you are the people who impress your fellow-men with your righteousness; but God sees through you; for what sets itself up to be admired by men is detestable in the sight of God' " (Luke, 16: 14-15). Peter himself was so thoroughly converted and made new that in his later years he was able to hit upon the very logic of God's ways with us. "And here is one point, my friends, which you must not lose sight of : with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day" (2 Peter, 3: 8). Thus Peter understood that the measuring - rod God uses is qualitatively different from the ones we use in our worldly life. The Gospel Proclamation is meant to effect this fundamental reversal of standards used by the humans in order to adopt God's standards and that would be the same as the transformation of the world.  
Good news to the Whole Creation:  The Gospel according to Mark, written around A.D. 70 and is the first Gospel, reports the words of the risen Lord thus: "Then he said to them: 'Go forth to every part of the world, and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation' " (Mark, 16: 15). We would have thought that the Gospel was to be preached to all human beings or at most to all creatures! But, here the whole creation is to be addressed by the proclamation of the Good News.  
                                                        That the Gospel has relevance for the whole created universe may be seen from Paul's letter to the Romans, 8: 19-22: "For the created universe waits with eager expectation for God's sons to be revealed. It was made the victim of frustration, not by its own choice, but because of him who made it so; yet always there was hope , because the universe itself is to be freed from the shackles of mortality and enter upon the liberty and splendor of the children of God. Up to the present, we know, the whole created universe groans in all its parts as if in the pangs of childbirth".
                                                         The plan of God includes the glorification of the entire universe dependent on the revelation and glorification of God's sons. This is the reason why the disciples should proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation as a result of which nothing in the world, be it the devils, snakes or poison, can harm them (See Mark, 16: 17-18). The all-comprehensive nature and urgency of the Good News are brought out by Mark by his reference to salvation and condemnation vis - a - vis the Good news (See Mark, 16: 16).
                                                         The gospel according to Matthew enjoins upon the disciples the responsibility of making disciples, baptizing and teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded them (See Matthew, 28: 19-20) Here the proclamation of the Good News is identified with making disciples of all nations. Discipleship will transform the whole creation into a new world.
                                                        According to Luke, the Gospel message is the proclamation of forgiveness of sins to all nations on repentance in the name of Jesus (See Luke, 24: 47). The duty of the disciples is to remain witnesses to all that has happened due to which repentance and forgiveness are possible.  
                                                        John narrates how the disciples were sent with the mission of forgiving peoples' sins (John, 20: 21). The newly constituted community of believers by Jesus from the cross is given a pastoral head in the person of Peter who will thereafter take the place of Jesus in leading the believing community (See John, 21: 15-17).
                                                        The Good News that is meant for the whole creation is made available to one and all by God Himself. For this purpose, He has called us believers to co-operate with Him. Jesus himself is the corner stone of the building the foundation of which is constituted by the Apostles and Prophets (See Ephesians, 2: 17-22). All of us are being built into this grand building designed and completed by God the Father. It is our vocation to respect and fulfill the plan of God for the entire creation. We are to be constant witnesses to this great plan of God manifested and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Our life in this world should be a constant testimony and witness to the grand design of God that is the same as the Proclamation of the Good News to the whole creation affecting all creatures and even the environment we live in.
The Foolishness of God:  For Paul, proclaiming the Gospel consists in proclaiming Christ nailed to the cross who is the power of God and the Wisdom of God for those who believe in him (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 23-24). It is sheer folly to those who are on their way to ruin, and power of God to those who are on the way to salvation (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 18). This is God's way of reversing roles and values found in the world whereby no one is able to boast before God. "The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man, and divine weakness stronger than man's strength" (1 Corinthians, 1: 25).
                                                     What is said above clearly shows that no one is able to preach the Gospel unless he or she shares in the foolishness of God and in His weakness. Whatever is done without the presence of these two essential elements of divine folly and divine weakness is no proclamation of the Gospel at all! One might conveniently think that it is enough to shout one's heart out about Christ crucified for our salvation without personally participating in the mystery of Christ whereby our own life becomes part of this divine folly and weakness. Such an endeavor is no proclamation of the Gospel, but mere propaganda meant for consumers as do many of the advertisements of goods through the media. A preacher of the Gospel is not a mere medium of communication, but a co-worker with God Himself (See 1 Corinthians, 3: 9).
                                                    God's fellow-workers should have the mind of God in order to prevent the deterioration of the work into fields other than the proclamation of the Gospel. But, who knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God? (See 1 Corinthians, 2: 11). For this reason, receiving the Spirit of God is an essential precondition for preaching the Gospel of Christ. Unfortunately, the Spirit of God received by us in baptism is dormant in many of us due to various reasons. These reasons may be seen from the message given through the parable of the sower (See Matthew, 13: 3-8) therefore, our primary duty is to revive the Spirit poured out on us in baptism so that we may be eligible to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
                                                     How do we know that we have the Spirit of God in us? We shall know it through the fruits produced by us in co-operation with the holy Spirit; namely, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,fidelity, gentleness and self-control (See Galatians, 5: 22-23). As against these, the fruits of our lower nature are enumerated by Paul in Galatians, 5: 19-21 with the stern warning that such people will never inherit the Kingdom of God.
                                                           Our way of sharing in the divine folly and weakness is the same as following Christ to the cross. The cross has been set up By God Himself as the seat of judgment for the whole world. The crucified Lord is the standard by which every one and everything will be measured. Those who are found wanting by that universal standard bring judgment upon themselves . Others are not judged because they have life in them that leads them straight to the source of everything and everyone.The foolishness of God, therefore, is Wisdom itself. (To be Contd).

The Theology of Gospel Proclamation (Contd)

Self-Transformation as a Precondition for Gospel Proclamation (Contd):
Presence of the Spirit:  There can be no new life in us without the presence and working of the Holy Spirit within us. The whole of redemption wrought by Jesus Christ resulted in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on peoples of all nations. How do we know that we have the Spirit of God and are not merely under the illusion of having Him? There are ways and means for the faithful to distinguish the true spirit from the false ones. We see in Acts 6: 3 how the twelve Apostles are asking the disciples to choose from among them seven men full of the Spirit and of Wisdom to wait at table. This shows that the true followers of Christ are able to discern the Spirit. At the same time, it is also true that there is a possibility of fighting against the Holy Spirit (See Acts, 8: 51).
                                                         Therefore, it is imperative to be led by the Holy Spirit Himself and not by our imaginations and secret self-interests. For, a whole psychic world is operative within us which, if not brought under the control of the Holy Spirit , can wreak havoc in our lives. It is not the same to think that we are led by the Spirit and in fact to be led by the Spirit. The former may be a mere product of our imagination, whereas the latter is founded on reality. How do we know whether a person is really having the Holy Spirit within him or her or whether the person is merely under the impression of having the Spirit? We shall know this not from what the person says about himself or herself but from what the person does; his or her behavior-patterns, life style, attitudes, relationships. etc., which will reveal to us about the spirit within him or her. We don't expect a holy person to announce that he or she is holy; so do we least expect a truly charismatic person to proclaim his or her gifts of the Spirit. Without taking any help from the person concerned, we are able to discern the true spirit if we ourselves are governed by the Holy Spirit.
                                                        Intoxication by the Holy Spirit is not like the intoxication experienced by means of drugs where you have flights of fancy unrelated to the daily realities of life. On the contrary, a person who has really drunk the Holy Spirit is full of compassion for the weak and the suffering in the world and becomes more and more human involving oneself more deeply into the human reality. Weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice, such a person  becomes everything to everybody. He or she no longer lives for himself or herself but for others for love of Jesus. Such people will be standing for truth and non-violence and will forgive everyone at all times loving even their enemies not less than their friends. Those who are guided by the Holy Spirit will be open to others' views, but will not be bothered about undue criticism leveled against them even by their dear ones. For, Jesus himself faced the same reality as we read: "For even his brothers had no faith in him" (John, 7: 5).
The Gospel to the Poor:  The Gospel or the Good news is specially meant for the poor and the downtrodden as we see from the prophet Isaiah 6: 1- 2 and the Gospel of Luke, 4: 18-19. Does it mean that the rich and the empowered are not targeted by the proclamation of the Gospel? We know that the Gospel is proclaimed for the salvation of the whole world and yet the poor have a privileged place in the plan of God. It is they who will eagerly listen to the Word of God and live by true faith. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the rich and the privileged of this world to respond to the invitation of God proclaimed through the Gospel. This again reminds us of the need for self-transformation to become poor in spirit. Jesus himself revealed the difficulty of the rich in entering the Kingdom of God by saying that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God (See Luke, 18: 25). The disciples understood the message and that is why they asked Jesus how it was possible for anyone to be saved if the requirements were so stringent. Jesus replied that only God was able to accomplish the salvation of men and women and that they only needed to acknowledge it.  
                                                         In the context of the theme of Gospel Proclamation, it is evident that unless we who proclaim the Gospel are identified with the poor and the oppressed , we shall never be able to effectively proclaim the Gospel. Identification of ourselves with the poor means that we put ourselves in their shoes and start facing life. We are not allowed to be unconcerned about the plight of the dispossessed and the disabled nor are we able to get away with a diplomatic and condescending attitude. It is not enough just to be tolerant towards the downtrodden while we ourselves live a life of luxury and comfort without actively doing things to empower them.
                                                            The story of the rich man and Lazarus (See Luke, 16: 19-31) elucidates the relationship between the rich and the poor and how it impacts our entry into the Kingdom of God. The rich man did not mind the poor Lazarus lying at his gate although he was covered with wounds licked by dogs. Exactly that attitude of unconcern was the rich man's sin against God's plan for the rich and the poor. The rich man was tolerant and even condescending by allowing Lazarus to stay at his gate waiting eagerly for some crumbs that might fall from his table. He did not find it inconvenient that such a wretched fellow was an eye-sore polluting the beautiful environment of his palace. We might even say that he was sufficiently human in not evicting Lazarus to a far away place. Yet, it was not enough for the rich man to gain entry into the Kingdom of God!
                                                          Unless our entire attitude and outlook change for the better and we are able to identify ourselves with the poor and the downtrodden, we cannot proclaim the Gospel. The reason for this is that the Gospel is a liberating power for all those who are subdued and neglected, which can only be preached by those who are genuinely liberated. (To be Contd).   

Section Five :The Theology of Gospel Proclamation

                                                           In this Section we shall try to arrive at God's point of view with regard to Gospel Proclamation. To this end we need to discuss points on transformation of self and the world, belief in Jesus Christ, the Church and salvation, World Religions and the necessity of Gospel proclamation.
Self-Transformation as a Precondition for Gospel proclamation:  The proclamation of the Gospel is usually compared with the royal proclamations of ancient times by the King's heralds. The comparison is good in as far as it is a message received from God and transmitted to the people. However, the essential difference is in the qualifications required in the proclaimer. In the case of the King's messengers, it is enough to clearly announce the message from the King to the people irrespective of whether the announcer believes in it or not. It is not so in the case of the Gospel Proclamation. Believing in the message with the consequence of the transformation of the personality of the messenger of the Gospel is an absolute pre-requisite for the genuine Proclamation of the Gospel. This requirement emanates from the very nature of the Gospel message , which is meant to touch the personal lives of each and everyone who comes in contact with it. It is geared to an internal transformation producing external fruits of various types. The content of the Gospel message is the love of God showered upon men and women to make them partake in His own nature. Anyone who announces it cannot remain unaffected and do it successfully at the same time.  
                                                       Jesus Christ himself was completely transformed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism from John and was driven by the Spirit to the wilderness for prayer and fasting for forty days and nights. Thus in the power of the Spirit Jesus started announcing the Good news of the Kingdom of God. Similarly, John the Baptist before Jesus led an ascetic life in the wilderness and announced the coming of Jesus after him. All the Apostles were together at Pentecost and on receiving the Holy Spirit boldly set out to announce the Gospel to the whole world. The fishermen, tax-collector and a Pharisee well-versed in Jewish law like Paul were all transformed into new creatures before they started proclaiming the Gospel. All of us who have received the sacraments of baptism and confirmation have received the Holy Spirit in abundance. We may have to re-kindle the fire in us in order to be fit instruments of the Gospel Proclamation expected of us.  
                                                      Before proceeding to the task of proclaiming the Gospel message, let that message seep into our lives and transform us. Otherwise we would be proclaiming anything but the Word of God and the message of the Good News. How do we make sure that real transformation of our selves takes place in accordance with the Will of God? We have to depend on the Word of God and cross-check our lives with the demands coming from it. An understanding of the Word of God in its true sense is absolutely essential for a genuine transformation of our lives. Meditation on the Word of God is the means to achieve the same just like Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who kept in her heart the things she did not understand.
Repentance and Self-Transformation:  The transformation of our own selves is the sure way to our happiness and to the Kingdom of God (Heaven). This kind of self-transformation is the ultimate aim of Gospel Proclamation that will gradually transform the whole of creation. That is the reason why Jesus, and before him John the Baptist, proclaimed: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you" Matthew, 4:17; Mark, 1: 14-15; Luke, 3: 2).
                                                    The original meaning of repentance is a sudden reversal of the course we follow presently and turn back decisively for the opposite direction. This is how the violent take away the Kingdom of Heaven by force, i. e., by self-violence leading to self-transformation. It is not enough to say that we repent, but we have to prove it by our actions as we see in Luke, 3: 8: "Then prove your repentance by the fruit it bears...". Mark clearly tells us what is the Gospel of God: "The time has come; the kingdom of God is upon you; repent, and believe the Gospel" (Mark, 1: 16). From this it is evident that repentance is the first step in believing the Gospel. Repentance is the one message we can address to everyone irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The only condition for this kind of proclamation is that the person who takes up the task should himself or herself be genuinely repentant, manifested in constant self-renewal. Once this is being done, believing in the Gospel is the natural outcome aided by the grace of God.
                                                    The Bible is full of instances of people who were transformed into new creatures on the strength of the Word of God. The obvious examples from the Old Testament are Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel and the prophets after him, King David, etc. In the new Testament, the most prominent example of transformation of an individual by the Word of God is Mary of Nazareth. Then we have Joseph, the Apostles, disciples - among whom the secret ones like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea - and the women disciples like Mary and Martha, sinners like Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, etc. The graphic description of the transformation of Zacchaeus in Luke, 19: 1-10 is a master-stroke narration of the change of personality of Zacchaeus in the presence of Jesus. We, however, are so used to reading all these instances in the Bible that we remain impervious to any impact from them in our lives! We know very well how to erect a shell of protection around our personality by means of seemingly pious items in our life that we always remain the persons we were before!!
                                                   Another example of a dramatic transformation of a person can be seen from the incident narrated in Acts 16: 25-34. It is about the jailer who was in charge of the prisoners including Paul and Silas at Philippi, a city of Macedonia. At the earthquake, all the prisoners were able to flee and the jailer assumed it to be so. On thinking of the consequences he was about to kill himself when Paul called out about their presence. This extraordinary and unexpected behavior from the prisoners transformed the personality of the jailer and he was ready to receive the Good News. Here is a clue for us in the various methods of the proclamation of the Gospel. (To be Contd).  

The Rationale of Jesus' Preaching (Contd).

Jesus Preached for the Creation of a New Humanity (Contd):
Sinners and New Humanity:  The creation of new humanity in sinners, tax-collectors, prostitutes and the marginalized of this world is seen in the Gospels, especially in the Gospel according to Luke. One of the foundations of the creation of this new humanity  is our awareness of being forgiven by God. "And so, I tell you, her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown" (Luke, 7: 47) The consequence of forgiveness by God is complete freedom for the sinner to do good. "Jesus said, 'Nor do I condemn you. You may go; do not sin again' " (John, 8: 11)..
The Objectivity of New Humanity:  We consider true and objective whatever is decreed and set up by God Himself. The new humanity is created not according to our plans and designs, but in conformity with the Will of our heavenly Father. He is its main Architect who chooses the stone rejected by builders as the corner stone (See Matthew, 21: 42; Psalm, 118: 22-23). Paul tells us : "You must be made new in mind and spirit and put on the new nature of God's creating, which shows itself in the just and devout life called for by the truth" (Ephesians, 4: 23-24). Our new attitude and outlook are but products of the new creation in accordance with the criteria set by our heavenly Father. Jesus expressed it in a very concrete manner thus: "At that moment Jesus exulted in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and wise, and revealing them to the simple. Yes, Father, such was thy choice' " (Luke, 10: 21). In the domain of new humanity, contemplation is more important and basic than action. "But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha, you are fretting and fussing about so many things; but one thing is necessary. The part that Mary has chosen is best; and it shall not be taken away from her' " (Luke, 10: 41-42). The people who are truly happy are those who hear the Word of God and keep it (See Luke, 11: 27-28).
Kingdom of God and New Humanity:  Our attitude to riches and possessions is an unmistakable indication of how near or far are we from the Kingdom of God resulting from the creation of a new humanity in us. Complete trust in God disclaiming our dependence even on the basic necessities like food and shelter is a precondition of this new attitude (See Luke, 12: 22-31). Amassing wealth remaining a pauper in the sight of God is real foolishness. One should be ready to sell one's possessions and give in charity in order to provide for never-failing treasure in heaven where it is completely safe. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Luke, 12: 34). Our attachment to wealth and possessions, just like the lust of flesh and the lust for power, blinds us to our true destiny. Sri Buddha advocated abandoning all our desires, which bind us to our limitations and make us slaves to them, as the only means for true liberation. However, we are led to believe by the attractions of momentary pleasures that satisfying our desires would make us happy. Since the desires are never-ending, satisfying them would be self-defeating. At some point or other we have to practice self-restraint by denying our desires in order to be liberated. Jesus suggests a definitive and once and for all method of ending our attachment to wealth by selling it and distributing the proceeds to the poor. This is a call given to those who are able to take it like the call for making oneself a eunuch for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  However, detachment is an attitude everyone who has the spirit of new humanity should practice. Without detachment there cannot be any spiritual life worth its name (See on 'Detachment' our earlier Post on 'Living in the Presence of God').  
Consequences of New Humanity:  The new humanity created in us inspires us to watch and pray for the coming of the Lord as well as to enter through the narrow gate. "Happy are those servants whom the master finds on the alert when he comes. I tell you this: he will fasten his belt, seat them at table, and come and wait on them" (Luke, 12: 37). "Someone asked him, 'Sir, are only a few to be saved?' His answer was: 'Struggle to get in through the narrow door; for I tell you that many will try to enter and not be able' " (Luke, 13: 23-24) Giving preference to others in our social interactions as well as doing good without expecting anything in return are attitudes born of the new humanity (See Luke, 14: 7-14). The new man should always remember two very important principles of spiritual life. First, no one can serve two masters like God and money. Second, the human and divine values are diametrically opposed to each other (See Like, 16: 13-15). Here by human values we mean the values upheld by the world as capable of humanizing us while in fact they degrade us and not the genuine human values that are reflections of divine values.
The Perfect Model:  The supreme specimen of the new humanity envisaged by God for all of creation is already realized in the glorified body of Jesus Christ. It is very important to understand the implications of this new reality of the risen body of Jesus, which is neither purely phenomenal and historical nor purely transcendental and heavenly. It is a combination of both the reality of this world and that of the world to come. We shall see more about this in our last Section (Six) on "A Christology for the 21st Century"). [ We shall now proceed with the next Section(Five) on "The Theology of Gospel Proclamation"].  

The rationale of Jesus' preaching (Contd).

Jesus preached for the creation of a New Humanity.(Contd):
Creation of New Humanity:  As against clear failures in the creation of a new humanity, seen in the last Post, we have many examples of genuine humanity in the Gospels. In the case of Mary, the mother of Jesus, she responded to the invitation to be the mother of God Himself although that clearly put her in danger of ignominy and humiliation if she was devoid of faith in God's promises. " 'Here am I', said Mary; 'I am the Lord's servant; as you have spoken , so be it' Then the angel left her" (Luke, 1: 38). This attitude of self-surrender in faith to God's Word was the hallmark of Mary's life even when she did not understand the full implications of many things. Mary kept up her faithfulness at the foot of the cross also even as her only son was undergoing a most painful death. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, rose to the occasion when it was needed to defend the dignity of Mary who was betrothed to him. He too believed the Word of God spoken through the angel that the child in Mary's womb was from the Holy Spirit and he should not hesitate in accepting her.  The first thought of Joseph was to end his relationship with Mary and do it quietly, he being a just man. "Being a man of principle, and at the same time, wanting to save her from exposure, Joseph desired to have the marriage contract set aside quietly" (Matthew, 1: 19). It was within the rights of Joseph to reveal the secret and have Mary stoned to death as per the Jewish Law. Joseph went beyond the Law and took a stand on the side of humanity by deciding to protect the reputation of Mary by not exposing her publicly. Joseph practiced the commandment that one should love one's neighbor as oneself by upholding the dignity of Mary as his own.
Discipleship and New Humanity:  We have the examples of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea, both of them members of the Jewish Council, who were secret disciples of Jesus. These two were not the only ones from the authorities who believed in Jesus, but the others were unable to acknowledge it as they were afraid of the Pharisees who could ban them from the Synagogue. John adds the reason for their behavior thus: "For they valued their reputation with man rather than the honor which comes from God" (John, 12: 43). However, the secret disciples like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea did not belong to the above category of people as their actions at crucial moments have proved. Once the temple police who were sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees for arresting Jesus returned to them empty-handed. To the question why they did not bring Jesus with them, the temple police answered that no man ever spoke as this man did. The pharisees wanted to make it out to be a case of ignorance and misled enthusiasm from the part of the police in support of which they asked them a question and added a remark on the crowd. "Is there a single one of our rulers who believed in him, or of the Pharisees? As for this rabble, which cares nothing for the law, a curse is on them" (John, 7: 48-49). At this juncture, Nicodemus who was one of their numbers and had visited Jesus once at night (See John, 3: 1) intervened to the dismay of the Pharisees. " 'Does our law', he asked them, 'permit us to pass judgment on a man unless we have first given him a hearing and learned the facts?' " (John, 7: 51). It was an unexpected backlash for the Pharisees from a famous teacher of Israel (See John, 3: 10), who was rebuffed by the Pharisees with a personal attack and a prejudiced interpretation of the scriptures. (See John, 7: 52).
                                                Similar, though more pronounced, was the action of the other secret disciple, Joseph of Arimethea, at the burial of Jesus. Although Joseph remained a secret disciple for fear of the Jews, from his later action it becomes evident that the fear was not for losing high position in the Jewish Council, from the policy and action of which he had dissented, being a good and upright man looking forward to the Kingdom of God (See Luke, 19: 50-51). Both Joseph and Nicodemus rose to the occasion on the side of Jesus when it mattered most.Their dissent in the Jewish Council with regard to its policies and actions did not bear fruit because of the hard hardheartedness and selfish interest of the other members. The crucifixion of Jesus created an atmosphere of failure and gloom for the righteous with an added note of desperation by the jeering of the Jews against the powerlessness of the miracle worker. A situation of acute pressure was created for joining the winning side at the moment for anyone who wanted to live in this world honorably. Under the circumstances, it was heroic on the part of Joseph and Nicodemus to come forward on the side of Jesus. Joseph went straight to Pontius Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus for burial that could not be denied to such a person of position and authority. Pilate did not even think of consulting the chief priests as he was himself perplexed at his action of condemning an innocent person at their insistence. Joseph and Nicodemus had no second thoughts about what would happen to their high position among the Jews once they came forward to bury the body of Jesus. They considered honor coming from God greater than their reputation and position with them. This attitude was a blossoming of their earlier stand on the side of goodness and uprightness even in the Jewish Council deliberations. (To be Contd).     

The Rationale of Jesus' Preaching (Contd)

Jesus Preached for the Creation of New Humanity (Contd):
Wrong Notions:  As we have seen in the previous Post, inactivity is not to be encouraged not only in our interactions with others, but also in the needs and requirements of our day-to-day living. People tend to misunderstand the following words of Jesus: "Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well" (Matthew, 6: 33). Some people retort by saying that if you don't work for your food, who will give you to eat? That this is a complete misunderstanding of the words of Jesus is evident from what Paul says: "For even during our stay with you we laid down the rule: the man who will not work shall not eat" ( 2 Thessalonians, 3: 10). A greater misunderstanding may be caused from these words of Jesus: "You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life" (John, 6: 27). The greatest work a man can do is to have and keep the true faith in the living God and in the one whom he has sent (See John, 6: 29; Matthew, 6: 25-34).  
Reasons for Negativity:  The staunchest enemies of true faith are fear and anxiety we may experience from our surroundings that are not favorable. It means that we trust and depend on the powers of this world more than in God who is always with us. It is no wonder that Jesus was dismayed at the fear of the disciples when their boat was about to sink although Jesus was with them. They were overtaken by the forces of nature so much so that they forgot all about Jesus who was sleeping in their boat. The same was true about Peter who, though started to walk on water at the command of Jesus, was distracted by the surroundings that he began to sink. In both of those instances Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. He told Jairus to have faith although news reached him that his daughter was already dead. Though Lazar was dead and buried four days before, Jesus asked his sister Martha to have faith to see the glory of God  In both of those instances, the dead were raised to life and the only demand of Jesus was to have faith from the dear and near ones.  
The Solution:  In chapter 6 of Matthew's Gospel, we see that Jesus stressed the futility of being anxious for our daily needs instead of putting our trust in God. We must work in a very balanced way without getting stressed out for which full faith in God is absolutely necessary. In order to drive home the point, Jesus introduced the examples of lilies in the field and the birds of the air taken care of by the Father in heaven. The cynic who does not understand the passage would say that birds don't have to go to hospitals in their old age meaning that they do not need such provisions! The conclusion of all these is summed up: "So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own" (Matthew, 6: 34)..
The New Creature:  The new human is a new creature. That is why Paul said: "Circumcision is nothing; uncircumcision is nothing; the only thing that counts is new creation!" (Galatians, 6: 15). The new human should be joyous and have no anxiety at all, but make known to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving all one's requests.(See Philippians, 4: 4-6). The adverse circumstances of our life are capable of crushing us only if we give into them without having faith in God. According to worldly standards we may be numbered among the fools of this world if we cling to God in faith, but the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the humans and the weakness of God is stronger than the humans' strength (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 25).
Faith and the New Human:  The new human is a product of faith in the living God. Paul is very emphatic on the self-sufficiency of faith in the humans' justification before God. "I ask then: When God gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, why is this? Is it because you keep the law, or is it because you have faith in the Gospel message? Look at Abraham: he put his faith in God, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness" (Galatians, 3: 5-6). What Paul teaches is the preaching of Jesus Christ as is clear from the following words of Paul: "I must make it clear to you, my friends, that the Gospel you heard me preach is no human invention. For I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians, 1: 11-12).          
                                                                           Like the love of God, faith is a pure gift of God that is offered to every individual. It becomes our greatest work when we strive to maintain and develop it to produce fruits. It is not tied down to any particular religion, culture, caste, race, etc., but is the deepest response to the presence of God in the depths of the heart of every human being. Wherever there is an act of humanity we can see the externalization of faith deposited in our hearts by God Himself. Since Jesus Christ identified himself with our human nature in all its dimensions except sin, faith in him is the supreme example of externalization of faith. When it is sealed in baptism, faith is taken to the higher dimension of life in the Holy Spirit whereby the Christian is expected to live in Christ even while living in this world.  
Faith and life:  How shall we go about meeting the daily exigencies of our life in this world, if we are to live by faith alone? It is important here to understand clearly the nuances implicit in each situation of life and strike the right balance in combining the fulfillment of the needs of our body and those of our soul. Living by faith alone does not mean the license to be lazy without doing our daily duties. It does not mean that we should not take normal care , for example, of our health by approaching a doctor when we are sick. It would be wrong to go to a doctor as if that is the only means at our disposal to get well since even strong autosuggestion can cure us of many ills. Faith comes in when we cling to God as the ultimate source of our well-being due to which we shall use only whatever is legitimate and feasible means for getting well once we have fallen sick. Prayer is always necessary and should be continuous whereas bodily needs are to be taken care of periodically and in conformity with God's Will.    
The Failure of Humanity:  The creation of a new humanity preached by Jesus was something unintelligible to people whose hearts were hardened and who always wanted to maintain the status of their position and authority in society. Their main concern as in the case of Herod, chief priests, scribes and pharisees of the Jews, Pontius Pilate who condemned Jesus to death and High Priests Annas and Caiaphas, was to protect their own self-interest. They did not worry about keeping honesty, justice, fairness, compassion, etc., as the solid background of their actions and attitudes. Whatever suited best to attain their selfish interest was their guiding principle of life. The disciple who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was overwhelmed by his love for money that he readily agreed to sell his own Master for thirty pieces of silver. (To be Contd).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The Rationale of Jesus' Preaching (Contd).

Jesus Preached for the Creation of a New Humanity:  Some people would like to see Jesus as a revolutionary meaning that in extreme circumstances his followers may be justified in resorting to violence in order to right the perceived wrongs or to rectify an unjust system. Some writers of liberation theology advocated this view. Even the ordinary layman at times invokes the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus as a justification for occasional violence. However, it is widely held at present that violence and hatred can breed only more violence and hatred and never can achieve peace and prosperity as wrongly hoped for by its perpetrators. The circle of violence unleashed by terrorists and anti-terrorists in today's world is proof enough that unless we tackle the underlying reasons, be it political, economic, religious, cultural or any other, no true harmony and peace can be achieved. The non-violent methods of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, etc., have sufficiently clarified how successful those methods were. Jesus advocated a complete revolution in each person not by violence on others but on oneself such that a new creature, a new humanity is formed.    
The Problem of Evil:  The main objection against putting on the new humanity advocated by Jesus would be that being in this wicked world, such a person would easily be taken advantage of by selfish people. How long can one go on suffering the tyranny of some despots who are all the more encouraged in their wickedness by the helplessness of the innocent people? The answer to this problem is twofold. First, on the individual level, the right to self-defense is part and parcel of the right to life. Second, on the community level, the government authorities like the police and judicial courts and on the level of the nations the concept of a just war can protect the rights of everyone concerned. Non-violence and self-sacrifice are not meant to give occasion for the violent and the selfish to feast on the perceived weakness of the innocent . That is why Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, blessed the Indian soldiers in their mission to stop Pakistan raiders in the State of Kashmir immediately after the partition of the country into India and Pakistan. In America, Abraham Lincoln had to use force which he abhorred, in order to put an end to the inhuman practice of slavery there.
                                            Jesus himself sent out his disciples to preach the Kingdom of God with these words: "Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves; be wary as serpents, innocent as doves" (Matthew, 10: 16). It means that we are not expected to be merely passive in the midst of evil but fight it using all our resources and remaining innocent at the same time. The art of combining the two is a fruit of the Holy Spirit called goodness (See Galatians, 5: 22) and comes from God alone (See Matthew, 5: 39).  This is evident from the response of Jesus himself when one of the policemen of the chief priest struck him on the face. "Jesus replied, 'If I spoke amiss, state it in evidence; if I spoke well, why strike me?' " (John, 18: 23). What a dignified way of defending oneself without being guilty in any way and without turning the other cheek in the literal sense?
The New Humanity:  What exactly does it mean to say that we should put on the new humanity offered by the risen Lord and continue living in this material world? In other words, how can we combine the spiritual life that is our vital force with exigencies of living in this competitive world? An example given as an answer to this dilemma in Indian Thought is the status and function of a boat in water. Water is required for the boat to float along and yet it should not be allowed to enter the boat that might be sunk. Similarly, we need the world and material things to float along in our mundane journey keeping them at a distance by our attitude of detachment.(See about 'Detachment' in our earlier Post on 'Living in  the Presence of God').
The Old nature:  Paul has exhorted his faithful through his epistles about how to live life putting on the new humanity brought about by Jesus Christ. "Were you not raised to life with Christ? Then aspire to the realm above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and let your thoughts dwell on that higher realm, not on this earthly life. I repeat, you died; and now your life lies hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you too will be manifested with him in glory" (Colossians, 3:1-4). That our thoughts should dwell on the higher realm and not on this earthly life has its consequences. these consequences are both negative and positive. Negative consequences consist in putting to death those parts of ours which belong to the earth. They are; "... fornication, indecency, lust, foul cravings, and the ruthless greed which is nothing less than idolatry" (Colossians, 3: 5). Because of all these God's judgment is impending although He has held back so far hoping that we will be reformed. Granting that all of us were once party to all these vices, now we must set aside all anger, passion, malice, cursing, filthy talk etc., and have done with them. "Stop lying to one another , now that you have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature, which is being constantly renewed in the image of its creator and brought to know God. There is no question here of Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free man; but Christ is all, and is in all" Colossians, 3: 9-11).
The New Nature:  The positive consequences should immediately replace the negative ones in order to deny Satan a chance to re-occupy the mansion he was driven out of (See Matthew, 12: 43-45). Those positive consequences are garments that suit God's chosen people and are: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. "Be forbearing with one another, and forgiving, where any of you has cause for complaint: you must forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. To crown all, there must be love, to bind all together and complete the whole. Let Christ's peace be arbiter in your hearts; to this peace you were called as members of a single body. And be filled with gratitude" ( Colossians, 3: 13-15). The message of Christ should permeate our lives so much so that we are able to instruct and admonish each other with the utmost wisdom, singing thankfully in our hearts to God spiritual songs. Whatever we do shall be done in the name of Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him (See Colossians, 3: 16-17)
In Practice:  Paul also advises how husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, children, masters and slaves should behave once they have put on the new humanity (See Colossians: 3: 18 - 4: 1). The need of constant and unceasing prayer is also stressed besides that of learning how to deal with those outside the community capping everything with the capacity for gracious conversation, studying how best to talk with each person we meet (See Colossians, 4: 2-6) (To be Contd).

The Rationale of Jesus' Preaching (Contd)

Jesus Preached to Share Divine Life with Human Beings (Contd):
Aim of Gospel proclamation:  Paul instructs Timothy, his disciple and co-worker, to teach the Christians to pray for all humans, especially for those in authority, so that a quiet and peaceful life may be possible. Such prayer is right and approved by God whose will is that all should be saved and come to know the truth. "For there is one God, and also one mediator between God and the humans, Christ Jesus, himself man, who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind, so providing, at the fitting time, proof of the divine purpose;  of this I was appointed herald and apostle (this is no lie, but the truth), to instruct the nations in the true faith" (1 Timothy, 2: 5-7). Since there is only one God and one mediator between God and the humans, what the mediator achieved is applicable to all human beings equally. Jesus Christ became mediator by sacrificing himself on the cross whereby he won freedom for all mankind. After comparing the sin of all mankind through the sin of Adam and the righteousness of all through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Paul says: "It follows, then, that as the issue of one misdeed was condemnation for all humans; so the issue of one just act is acquittal and life for all humans. For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans, 5: 18-19). The primary aim of the Gospel Proclamation should be to conscientize the people about what God had done for us and thus to lead them to true faith in God. In this function the Church should not be worried about its own survival and growth, rather self-sacrifice is the method shown by Jesus Christ to attract people to the true faith. The divine life freely offered to every human being should not be blocked through laws and traditions which are man-made. There is no divine law that goes against what is truly human as all laws are for the humans and not the humans for the laws.  
Seeds of Divine Life: The identification of Jesus Christ with all men and women of all ages is the source of divine life offered to everyone. Although God Himself, by becoming man and subjecting himself to the level of a deeply despised servant of all and undergoing a death that violated his human dignity to its core, Jesus became the dispenser of divine life and the savior of the world. Thus Jesus Christ opened the gates of heaven to everyone by depositing in the human condition itself the seeds of divine life. Faith in the living God is the primary and initial seed implanted in every human heart, however faint that might be. It is our duty to nurture, sustain and develop this faith in the heart of every man and woman for which the Gospel Proclamation is a sure means offered by Jesus himself.
Presence of Jesus Christ:  Jesus identified himself with us on various levels and through innumerable means. Living among us as the risen Lord, he made us his representatives in this world. Thus the Apostles and their successors were made his representatives with authority over the believers in him (See Matthew, 16: 18-19; 28: 18-20; John, 20: 21-23; 21: 15-17). However, this authority is not one of domination but of service in serving the people like a real servant (See Mark, 10: 42-45). All children, irrespective of caste and creed, are made the representatives of Jesus (See Mark, 9: 36-37). All peoples of nations and races, cultures and religions, especially the poor and the humble ones, are the representatives of Jesus Christ that will be revealed at the end of the world (See Matthew, 25: 31-360). That Jesus Christ is mysteriously present in every human being is the mystery revealed gradually by God for our salvation (See Colossians, 1: 27). The purpose of the Gospel Proclamation is to make every human being mature in Christ (See Colossians, 1: 28-29). In this background we must understand how the living God is the savior of all humans and especially of believers (See 1 Timothy, 4: 10). Jesus came to offer us divine life that is realized in our becoming the children of God Himself (See John, 1: 12-13). (To be Contd).  

The Rationale of Jesus' preaching (Contd).

Jesus Preached to Share Divine Life with Human beings:  The whole point of the preaching of Jesus was to prepare the people for receiving divine life in themselves. It is not something for which we depend on someone else, but it is the result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus was not satisfied with giving life in half measures, i. e., neither merely physical nor purely spiritual life. He wanted everyone to have complete life in all its dimensions. "The thief comes only to steal, to kill, to destroy. I have come that men may have life , and may have it in all its fullness" (John, 10: 10). The distinguishing characteristic of the Good Shepherd is that he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. He is not afraid of the wolf and will squarely face him to fight him off. We cannot expect the hireling to do this, who is concerned more about his own life than that of the sheep as they do not belong to him. Since he is not the true shepherd, the hireling does not care for the sheep and takes to flight at the very first signs of the wolf's arrival. For the shepherd the life of the sheep is dearer than his own, which he is willing to lay down for saving his sheep from the wolf.                 The Good Shepherd:  The distinguishing characteristic of a thief or robber is that he does not enter by the door, but climbs into the sheepfold some other way. Since the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, it is enough for him to walk ahead and the sheep follow him as they know his voice. Since they do not recognize the voice of a stranger, the sheep will not follow him and will run away from him. "This was a parable that Jesus told them but they did not understand what he meant by it" (John, 10: 6).Therefore Jesus spoke plainly clarifying  that he himself was the door and the Good Shepherd. Anyone who enters into eternal life should enter through him in as far as Jesus is objectively constituted the Savior of the world by God Himself. Subjectively, for each one to attain salvation, God has provided many avenues from the beginning of the world  [For more on this, see our next Section on 'The Theology of Gospel Proclamation]. Hence the need of Gospel Proclamation as intended by Jesus becomes all the more relevant.
Source of Life:  As soon as we hear about the fullness of life , our tendency is to think of our physical life surrounded by the material comforts of this world. This is a temptation by Satan himself who invited Jesus to turn stones into bread in order to satisfy a legitimate human need especially after a long fast. Jesus resisted the temptation of Satan by quoting the word of God  "Jesus answered, 'Scripture says, "Man cannot live on bread alone; he lives on every word that God utters" ' " (Matthew, 4: 4). This was a quotation from the Book of Deuteronomy where we read: "He humbled you and made you hungry; then he fed you on manna which neither you nor your fathers had known before, to teach you that man cannot live by bread alone but lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy, 8: 3). Thus the source of true life and its fullness can come only from God that would make our own lives divine. Out of compassion for the masses Jesus multiplied the loaves and satisfied their hunger on account of which they were again looking for him. Jesus had to advise them not to work for the perishable food, but for the food that lasts, i. e., the food of eternal life. This food only the Son of Man was able to give on whom God the Father has set His seal of authority. The work that we are to do in order to obtain this food is to believe in the one God has sent (See John, 6: 28-29) [More in the next Section on 'The Theology of Gospel Proclamation'].(To be Contd).     

The Rationale of Jesus' Preaching (Contd)

Jesus Preached to Establish God's Kingdom on Earth:  We have already seen in the Second Section under the title 'The Content of Gospel Proclamation' in this Study various aspects about the Kingdom of God. Here we must see the particular role of the preaching of Jesus vis-a-vis the establishment of God's kingdom on earth urging us to proclaim the Gospel for the same purpose. It is important to get rid of our preconceived ideas about Kingdom of God, Gospel Proclamation, etc., in order to come to the correct understanding of those issues propounded by Jesus himself. The best example of a failure in understanding the nature of God's Kingdom can be seen from its rejection by the Jews of the time of Jesus. Their understanding of the Kingdom was colored by political domination of all others including the Romans who were to be driven out, if required, by force. Jesus did not subscribe to this view as his Kingdom did not belong to this world (See John, 18: 36). Similarly, the best example of a failure in understanding the nature of Gospel Proclamation can be seen in the Church's understanding of it as a propaganda that has been corrected by the Second Vatican Council.
Preaching from the Cross:  The greatest moment of the preaching of Jesus is to be seen on the cross from where he attracts people to himself who can read the inscription over his head that he is the King of the Jews. "Jesus replied, 'This voice spoke for your sake, not mine. Now is the hour of judgment for this world; now shall the prince of this world be driven out. And I shall draw all men to myself, when I am lifted up from the earth'. This he said to indicate the kind of death he was to die" (John, 12: 30-33). The great mission of Jesus was to defeat definitively and drive out the prince of this world, Satan himself, in such a way that the world would be free to be ruled by God Himself. Jesus did it by dying on the cross in complete submission to the Will of his Father that he was raised from the dead. As a result, the body of Jesus was fully soaked in the power of the Holy Spirit whereby the Kingdom of God was inaugurated. We are called to share in this and preach this Gospel to the whole world.
                                                            Jesus preached silently from the cross that turned out to be most eloquent down through the past twenty centuries. It started with the centurion, who was the leader of the soldiers who crucified Jesus, by his confession of the divinity of Jesus. The criminal crucified on the right side of Jesus was so impressed that he had no hesitation in praying to Jesus to remember him when he comes in his Kingdom. Immediate and definitive was the reply of Jesus: "I tell you this: today you shall be with me in paradise" (Luke, 23: 43).
The Scope of God's Kingdom:  However, the most interesting individual who was bewitched by the magnetic personality of Jesus, a prisoner accused as the King of the Jews, was none other than the Roman Prefect of Palestine of the time, Pontius Pilate. His imperial ways as the representative of the Roman Emperor did not impress Jesus as was evident in a counter question to the very first query posed by Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?" "Jesus said, 'Is that your own idea, or have others suggested it to you?" (John, 18: 34). Pilate was taken aback by the boldness and indifference of this prisoner who was completely at his mercy and yet was unconcerned about his own safety defying all laws of survival techniques. Pilate did not forget to remind Jesus that he was not a Jew and as such he could be an impartial Judge although his own Nation and the chief priests had handed him over to him. So he asked Jesus a straight and simple question about what he had done to deserve this. "Jesus replied, 'My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my followers would be fighting to save me from arrest by the Jews. My kingly authority comes from elsewhere'" (John, 18: 36). Evidently, then, Jesus affirmed his Kingship and referred to his Kingdom so much so that Pilate was forced to confirm it by a sarcastic question like "You are a King, then?" In answer Jesus called for an analysis of language of Pilate saying that the word "King" as used by him could never reveal its connection with truth to bear witness to which was his sole mission. The final remark of Jesus that all those who are not deaf to truth listen to his voice, so to say, completely paralyzed the precocious Pilate who tried to recover from the shock by asking a truly relevant question "What is truth?" without waiting for an answer.
                                                  The way Jesus claimed his Kingship was not at all objectionable to Pilate who was only concerned with the governance and kingship in this world. He wanted to release Jesus after flogging and the soldiers added a crown of thorns as their share of the proceedings along with a purple cloak as signs of mockery for this strange king. Pilate wanted to win over the sympathy of the Jews for Jesus by presenting him in his miserable condition before them. So the Jews adopted a religious issue as the bone of contention accusing Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God.      
Confusion of Pilate:  For the first time Pilate was shaken with fear as he had heard about the claim of being the Son of God by Jesus who had told him about the source of his Kingship to be from elsewhere and its connection with truth. Pilate was in a hurry to know from where Jesus had come to which silence was the answer. His refusal to speak to him provided Pilate with an opportunity to remind Jesus about the kind of authority he wielded stretching as far as to release him or to crucify him. Since all authority comes from God, Jesus acknowledged Pilate's authority over him that was, however, going to be infructuous as he was not in a position to use his authority freely. He was merely an instrument in the hands of God just like the man who betrayed him although they themselves turned out to be such pathetic instruments because of their lust for power or that for money!
                                              By then Pilate was in a real dilemma sensing which the Jews brought the political issue of Kingship again into the picture. They reminded Pilate that releasing a man who claimed to be King is an act of enmity to Caesar. Therefore, before pronouncing his judgment Pilate made a last attempt to save Jesus from the hatred of the Jews by presenting him before them as their King. To their demand to crucify him, Pilate expressed surprise about crucifying their King. A this juncture the Jews decisively capitulated to the secret desire of the Romans foregoing their continuous struggle for independence and self-governance by publicly declaring that they had no king but Caesar. Thus the wrong notions of Kingship and Kingdom entertained by the Jews culminated in inviting upon themselves a yoke of Roman slavery that was to destroy the very foundations of their Nation! Pilate added a note of confusion among the Jewish authorities by his inscription put up on the cross of Jesus saying "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John, 19: 19).
The New Order:  The final outcome of the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus is seen in the Book of Revelation where we are told that the first heaven and the first earth had vanished and there was no longer any sea. The new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God like a bride adorned for her husband. "I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the throne: 'Now at last God has his dwelling among men! He will dwell among them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes; there shall be an end to death and to mourning and crying and pain; for the old order has passed away!' " (Revelation, 21: 3-4).