Whom Would Jesus Bomb?

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read “Who would Jesus bomb?”  A rhetorical question, obviously, and the rhetoric has some power.  The writer has invoked Jesus, whom we in 21st-century America do not typically think of as a political or military leader like Dwight Eisenhower, but as a gentle and compassionate leader like Ghandi or Mother Theresa.  Therefore, our unreflective response to the question “Who would Jesus bomb?” is “no one.” 

But is this impression of Jesus accurate?  Is there no circumstance Jesus would use force to address?

In Joshua 5:13-15, a man appears to Joshua “with a drawn sword in his hand” calling himself “commander of the army of the LORD.”  He accepts Joshua’s worship, and says that the ground where they are standing is holy.  He is not named, but it seems likely that this is Jesus.

All four of the Gospels give an account of Jesus arriving at the temple and driving out those who were selling animals for sacrifice there, overturning their tables.  The account in John 2:13-17 adds that he “made a whip out of cords.”  This doesn’t sound like Ghandi.

And then there is this passage from Revelation 19:11-16: 

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.  Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” 

This can be no one but Jesus, and he doesn’t seem to have come for afternoon tea.

So, the questions is not whether Jesus would approve of forceful methods, but under what circumstances would he do so.  Jesus obviously didn’t get his “meek and mild” reputation by behaving like Ghengis Khan.  One of his final commands before going to the cross was “Love each other as I have loved you,”(John 15:14) and love does not usually express itself in the dropping of bombs.  So, one would expect violence to be used rarely and circumspectly — if at all — by Jesus’ followers.

So, what does it mean to “love each other”?  It means acting for the benefit of others.  If I see person A acting with the obvious intent to harm person B and I have the power to stop person A from doing so, would it be loving for me to refuse to stop him?  What if the only way to stop him was to harm him, or even kill him?  What if, instead of persons A and B we were talking about nations A and B?  (I do not claim to have all wisdom regarding these questions, but I do think they deserve consideration.)  Revelation says, “With justice he judges and makes war.”  And for the sake of justice, I believe we too must use our judgment and that may mean making war.

[Just to be clear, this post is not meant to be a defense of any particular war or use of force.]

What’s going on in my world, August 13

After all the excitement of finishing up Shelby’s house and getting it on the market, all of the effort apparently caught up with me.  I was just exhausted!  So, I’ve been doing a lot of resting and restful things.  Like (lately) watching the Olympics.  I’m finally starting to recover.

I’ve been practicing my clarinet semi-regularly, and that has been rewarding in itself.  I am up to the section in the Klose book where he gives 50 progressive (that is, progressively more difficult) duets.  I have been recording myself playing one of the parts, and then playing the other part along with the recording.  It lacks the social aspect of a chamber ensemble, but it has been a lot of fun so far.  The first 24 have been pretty easy.  I peeked ahead at #50 — I have my work cut out for me.

I have been working on one of those heavyweight posts that seem to drive my blog stats, but so far I haven’t been able to make my thoughts coherent enough to publish. 

I’ve been doing a little thinking about how I want to organize a few things around the house — just thinking at this point, no action.

As for the house, we’ve had four showings scheduled so far this week.  We’re praying that it will sell quickly, and ask you to pray with us!