Power Point Slides and Sermon Notes for the Congregation are available. Email jaykaymarsh@yahoo.com
Would Jesus Drive A Plymouth?
Christians understanding of the Bible has changed over the centuries. For instance, for 1900 years most Christians believed women were inferior to men. They used texts like
• Genesis 2:18 NASB, “Then the Lord God said, ’It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’” (obviously the helper is inferior to the helpee)
• 1 Peter 3:1, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands.
• Ephesians 5:21–24—“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife. I’ve heard something about husbands being the head, but wifes are the neck. They point the husband where to go. But that’s not in the Bible
• 1 Timothy 2:11–15, “…I do not permit a woman to teach [men] or to exercise authority over a man…” (ESV)
• 1 Corinthians 14:34, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” What could be clearer.
• 1 Corinthians 11:7-9 “For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.” Women are made for men. In fact, women are not in the image of God.
• Woman was given to man, woman who was of small intelligence and who perhaps still lives more in accordance with the promptings of the inferior flesh than by superior reason. Is this why the apostle Paul does not attribute the image of God to her. Augustine 400AD
• Paul looks… to God’s eternal law, which had made the female sex subject to the authority of men. On this account all women are born, that they may acknowledge themselves inferior in consequence of the superiority of the male sex. John Calvin, 1520
• 1950’s quote. While not Biblical, it sums up our attitude into the 1960’s. There were worse ones I could not post form the 70’s and 80’s
From the time of Christ until the 1950’s and even into the 80’s, it was acceptable to think that women were inferior to men. Why did our view of this topic change when there are so many clear Bible texts to the contrary?
In the last 100 years, another seismic theological shift has taken place. Antisemitism was propped up by the Bible for 19 centuries. The Gospel of John especially speaks negatively of “the Jews,” and this language fueled prejudice. Literal understanding of other texts led Christians to blame the Jewish people for killing Jesus.
• 60 texts in John, 30 of them negative. (Don’t worry, we won’t cover them all)
• Matthew 27:25, “And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” There you have it. The Jews killed Jesus. They knew what they were doing. They were OK with us blaming their descendants.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, “For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last. They killed Jesus, they’re hostile to everyone, the wrath of God is on them.
• John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. Jews are the spawn of Satan.
For 1900 years it was OK to be anti-Semitic. Why did our view of this topic change when we thought the Bible supported it for so long
For 1800 years Christians believed the Bible supported slavery. Here was their argument:
• God established slavery on the Earth when He gave the prophecy to Noah that Ham’s descendants would be slaves. Genesis 9:20-25
• Abraham (father to Jews and Christians alike) purchased and enslaved people and was blessed by God for doing so, Genesis 17:12. Furthermore God blessed Abraham by giving him more people to enslave, Genesis 24:35.
• People could be legally enslaved by conquest (Gen 17:12), If purchased from other nations, or if purchased from foreigners living in Israel (Lev 25:44-46)
• Enslaved foreigners and their children could be legally owned in perpetuity and passed down for generations. Only Israelites could not be permanently enslaved (Lev 25:44-46)
• Jesus challenged Old Testament laws like “an eye for an eye, but never challenged the widespread practice of slavery. Instead, he used it as a metaphor in many parables, and not in a negative way. (Luke 17:7-10, Matthew 25:14-30)
• Paul taught the slaves should welcome emancipation, but to be obedient if it didn’t happen. (1 Cor 7:21)
• Slaveholders were given authority by God (Romans 13:1-7)
• Even when converted to Christianity, slaveholders were not expected to free their slaves, even fellow Christians. (1 Timothy 6:1)
Why did our view of this topic change when there are so many clear Bible texts to the contrary?
I think we changed our views for two reasons. First, we could see our views were causing obvious harm. It was harmful for women to be forced into roles based on their gender when they were gifted for other roles. It was harmful to Jews to be persecuted for centuries culminating in the Holocaust. It was harmful to slaves to have their children taken away from them and sold to someone else.
More importantly, I think we changed our views because of Matthew 23:23: For you pay tithe…. Hold it right there. You know what the tithe is, don’t you? That’s the ten percent that God through the ancient prophet Malachi (3:10) said belongs to Him. Before you get all upset. Let me remind you what God is saying here. He says, “Hey look, by virtue of being your creator, I am asking you now to become your CFO. I want to be the CFO of your life, but I need your permission. And the only way I know I have your permission is if you will return to me… You know I could ask for all 10/10 of it, but I’m only asking for one. I want one tenth of your increase. You return that to me and it says to me, “Oh lord, I cannot manage my life on my own. Would you please be my CFO?” I tell you what my friend. I will stay with you every step of the way. I will never let you down. You can count on Me to your last dying breath. I am going to open as it were the very windows of heaven. I am going to empty a universe of blessings upon you, if you will simply ask me to be your CFO. Who could turn down an offer like that? You and I shouldn’t.
The Pharisees didn’t. The Pharisees went to the school that taught, if some is good, more must be better. So they tithed everything they could get their sanctimonious fingers on. Tithe, tithe, tithe. And that is what Jesus is talking about here. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin. What was there, an ounce? So they counted out 1/10 of an ounce.
Was it a sin to tithe their herbs, of course not. There is nothing wrong with that. It was the Pharisees attitude that was the problem. They thought, “We have a hierarchy of laws that are focusing on external, observable, and measurable behaviors. Those are what count the most, what people can see me doing. That’s number one.”
According to Christ, Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe on mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier parts of the law, Justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, leaving the others undone. Did you catch that? Write it down. You have omitted the weightier matters of the law like justice and mercy and faith. Isn’t that something? Apparently, in the mind of Christ, there are weightier matters in life and in law, weightier that tithing.
So some laws and values are more important than others. And justice, mercy, and faith are above paying tithe. But what is at the top? For that we turn to Matthew 22. Pick up the story in verse 34. But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together. Now hit the pause button right there. What do we have here? We have two opposing intellectual factions within the religious hierarchy of Jerusalem. They are forever at each other’s throats over some matter of Biblical interpretation. Envy makes the strangest bedfellows and now the Pharisees have heard that the liberal Sadducees have just been silenced by this young teacher and preacher and healer. And so the conservatives now say, “It’s our turn now to have a whack. We’ll get him where you guys missed him.” So that’s what’s happening here.
“They gathered together (verse34). Then one of them (the Pharisees), a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. A test. Now by the way, when it says lawyer this is not a city slicker lawyer who has a store front in downtown Jerusalem and he is dealing with civil law. No No No. Mark is clear. This is a scribe. That means this is an ecclesiastical policy wonk of the highest degree who knows the divine code and laws inside out. The man is brilliant. So they pick him. You do it for us. So he’s going to test Jesus.
Verse 36. He comes to Jesus and he says, “Teacher which the great commandment of the law. Of all the law commandments in the law which one is the greatest? You just tell us. Which one is the numero uno? We want to know.”
Not a bad question by the way for people who champion the Ten Commandments and believe that their divine mission in life is to draw the world’s attention to the Ten by focusing on the Fourth Commandment like the pharasees did.
These Pharisees are actually convinced they are the great defenders of the law of God. “Hey young rabbi, which one? Which one of the ten is the greatest? This is not a straw man. This is not a paper tiger. They really did have a debate among these conservative leaders. Because they are sure there has got to be some sort of hierarchy at work here. And the way they have it figured is, if two commandments ever come in conflict with one another, the higher commandment demands our adherence and we are therefore released from any obligation for the lower commandment. “Listen we want to know. We have our ideas. Where do you stand, sir?”
Whatever Jesus says they are going to nail him. He knows it is a test. Jesus speaks. He is ready. (Verse 37) Jesus said to him (the lawyer) you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all you mind. This is the first and great commandment. By memory on the spot Jesus quotes the great Sh’ma Deuteronomy 4:4:5. Those words are repeated every morning and every evening by every devout Jew in the land. Those are the words that begin every morning and every evening prayer services in the great temple in Jerusalem. These are the word still spoken today in every synagogue in our land. Good choice Jesus. Hear o Israel The lord our God. The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength. Well spoken, Master. But then, in a surprise end run Jesus nails his inquisitor by doing something no rabbi had ever done. He adds a line to the Sh’ma.
Watch this. (Verse 39) “Lawyer, lawyer, stay right here. Don’t leave. I’m not through yet. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This marks the first time that a rabbi intentionally joined together the Sh.ma in Deuteronomy with that well-worn line from Leviticus, thundering home the truth. I love how one writer puts it, “Obedience without love is as impossible as it is worthless.”
(Verse 40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Every divinely inspired word or command ever written hangs on this twofold commandment: To love our God supremely and to love our neighbor impartially.
Is it loving God and loving your neighbor to think of women as inferior to men? Obviously it is not. Is it loving God and loving your neighbor to blame current Jews for the actions of their ancestors? Clearly it is not. Is it loving God and loving your neighbor to force someone to work for you for no pay? Obviously it is not. Since these beliefs fail the two most important laws, they must be wrong. Even though there are specific tests to support the belief, the belief fails the broader, more important law. So the specific texts must mean something else. It’s hard to believe it took 1800 years to realize this. It makes me wonder. Are there other beliefs I have that seem to have Biblical support, but fail the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor Test?” I invite you to consider that question as well.
Every belief, every doctrine, every policy, every action, must first pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test. If specific texts lead to beliefs, doctrines, policies, or actions that do not pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test, then those texts need re-interpreting. I invite you to prayerfully consider your beliefs and check that they pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test.
I’ll close with a short article from the October 7, 2015 issue of The Adventist Review. When I read it, it immediately spoke to me. I didn’t write it, but it I could have. I saved it, hoping to use it for a sermon.
New light does not contradict old light,” the minister intoned. I knew that. I knew God wanted people to go to church on Saturday—that was most important of all. I knew that good people were supposed to put money in the offering plate, go Ingathering, read their Bibles, pray, never watch go to the movie theater, and buy only cars made by General Motors Corporation.
I was barely 5 years old. Daddy and Mommy had taught me all these things—intentionally or unintentionally. Daddy knew the Bible texts that proved them all, except the ones about theaters and General Motors Corporation cars. If the Bible had been written in modern times, there certainly would have been texts about televisions and cars.
GM cars were engineered better, Daddy said, and he should know. He knew everything there was to know about cars. Other church members drove other kinds of cars. One of them was the minister. He drove a big blue Ford. And he went to movies, which tells you what kind of person he was.
I can remember the day my value system was shaken. We were riding in our beautiful white Cougar, and I had mentioned the minister’s purchase of a new Plymouth “Well, son,” Daddy said, “the preacher has had good luck with Fords, and I’ve had good luck with GM products. Whichever kind of car gives you good service is the one you should buy.” What? Had I heard correctly? This “new light” was definitely contradicting my “old light”!
Another memorable day was when I noticed a book in the living room bookcase. Gold lettering on the spine said?The New Testament in Modern English. Its author was J. B. Phillips. It wasn’t a real New Testament. Real Bibles always said Holy Bible right on the front cover. And they were always leather-bound books kept on the coffee table, never hardcover books kept in the bookcase. This Phillips fellow was obviously trying to make the Bible easier to understand by replacing some of the old-fashioned words with modern ones; and that was another reason this book couldn’t be a?real?Bible. Real Bibles had to have old-fashioned words, because Bible stories happened long ago in old-fashioned times.
Just as I was getting used to the idea of J. B. Phillips, the church school teacher told us that Jesus and His disciples didn’t speak English. I knew she was wrong, and I could prove it. In more than one place it said “Jesus saith,” and the next words were always in English. Was the Bible God’s Word, or wasn’t it? Were Jesus’ words printed in English, or weren’t they? The teacher produced some books that contained pictures of old scrolls. She talked about “Hebrew” and “Greek,” and with unassailable logic her “new light” contradicted my “old light.”
Although these memories make me smile now, I found the incidents unsettling at the time. Bible Doctrines class in academy sent a lot of truth in my direction. I already agreed with all the key texts. In fact, the longer I held a theological position, and the more arguments I produced in its defense, the more I believed that God was its source. The sentiment “you don’t have to be open-minded if you’re right” made more and more sense.
My attitude fit well with the new policy I was using: “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”
Unfortunately, this new guideline interfered with another fact that had been forcing itself into my consciousness: God’s servants of the past did not agree with me on every point. It came as a shock to find that William Miller did not accept the Sabbath and that Martin Luther loved to spend time at the local beer hall. These people were my heroes. Some of them had taken their mistaken beliefs to their graves. If God had said it, why didn’t they believe it? What would God do with them on judgment day? Could He save them if they didn’t believe as I did?
The question was settled for me by a verse in John 16. Jesus told His disciples that some truth would have to wait until later, because they weren’t able to deal with it yet. Did Jesus actually let them continue believing incomplete truth? Evidently so. He had a solution, though. The Spirit of truth would, He said, guide them into new truth as they were able to handle it (see John 16:12, 13). Did they reach the “all truth” stage before they died? Could they be saved if they hadn’t reached it? I wasn’t quite certain that I had reached the “all truth” stage yet, but I was pretty close. Certainly by the time Jesus came I would know everything.
Then one day a Bible teacher read this: “If it were possible for us to attain to a full understanding of God and His Word, there would be for us no further discovery of truth, no greater knowledge, no further development. God would cease to be supreme, and [humanity] would cease to advance. Thank God, it is not so. Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power.”(Education 172)
If there would always be things for me to learn, that meant there would always be something I didn’t know,?even in heaven. Like it or nor, I was in the same state as Martin Luther and William Miller, and I always would be.
This “new light” solved a problem that had always concerned me: if I had lived in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, would I have recognized Jesus as the Messiah? My uncertainties centered on the Crucifixion weekend, the Passover service, and the entire system of sacrifices. Where in the ceremonial law is there a text that states, “When the Anointed One comes, all these ceremonies end”? Here were observances put in place by God’s direct command; yet, with little warning, they all became meaningless in a single afternoon. Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem evidently followed the “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it” policy. They had ceased being open to “new light.”
But some weren’t afraid to restudy the issues. The Holy Spirit was able to lead these honest-hearted ones to a fresh and more complete understanding of truth. Indeed, “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
So I’ve adopted a new policy: “If God said it, I’ll believe it, and keep listening.” I’m claiming the promise stated by Ellen White: “The Lord will work with humble men [and women] who reveal that they are ever learning, ever under the control of the Holy Spirit.” (RH January 6, 1903)
Every belief, every doctrine, every policy, every action, must first pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test. If specific texts lead to beliefs, doctrines, policies, or actions that do not pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test, then those texts need re-interpreting. I invite you to prayerfully consider your beliefs and check that they pass the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” test.
Given in Wausau on October 14, 2023
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:36-40
Closing Hymn: Let The Cross Be Our Glory
